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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/43143
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

## 5 Hours, 5 Days, 5 years (ago)

Unfortunately, I don't remember where I read this, but an author/writing guide I read suggested a simple rule of character interview **5 Hours, 5 Days, and 5 Years**. Ask what they were doing at those 3 times and that's all you really need to know about them (according to the system). I don't recall it being explained in any depth. It's the sort of "rule" that is obviously very reductive so it sketches in broad strokes quickly in a way that is relevant to their _current_ character.

**5 Hours** sets up _what the character does habitually_. 5 hours earlier this morning they were feeding the kids and getting the husband off to work. 5 hours ago they were still at the office, etc. Describe this activity and you'll learn things like how they get around during the day, what they do for work, who they spend time with – their basic routine.

**5 Days** is not a precise time, so we generalize into something important that represents what their life has been like _in the immediate past_. If your story begins at a new job, 5 days ago they were frantic from job hunting and worried about paying bills. If they are starting at new school, 5 days ago might have been the lazy end of summer vacation. If the story begins with a recent relationship breakup, 5 days ago might have been filled with heated arguments and tears. Since stories usually start at the beginning of a situation, 5 Days gives context about _how the character's life has just recently changed_.

**5 Years** is another imprecise jump and again not a specific time. The idea is to _cross a major life hurdle_. 5 years ago they were still a starry-eyed student, 5 years ago they were single with no children, 5 years ago they were just starting an alcoholic downslide. They were _a different person under different circumstances_ 5 years ago. That person had goals, and friends, and a routine that is _different_ than now. They are in a better place, or worse. They have accomplished some of their goals, but abandoned others. Comparing them today and 5 years ago gives a good idea what trajectory they are headed in.

You don't need to fill in every detail before 5 years because at that point it is far less _personal_ – more likely something that happened _to_ them. We can't really describe an adults motives through an experience they had 10 or 15 years earlier, it's not going to meaningfully inform how their goals have recently comprimized, or tell us about the direction their life is taking now. A character was in almost completely different circumstances 5 years ago, but it won't be disconnected from the current situation.

Original score: 6