on Live Write Thrive:

We’re continuing our look at manipulating time in fiction. Be sure to read the other posts on the topic, beginning with this one.

Scene structure is an essential concept writers must grasp in order to construct solid, fluid novels. I chose that word fluid because I feel readers want something akin to a smooth read. And a smooth read is dependent on a masterful handling of the passage of time in fiction.

I don’t mean specifically a linear story in which every moment passes in time the same way. I mean the story being told is easy to follow because the scenes string together in a clear flow of time, each giving the sense of real time passing, right here, right now.

This may be a tricky concept for you to grasp, so bear with me a bit.

Novelists have to use creative ways of wording to show the tweaking of time. But scenes, essentially, are all about showing significant action happening in real time—the way time passes for us as we go through our lives.

The variable, however, is linked to the POV character who is experiencing and showing the scene through her eyes.