Subtle Hints

I'm writing a book about a girl who travels back in time from the modern day to go to school in the 1930s. While she's there, she has to solve numerous mysteries, one of which revolves around her father, who she's never met but everyone seems to know about.

(I don't know how to use the spoiler thing, so...SPOILERS!!)

She was actually born in 1920, and travelled forward to the modern day, so she's actually returning to her own time. Her father is a powerful and famous wizard who specialises in time travel and has written numerous books on the subject, in the style of ordinary travel guides.

I was thinking that she could find one or two of her father's books in the school library, since the school has a lot of witches attending. Her surname is far from common, so that would make her look twice. But she probably wouldn't put together that he was her father, since she thinks she was born in 1999, so he'd be too old, and her mother has also been using her married name and the title "Miss", so she thinks that that was the surname her mother was born with.

Is this hint too obvious, and if not, when would be the best time to drop it in. I'm thinking towards the end, but I also have to give out information some time, right?

Thanks in advance.

 

Ok I'm unclear on something here. You say that her father is a famous wizard and everyone seems to know about him, so she must've have heard others talk about him and he shares her last name so wouldn't she at least be suspicious? Especially considering her surname is uncommon?

Also how much does she know of her father to begin with? What has her mom told her about him, if anything?

It's kinda hard for me to give you any useful advice without knowing these things.

As for when would be the best time to drop the hint, it depends on when the actual reveal is happening in the story. Is the reveal in the middle or in towards the end? If its's the former then you wanna drop the hint early.

Speaking of the hint, her finding her father's book in the library could work but once again I need to know a little more to properly judge if it's too obvious or not.

Sidenote: for the spoiler tag, click on and choose Spoiler then type your spoilery text inside the tags.

 

So what, exactly is the mystery? I'm kind of lost. She doesn't know she was born in 1920? Or she doesn't know anything about her father? Or that she doesn't recognise her father in his earlier incarnation?

I'm not sure what the subtle hints will be about. And why is she traveling back in time to go to school? She must know about time travel, because she's doing it, right? She remembers being born in 1999, but doesn't remember being born in 1920? Hmmm. Why does she remember one thing and not another?

 

Back off team...too much literalitis on this board again. Premise is she travels back in time because she DOES, she is the hero. But actually her Dad is a hero also, I think.

I would call the 1920s guy something else, and then in the present day she discovers clues that link to that past. 'Why does Dad have an ank tattoo...is it because..?' kind of thing.

Hope I haven't missed all the points exactly, like a web hippo.

 

Sorry. I need to get better at this.

He's a philanthropist and an activist, so he's not someone teenage girls would be fascinated with. However, those of her friends who are witches often refer to him - "I suppose you could ask your father about that."

Her mother has given her no information whatsoever. I probably should have mentioned that she and her mother are on the run from dark wizards, which is why they came to the 21st century. She doesn't know this, by the way. Her mother feels that if she gets information about her father - something she's been badgering her for for fourteen years - she'll go looking for him, which will lead her straight into danger.

The reveal comes at the end, as part of the climax, and then kind of as a reward to her for getting through the whole adventure. If that makes sense. So it would be better to drop the hint later, rather than sooner?

She doesn't know that she was born in 1920, or anything at all about her father. There are numerous other things for her to work out, but they aren't relevant to that particular hint.

Of course, she knows about time travel, but she didn't cast the spell that brought her there (another mystery). Therefore, she doesn't know how or why it happened, and had no choice in the matter.

She was not born twice. This isn't a reincarnation thing. (Sorry if that's not what you think, that's just the impression I'm getting.) She was born once, in 1920, then fled with her mother to 2000 when she was a year old. Her mother never told her this, and so, not knowing about time travel, she therefore assumed she had been born in 1999. The fact that her mother put this as her date of birth on every form ever did not help matters.

Hope that clears things up. Thanks for your responses.

 

Ok this does help a lot. But wait are you saying that her witch friends know who her father is? because in that case it won't be much of a mystery.

if the reveal comes at the climax, you can drop a few hints and clues throughout the book but keep the more obvious ones for later in the book so the readers don't figure it out early.

Also if her mother is so hell-bent on her not finding out about her father why would she keep using his last name? Wouldn't it make more sense for Mom to go back to her maiden name instead? And for MC to go with her mom's maiden name as surname thus making it harder for her to find out who her father is?

Since your MC has to deal with several mysteries throughout the course of the book, is it possible to connect at least some of these stories in some way, even if the connection is tenuous? I ask because there are a some benefits to doing that, for one thing it'll make for a more condensed and seamless narrative, for another you could drop hints and drops and foreshadowings that point to more than one mystery.

Hope this helps. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need more help/advice/etc

 

Right. Point by point clarification again. Keep them coming, this actually really helps!

matwoolf, I think our posts crossed. She doesn't meet her dad until the end of the book, so she can't notice physical details. Also, she isn't flicking back and forth, since it's a boarding school, she's always there. She's stuck in the 1930s, even in the holidays. (Her parents are supposedly in Kashmir.)

Yes, her friends know who her dad is, but have never met him, or even know much about him - just that he exists, and that he writes books. They obviously assume that she knows who her dad is, and she has no idea how to ask about him without seeming completely ridiculous. (This may need a bit of extra thinking, I'll get back to you on that.)

This may also be sloppily explained, but a witch's magic is tied to her name. They have a special ceremony similar to a christening, where a baby witch or wizard gains their magic by having it irreversibly bound to their name. (It has to be bound to something, so it became the custom to attach it to their name on the grounds that that won't be changed - there's an exemption for marriage - and if it is, they're probably up to no good.) Therefore, if a non-legal change of name occurs, a witch or wizard loses their magic, and mummy wants her to be able to fight back, just in case.

And there are numerous reveals, one being who brought her there and why, one being the identity of her father, one being that she was in fact born in 1920, and one that there are dark wizards after her.

Thanks for all your help.