Time and Place

The time element in your story can be set without using a specific date. Your reader will have a sense of when your story takes place by using the news from your local paper or television newscast. The given information provides this association. Here is my example.

I drove the winding 56-mile road to Hana while Hurricane Ike hit Texas. The lush green rain forest had changed since I had last seen it just a few years ago. Clump of trees along arid streams looked brittle. Not long ago, fresh water spilled over ledges into deep pools at every turn. Yesterday, only one waterfall flowed. The lack of water was apparent.
Another subtle change was the familiar calls of birds and crickets. In former days, the forest noise began as soon as the road narrowed-at least 30 miles before Hana. But yesterday, it was not until I was about 10 miles before the town that they became noticeable.

Hurricane Ike caused flooding and devastation while "paradise" experiences a drought.