What happens if the timer goes off before your character can achieve their goal? 

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Will the security guard come back to find her mid-heist? What if something unexpected happens—will she be able to adapt?

Now you try. Think about ways you can include a ticking clock element in your story. What kind of deadline would it be? For how long?

That’s because the security guards have a 20-minute rotation. But the character knows she’d be cutting it close by that timeline, so she gives herself 15 minutes to get the job done just in case she runs into trouble.

And so the clock starts. Will she get the object without being seen?

As we discuss in Episode 10 of the second season of KidLit Craft’s podcast, Kayvion Lewis effectively includes a ticking clock in her novel “Thieves’ Gambit,” our mentor text. 

In this YA thriller, a character hoping to steal an object from a museum knows she only has 20 minutes to do it.

The momentum pulls your character—and reader—through the story and will keep your audience flipping pages to find out if all will be resolved before the deadline expires.

Be sure to define a consequence of what happens if the character doesn’t pull it off before the clock runs out. By doing so, you also raises the stakes for the story. 

With the pressure to beat the clock, your protagonist will be forced to act quickly before time runs out.