There’s a TV show out now called Outlander. It’s not awesome and kind of makes me ashamed of myself to admit that I’ve watched some. The concept comes from a historical/fantasy series by an Arizonian woman named Diana Gabaldon. They are filled with romance and classic fantasy tropes. This is obviously why I don’t like it.

But. There’s something there. The main character is a modern woman from 1945 who is accidentally transported back in time to the Scottish Highlands of 1742.

Really, the reason I watched it in the first place was because I love everything about old Scotland. But as I watched, I became interested in how they were using time as a plot device.

And this is ultimately a huge point in Proust that isn’t hard to overlook. He works in his time jumps quite well. But still, the plot device is there. The book starts with the end and jumps back to the beginning right in those first fifty pages of Swann’s Way.

And this is a huge question for my writing. My book will use time like this. I want it to be created out of juxtaposed memories and current realities. I really need to figure out how I’m going to do that. But what I think it does is create a really interesting dynamic and atmosphere. And that’s the point of my writing.