![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/fantasy-deepening-world.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nFor example, did you ever lift your head from a book to check the time, only to find it was later than you thought? (Books are the best!) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conversely, did you ever start an undesirable task and find yourself watching the clock, feeling it was taking ages to complete?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where How?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Feelings aside, however, time really does move slower or faster for some of us. Astronauts orbiting the planet experience \u2018time dilation\u2019. Time for them actually speeds up the faster their spaceship\u2019s acceleration is through space, their \u2018relative velocity time dilation\u2019. Time also slows down the closer they are to a gravitational force, such as Earth, their \u2018gravitational time dilation\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/fantasy-memorable-character.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe International Space Station experiences both of these phenomena. Its distance from Earth means time ticks faster; but in travelling at nearly eight kilometres per second its speed means time ticks slower. The end result means time goes slower for ISS astronauts than for the rest of us, lagging approximately 0.01 seconds for every 12 earth months passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Control Time!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Down on the ground, we can control the slowing down or speeding up of time… as storytellers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the joys of telling and receiving stories is in sharing another’s experiences, walking in another\u2019s authentic shoes. To accurately represent this to readers or listeners, storytellers can pace out characters\u2019 experiences with various techniques, such as the use of detail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, if I want to speed time up in a story I’m writing or telling, I gloss over details and summarise events. If I want to slow time down, I\u2019m meticulous with the details and show events unfolding breath by breath. When writing stories, this means that moments of high tension and drama often involve a higher word count, even though those moments happen relatively quickly compared to other events in the story. It\u2019s all in the detail!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/brain-any-words.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nDetail can also affect memory \u2013 the stories we tell ourselves about the past. The level of detail we recall from stressful or eventful memories is often plentiful. When we remove the detail from life, such as when relaxing, our recollection of that time has it passing all too quickly. Sometimes we can look back on a year and wonder where all the time went. Other years can feel like a drag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What do you think about this year! After it\u2019s over, will it seem to have passed quickly or slowly? How much detail will you recollect of it when adding to your stories of the past?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Time is of course relative to experience, so probably only time will tell!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Time often spontaneously speeds up or slows down depending on what we\u2019re doing and where we are… Do What? Last week, I fell over. I\u2019m too old to fall over! But as I was jogging down the street on my morning run, I tripped on a raised section of pavement,\u2026<\/p>\n