Today my second contribution to Savvy Authors reprises thoughts published last month on this blog, with a bit more focus on how writers can navigate the time-travel demands of our profession. Here’s an excerpt:

That’s me, seeking wormholes at my local public library.

As the omniscient author, or at least one who’s trying to pretend I know what’s going on, I seek wormholes, or tele-transporters, or whatever mechanisms can help make these time-journeys a bit more comfortable. A mechanism might come in the form of music – a song or album or artist whose work evokes the right atmosphere for the story I’m working on. The middle-grade book includes an epic road trip for a girl and her grandfather; every time they turn on the radio in the old Dodge truck that’s taking them on their journey, a song from the Beatles’ Let it Be album plays over the scratchy speakers. Listening to those songs helps orient me to the world of that story, and the ways in which the grandfather and granddaughter try to reach across the time warp between their generations. 

Read the full piece on Savvy Authors here.