Killing Time



If I could save time in a bottle...

After midnight, we're gonna let it all hang down.

At 1 AM she's just waiting like a shadow.

I get in from work at 2 AM.

It's 3 AM and I must be lonely.

It's 4:03 and I can't sleep without you next to me.

It's 5 o'clock and we tell ourselves, "We need to get home! The sun is creeping overhead again!"

There's something special 'bout 6 o'clock, when it's still too early to knock.

7 am the garbage truck beeps as it backs up.

It's been 8 o'clock for years.

It's 9 o'clock in the morning, you've been this way before.

Like an addict, 10AM automatic.

11 am, by now you would think that I would be up.

12 pm and my dusty telephone rings.

I'm just being silly, playing with some lyrics. After listening to Shinedown's 'If You Only Knew' (It's 4:03...) today, it dawned on me that quite a few songs have time in them. I rounded up a bunch I could think of and looked up the missing times.

I try very hard not to put too specific of a time stamp on my WiP's. I prefer to give a general time frame with subtle descriptions. How about you, do you prefer dating your WiP?

Comments

Lindsay said…
True, I never realised how many songs have times in them.
With my WIP I have a few times in it, but I tend to just give subtle descriptions. :)
Lola Sharp said…
I am so (lazy) lacking in organization, I am careful never to be specific with time/time lines. Even still, making sure general timelines (days passing) line up is a struggle for me.

Fun post. :)
Love,
Lola
I think I only have one time reference in my book.
Anne Gallagher said…
I'm kind of a time freak. Most of the regencies take place within a couple of months and have all kinds of time references, the sun high overhead, low tide, following winds. Genna & Tony is written within a three week time frame. (Although it's certainly taking me longer to write it.) And I do have those time references written in, Saturday morning, 12:30, 4th of July.
Bridge Marie said…
I try to be fairly consistent with time, if only to keep my own thoughts straight.

And cool, post, I'd be interested to see where the lyrics are from.
Amalia Dillin said…
There's Spin Doctor's too-- "what time is it?" "4:30!"

:)

The majority of my books seem to take place in the past where clocks don't actually occur with any frequency (of haven't yet been invented), so I spend a bit of time avoiding references like seconds, minutes, even hours, and especially Specific times.
Tara said…
Hi guys (or ladies, rather), I guess I wasn't specific (and adding actual times in the post didn't help), but I mean more along the lines of era. For instance, I do make mention of cell phones in my book, but no other very specific to the time things (say "We went out and bought a brand new 2010 Mustang"). So it could be set pretty much anywhere in the last 20 years on.

Anne - You're in a different boat with the regencies since your readers will know it's set in the past ;)

Amalia - I love the Spin Doctors. One, two princes kneel before you...
Amalia Dillin said…
Oh! well. I guess I'm pretty vague when I'm in the present day, too. I don't think I even gave my MC a cell phone, now that I think about it. Though, she's pretty traditional and old-fashioned so I'm not sure she WOULD have a cell phone anyway, and she never goes anywhere near a computer. Possibly I am too vague! But the historical stuff requires a bit of, uhm, atmosphere!
Jessica Bell said…
Even though I never really state the 'time' on purpose, I do set up a very real time frame so that nothing gets confused. I think it just makes for a more comprehensible story if YOU know what time it is, as it'll reflect in what you write.
Susan Fields said…
My current wip involves a race against the clock, so it not only includes times, but also a countdown (i.e. T-6 hours). I had to check and recheck to make sure all the numbers added up, but I think I finally got them all right.

You sure know a lot of lyrics!
Sarah Ahiers said…
no i never use specific times. usually just mark things based on sun position or perhaps time of year.
roh morgon said…
What a cool post!

I'm really into music (can't write without it). Collecting the lyrics referencing time is a great idea!

As for my WIP? Much of Watcher, my paranormal/urban fantasy takes place at night - which is when Sunny hunts. She usually makes note of the moon, which means I needed to track the days in the story on a real calendar so that I referenced the proper moon phase. I used March 2007 as my starting point, although there is nothing in the story to indicate what the actual year is.

Sunny also notes the time when she wakes up each day, so, yeah, I would say time and dates play an important part in the background of the story.

My YA paranormal series takes place in modern day - no dates or time referenced. Just sunrise and sunset...
Shelley Sly said…
Neat post!

I only mention the time if I'm trying to make a point of how much time has passed, or how much time until a certain event. Otherwise, I just give a general morning/afternoon/evening description.
Jemi Fraser said…
That was fun!! :)

I don't usually mention time too specifically - only when there's a reason for doing so.
Tara said…
It was fun to write as well :)

I guess the general consensus goes along with the same thing I do - no real time stamp, but a vague time frame.
dolorah said…
This was way cool!

I had a better comment, but I scrolled down to read through a few posts - I'm woefully behind - and man, I can't think of anything right now but your Let's Talk blogfest.

Wow, that was amazing. I loved how comfortable they were with each other. The impression of a long time, progressive relationship was clearly defined. Characterization was just beautiful.

I loved his comment about feeling "empty" all the other times. This was sweet, innocent yet sensual. So special, for a girls first time.

Sorry I didn't comment sooner - what can I say, I've been wrapped up in my own life. I didn't leave a comment there because I wanted you to be sure to read how much I enjoyed your entry.

And this post. Intriguing, both.

.........dhole
Tara said…
Thanks so much Donna, it means a lot. Don't worry - I get being wrapped up in your own life ;)
Jayne said…
Hello Tara! I like how you grouped them - it made an interesting poem. My favourite one was 'it's been 8 o'clock for years'. :)

As for time-stamping my wip - some instances follow real-life, so I do have to date them correctly. Others I like to do the same as you - subtle descriptions giving the idea of the year, but nothing specific.
DL Hammons said…
I like you being silly! :)
It is hard when you're specific with time. In the book I just finished and the one I'm working on now, I jump back and forth in time. so on my storyboard I make sure I know exactly where I am.
I liked what you did with time on your post. Lots of fun. =D
Sangu Mandanna said…
I couldn't possibly count the number of songs and books and stories and poems that refer repeatedly to time. I don't know whether it's because we're all worried about 'time running out' or if we just find the idea of time and times fascinating.

The result of which is an encyclopedia of symbolism for different times of day! The witching hour, the haunting dusk, the hope of dawn, etc etc!

Great post, really got me thinking :)
Aubrie said…
There's something about time and love and how it has to be the right time. Sometimes love is ill fated because of timing, like Romeo and Juliette.
Anonymous said…
My garbage truck comes at 5am. I really hate those guys.

I don't have an excact "era" for my wips...I don't think anyone could tell what time frame it took place in. It just sort of happens.
Nishant said…
like how you grouped them - it made an interesting poem. My favourite one was 'it's been 8 o'clock for years'. :)
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Natasha said…
I put in a hell of a lot of details in my WiP, and then I end up removing them because I don't want to date the story too much.

Thanks for stopping by at my blog, BTW.
Dr. Heckle said…
I tried dating my WiP, but she keeps turning me down. It's probably the big hairy mole on my nose...
Portia said…
These are awesome lyrics! I felt the music in them when I read it. I will confess, I do feel the need for deadlines, because it keeps met motivated, but I don't sweat it if I don't meet them--unless I've promised someone I'll meet the deadline.