I am a fan of books and films where characters get stuck in a time loop and are forced to relive the same moments.
My love of time loops probably stems from watching the movie Groundhog Day. I can still remember sitting on the sofa, shovelling popcorn into my mouth and watching that 1993 comedy with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. It is a story of a man, Phil Connors, who lives the same day over and over again. Initially, he is a cynical and selfish weatherman, but by the end, after reliving the same day repeatedly, he begins to help and connect with others.
I love time loop stories because the characters get to learn from past mistakes, see the consequences of actions and immediately put that knowledge to good use.
Over the years I have read some great time loop stories:
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. Every time Harry dies, he’s reborn into the same life.
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. The character relives the day of her death over and over again until she can rewrite her legacy.
The Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds. The character keeps reliving the moment his girlfriend dies.
In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren. Her character is stuck reliving the same Christmas holiday until she figures out what (and who) she really wants.
As I am in my speculative writing era, here are some things to think about if you are writing a time loop:
Time loops are not gimmicks. They are clever tools for character transformation. It took me a while to see this, but it is true. The time loop forces a character to change. The character isn’t in charge of the time loop and this is what makes it cool. The only control they have is their reaction to the loops and doing unpredictable things to find a way of breaking it. You need to think about what sort of transformation you want your character to have. Is the time loop a tool for helping your character process grief? Facing an emotional truth? Or fixing a broken relationship? Think about Groundhog Day and the transformation Phil Connors goes through.
Make the repetition feel fresh. There is a real danger with time loops that readers will get bored of the repeated moments. Don’t replay full scenes unless something significant changes.
Make your character relatable and interesting. The reader is going to go through a lot for this character.
The stages of your character accepting they are in a time loop and getting out of it. 1. repetition / confusion. 2. Fun experimentation. 3. Frustration. 4. A new hope. 5. Resolution.
Rules of the time loop are key. You need to establish these early on: when does the loop get reset (examples might include death, midnight, or a specific decision)? Who remembers the time loop? Is it just the main character, or are there others who also remember it?
It’s all about the exit strategy. How does your character break the loop? This is so important. To break the loop do they need to have learned something about themselves? Have they decided to change themselves? Or have they decided to forgive? This goes back to the purpose of the time loop and the transformation it is giving to your character.
As a romance author here’s some of my thoughts on how we can use time loops:
❤️ Exploring -The One That Got Away.’ Fate gives your characters a second chance at a break up they never got over or a confession they need to have made. Love this!
💔 To let someone go. Think lost love or processing grief, perhaps. Yes please and I will bring my box of tissues.
🔥 Forced proximity. Trapped with your ex in a time loop – yikes! This has great potential and the stakes are high if enemies to lovers.
🙈 Choosing the wrong person. The time loop forces them to see the error of their ways. Yes, yes, yes!
This blog post is going to help my writer brain focus on one of my current projects. I do hope someone else out there writing a second chance romance finds it useful.
Second chance romance is one of my favourite romance tropes. I could read these stories all day.
One of my current projects focuses on a second chance romance so I could really do with going back to basics with the trope in order to revise my story.
Below I have come up with a list of all the things to consider when writing a second chance romance.
How did they initially connect?
Were they childhood sweethearts? Maybe they met at work?
The secret here is readers need to see and feel how good that connection was between these two beautiful characters. This breathtaking romance has to be unforgettable for both readers and the characters.
Why did they split up? What made them walk away from each other? Were they too young? Was it a case of bad timing or did one hurt the other? What broke them?
Readers need to understand what made these characters go blubber into a box of Kleenex, wedge chocolate into their mouth and go for long solitary walks in the rain.
What personal growth have they experienced? What has life taught them in the years they were apart? What did other relationships teach them? Have they thought about why they have never connected with anyone on the same romantic level as they did with each other?
What made them want to give their relationship another chance? Why can’t they disentangle from each other’s lives? What has made them come together again? Why salvage a broken relationship?
The reader must understand and agree with these decisions. There must also be that old connection and the chemistry.
What stuff have they overcome? Have they resolved the old conflict? Readers need to see how these two characters might have had different priorities that caused their breakup. But now that those priorities have changed, so, maybe there is still a chance for them to work it out. It could also be a case of these two characters making mistakes and generally causing an emotional mess.
The reader needs to believe these two have changed for the better.
Here’s my second chance romance which got published:
Second chances at the Little Love Cafe
It’s never too late to try again… 💕
‘Must read summer book’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
‘A fantastic uplifting read that takes you direct to the cute Little Love Cafe.’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lucy Mitchell Author 