[Gagged Man]

I'm having a little trouble with this story I'm working on. Basically, the protagonist is meeting someone in a restaurant and after he is going to a warehouse. I've used the "few hours later..." deal to fill the time in between but does anyone have any suggestions on filling the gap?

Do you think I should fill the gap? (I always feel my stories jump from place to place a little too much)

Thanks
Gagged Man

[Lifino]

Personally I'm fond of the, " *** *** ***"

Or you could describe the way the sky changes over those few hours... Changes in the traffic patterns... Show something that indicates the passage of time...???

Also depends on 1/3rd person... some.

On the other hand, if the guy isn't looking at his watch you don't have to be super specific with the time. It's assumed time is passing, but the description and the atmosphere will give the reader clues as to the time of day...

-Silas, none of my advice should be taken as such.

[choppy]

On a first draft, sometimes filling the gaps can be complicated. I think part of this, for me, is because I don't necessarity plot out the story in an entirely continuous format. And luckily most writers are like that. The problem then, is how do we create the illusion of a continuous flow of time, without boring the reader to death with the mundane happenings between the important events in the story?

One trick I use is the subplot. This can be used to add depth to your character, add a little comic relief, tie in the theme of your story and fill in those nasty gaps. Say for example, your protagonist is trying to quit smoking. Does he sit in the smoking section in the restaraunt? Next to a smoker? Does he take the bus to the warehouse? If he does, he'll probably have to stand at a bus stop - next to a smoker. Or does he have an ashtray in his car? - Anyway, my point is that a subplot can be used to pull the reader away from the mundane by adding conflict in the form of a sublot. The trick is to tie the themes together.

Other ideas:

"The only places Joe hated more than restaurants were warehouses. Nothing good ever happened in a restaurant - not to Joe anyway. But a warehouse at two in the morning - that was the kind of place where no one ever really knew what happened. Usually all they could do was try to reconstruct a theory from whatever evidence was left behind."

or,

"Damn fast food," Joe grumbled. "It's been four hours since I had that burger and I still have gas. If there isn't a toilet in this warehouse, I swear I'm going to (insert appropriate colourful verb) myself."

Hope this helps!

[Gagged Man]

Thanks for the feedback, lots of ideas to try now. Choppy, that thing about Joe and the warehouse, very nice:D