Today is my wedding anniversary. My
husband, Bob, and I were married at Bethesda Covenant Church in Rockford,
Illinois, on this very day many years ago. My parents gave us a lovely reception,
after which Bob and I took off for a three-month honeymoon in Europe. He had to
report to the Air Force in September, and instead of doing something silly like
getting jobs and saving money, we blew every cent we had on travel. Neither of
us would change a thing.
Remembering those days, and
especially looking back at the old photos, reminds me of all the years that
have passed. Bob and I have two grown sons. For some reason, our hair has
changed color, and our faces have, ahem, matured. Bob is still working
full-time in our family business. I’ve retired from one job to take up
novel-writing. The world has changed as well. Time does fly.
As I’m finishing up the manuscript
for A Collection of Lies, the fifth book in the Kate Hamilton Mysteries,
it occurs to me that authors must deal with the issue of time—especially those
fortunate enough to write long-running series. Sue Grafton allowed Kinsey
Milhone, her private investigator, to age by one year every two-and-a-half
books. In A is for Alibi, Kinsey was 32. In her final book, Y is for
Yesterday, Kinsey is 39. Man, she packed a lot into those seven years.
Ian Rankin’s DI John Rebus of
Edinburgh, Scotland, has been allowed to age pretty much in real-time. He
wasn’t young when Rankin began the series with Knots and Crosses. Now,
twenty-two books later, Rebus is somewhere in his seventies. He’s retired from
the police, struggles with COPD, and spends a lot of time walking his dog,
Brillo.
Are there book series where the
protagonist doesn’t age at all? I can’t think of one, but I can think of plenty of TV series that would fall into that category—M*A*S*H, for example. The series, set
in a field hospital during the Korean War, ran from 1972 to 1983—eleven years.
And yet the war lasted only three years, which meant not only that the main
characters couldn’t really age but also that they couldn’t ever rise in the
ranks or be reassigned. The make-up budget for that show must have been
massive.
My own series covers a short period
of time so far, from October of an unspecified year to January, fifteen months
later. Kate, who was 45 when the series began, has finally turned 46.
Here’s the point: however you decide as a writer to handle the passage of time, you will have to deal with it in some way. On a personal level, time marches on whether we “handle” it or not.
I say, let’s make the most of it!
For authors, how do you deal with
the passage of time in your books?
For readers, is a protagonist’s age
important to you?
Wonderful post, Connie! I try not to date my protagonists too closely, but I also haven't had the privilege of a long-running series.
ReplyDeleteMy series main character has a daughter in HS, so I'm planning 3-4 books for each year of her HS career.
ReplyDeleteAs long as the author is consistent, it doesn't really bother me. If you state the character is 45 in book 1, age them a year in every book, and then they are suddenly 47 in book 10, I'm going to scratch my head.
ReplyDeleteIt does help to have some kind of comment to help us figure out how long it as been. As readers, we sometimes forget how long you think it's been. I was reading a book recently, book 11 in a series, and the character mentioned it had been seven years since the events of book one. I wasn't thinking it had been that long for her, but it helped me to know that.
A character that never aged - Mrs. Pollifax. She was mid-60's for her entire 35 year CIA career.
Grace Kimball in my Endurance series hasn’t aged more than a couple of years, but the books are set closely together and all pre-pandemic. We’re currently in 2016. We’ll stay there a while. Nice post, Connie, and Happy Anniversary.
ReplyDeleteKait, me either. Not yet.
ReplyDeleteMargaret--what a great plan!
ReplyDeleteMark, thanks for the example of Mrs. Polifax. Why couldn't I think of her???
ReplyDeleteSusan, I decided that Covid didn't exist. This is fiction, after all!
ReplyDeleteHappy anniversary! Beautiful wedding photo. I wish I'd given more thought to timeline when I started my series. But I aged my characters in real time, which will be fine, I think, since they started in their mid-forties.
ReplyDeleteAlways good to see a reasonable (if not entirely chronologically accurate) progression of time in books & series. Well done, it seems so natural.
ReplyDeleteSeamus McCree and his family, friends, and enemies have aged in real time -- and I am still comfortable with that decision as I write the 8th novel in the series.
ReplyDeleteFun topic, Connie.
ReplyDeleteAs a reader, I like a year per book, assuming the series publishes one book a year. As a writer of an as-of-yet unpublished but hopefully 20-book series, I plan on aging the characters a year per book. I guess it's not a surprise that I'd hope to write what I most enjoy reading.
PS: I loved your point about M*A*S*H lasting many years longer than the reality of the time it portrayed, I honestly never noticed that before. Fascinating! Thanks, and here's to many more anniversaries, both marital and writerly.
With 4 kids at home, and teaching first grade; I’ve watched a lot of TV shows where the characters never age. We like to laugh at Arthur on PBS Kids…I watched Arthur as a kid and by the time my kids were viewers, the dude was STILL in third grade doing his thing, even though we’d had several holiday specials, summer vacations, new classmates…but that’s fine, who needs logic when you’re having fun? In my yet to be published series, I’ve been carefully planning the timeline so that my MC ages appropriately and logically with the passing of time. It’s an important thing to keep track of, because fans certainly will!
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