I've tried to keep specific dates out of my work in progress, but one of the characters experiences one or two significant, historic events. In the first draft, I managed to keep those references vague enough to justify just skipping the whole, "It was November 5, 1955, and I fell off my toilet while hanging a clock," thing. Unfortunately, as I progress in this first (? >.>) rewrite, I have come to a point where I would like to tell some portion of the story as entries in someone's journal. These parts may in fact be framed: one of the other characters might be reading them. I haven't decided. That may make this less important, but I'd be interested to know your thoughts either way. Should journal entries bear dates? If they do, would you expect those dates to limit the appeal of the story as the dates themselves become more remote?
I like historical fiction, so as a reader, I want to know the time period. I feel like it "grounds" me as a reader to know the where and when with the who what and how. Writers are usually advised to avoid dating their work to expand the potential market as much as possible...but I'm ignoring that advice in my current WIP, because there's a specific historical event that happens in it. ETA: I'm doing so with the full knowledge that it may affect its saleability in the fiction marketplace. Examples of books I've read in recent years that are set in specific time periods: Jambusters, The Help, A Hundred Summers, and another novel whose name escapes me that takes place in 1939. It may be genre dependent as well. Let's see what other writers have to say.
@Shenanigator, thanks for replying. Your comments make me think I should clarify: elements of the story take place in a particular time (1954-1956), but the main storyline takes place "now." What concerns me is the eventuality that the time between "now" and "1956" will get longer over the years.
Ahhh. That's a really interesting premise! I'll bet it could be done without affecting the saleability if you keep the details in the "contemporary" part vague and keep the pop culture emphasis in the 1950's part. In a weird way, it would always feel current, because the reader wouldn't stop to think how long ago it was, if you put them there. I mean, look at The Great Gatsby. That's kind of what you'd be doing, if I'm understanding you correctly. It's not that hard for the reader to become "Nick "and look back at that summer with him, even now. But, others may have a different opinion. I love historical fiction.
I agree with Shenanigator in so far as a reader I'd like to be grounded in the time period... but, I also appreciate a writer giving me that information in a more elegant (seamless) fashion. I think your idea of imparting the date as a journal entry would do just fine. My WIP is Gaslamp Fantasy and is set in a very definite place and time. I've had the same concerns as you. In fact the story begins on November 13, 1792, in a Paris opera house as the Revolution enters its Reign of Terror phase. If it were the American Revolution I would expect most every reader to be well acquainted with the year and times, but as such the French Revolution will need to be better grounded for many readers. I impart upon the reader that it's Winter in Paris through exposition, and the date in a more imaginative way... one of my protagonists (Rosemarie) is fetching something from a basement room of the opera house and sees a woman looking at herself in a wardrobe mirror. The woman is pale and humming a queer tune and patching up around the seams. She is of course an apparition who's woke from a very long slumber, that is she's a ghost with some unfinished business. Rosemarie strikes up a conversation and the ghost asks her the day... Rose is confused but answers respectfully, "Tuesday the 13th, Madame." The ghost says, "No, what year is it?" If you have any ghosts in your story feel free to use that idea.
Dated diaries, rarely have the year printed in them. Usually there is a space on the first page for the owner's name and the year. Then each page just says: January 1 January 2 January 3 January 4 January 5 etc. The book itself containing 365 pages, one for each day of the year. Perhaps, you could have the owner of the diary, have written her name but not the date on the title page, so that the current era/now person reading the diary, says something like: "This diary appears to be 30 or 40 years old. Pity there is no year in it." Thus allowing the story to still be current year no matter what year it's read? Otherwise, I don't see any problem with starting the book by saying: "It was November 9, 2017 when I found the diary...She wrote it in 1955." Or something to that effect. No reason why the year in the story can't be now. Who knows, maybe in 20 years 2017 will be a "classic era".
They may exist, but it's hard for me to imagine a dedicated journal keeper not including the date, though. Speaking as someone who's been keeping journals since age 8, that's kind of the point. Mine have the date, place, time, and, in the margin, a list of songs that were on the radio or stereo as I was writing.
