Mastering Time in Fiction: The Difference Between Instinctive and Dramatic Time

Time in fiction isn’t just about clocks and calendars—it’s about how a story feels as it unfolds. Readers experience time differently depending on how a writer structures scenes, reveals information, and controls pacing. Two key concepts in storytelling—instinctive time and dramatic time—help us shape a narrative that feels both natural and compelling.

What Is Instinctive Time?

Instinctive time is the natural rhythm of real life. It’s the way time moves in our everyday experiences—slow when we’re waiting for something, fast when we’re having fun, unpredictable in moments of crisis. Instinctive time governs how characters live their lives and how readers expect events to unfold based on real-world logic.

Examples of Instinctive Time in Fiction:

• A character making coffee in the morning, going through a familiar, measured routine.

• The passage of seasons in a novel that mirrors real-life cycles.

• A slow-building romance where emotions evolve naturally over months or years.

• A long journey across a vast landscape, realistically requiring days or weeks.

Instinctive time is useful when you want your reader to feel grounded in a believable world. However, instinctive time alone can lead to a slow, meandering narrative if not balanced with dramatic time.

What Is Dramatic Time?

Dramatic time, on the other hand, is the storyteller’s version of time—it’s how time is manipulated to heighten tension, escalate stakes, and keep readers engaged. Dramatic time compresses, expands, and distorts time as needed for maximum emotional and narrative impact.

Examples of Dramatic Time in Fiction:

• A heart-pounding car chase that unfolds over several pages but takes only seconds in the story.

• A single, life-altering decision that plays out in slow-motion, with deep internal monologue stretching mere seconds into paragraphs.

• A montage-style chapter that covers years of a character’s life in a few pages.

• A flashback that interrupts present action to reveal crucial backstory.

Dramatic time is what keeps a novel from feeling like a dull retelling of real life. It ensures that stories move with purpose and that every moment serves the larger narrative.

How to Balance Instinctive and Dramatic Time

Great fiction balances instinctive and dramatic time. Too much instinctive time, and a book may feel slow or uneventful. Too much dramatic time, and it might feel unrealistic or exhausting for the reader.

Here are some strategies for achieving the right balance:

• Identify Key Emotional Moments – Use dramatic time to highlight pivotal moments, like a character’s realisation, an argument, or a life-changing event.

• Condense Routine Actions – Unless routine actions reveal something crucial about the character, condense them (e.g., "She drove to work" instead of detailing every stoplight).

• Expand Tension-Filled Scenes – If a moment is high-stakes, stretch time. Let the reader experience every sensory detail and internal thought.

• Use Scene Breaks and Chapter Jumps – A well-placed break can leap past unnecessary details and fast-forward to the next important moment.

• Experiment with Flashbacks and Time Jumps – Moving between past and present can keep a story dynamic while revealing depth.

Writing Exercise: The Proposal

Try writing a short scene where a character proposes to another character. First, write it using instinctive time (realistic pacing, natural actions). Then, rewrite it using dramatic time (stretching tension, playing with perception, slowing down key details). Then try writing the scene where the proposing character has already taken the knee before the scene begins. How different does that feel?

Final Thoughts

Mastering time in fiction means understanding when to let time flow naturally and when to manipulate it for dramatic effect. By balancing instinctive and dramatic time, we can craft stories that feel both authentic and compelling—keeping readers fully immersed from the first page to the last.