Narrative Time Usage
Conscious movement between times, using flashback and other techniques
The five levels
Each anchor describes what separates one level from the next — not a general description of quality. This is the text the evaluator itself reads.
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Level 1 Below Standard
Flat linear time without artistic use
Example Text moves start to finish without any time play
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Level 2 Approaching
Flashback attempt but unsuccessful or unnecessary
Example Flashback added without serving current scene
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Level 3 At Standard
Basic time control, flashback serves the text
Example Justified flashback adding necessary information
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Level 4 Above Standard
Flashback serves meaning and adds dramatic layer
Example Past casts light that changes our reading of present
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Level 5 Exemplary
Deliberate time play creating multiple meaning layers
Example Text operates in multiple times simultaneously
Where does your own work sit on these levels?
Submit one work to be read against this criterion alone: your position across the five levels, why you are not higher and why not lower, three literal quotes from your own work, and one exercise with its success check. Your first card is free.
Price: 7 SAR · Included in Pro & Artist Plus · First one free — Pricing details
Read my work by this criterionOther criteria in the same art
Ability to show emotions through actions and details rather than direct statement
The five levels →Constructing the scene like a building: setup, tension, climax, resolution
The five levels →Short sentence's ability to carry deep multi-layered meaning
The five levels →Consciously speeding and slowing text according to scene demands
The five levels →Character's convincing growth or transformation across the text
The five levels →Creating and managing anticipation and emotional investment in character's fate
The five levels →Using the five senses to bring the scene vividly to the reader
The five levels →Absence of clichés and canned expressions, presence of authentic language
The five levels →