Have you ever been reading a book and thought, "dang that must've been a long day?"
I'm writing a YA fiction novel and in my plotting/planning/drafting/whatever you want to call it, I managed to sandwich a good chunk of chapters into one day. I have 6 chapters (approximately 10000 words over 37 pages) all jammed into one day. A few of those chapter breaks are there mostly for point of view changes. I jammed all these chapters together because it's a real turning point to the story where one big event leads pretty much directly into another and following those two events, the main characters (who have two very different experiences and perspectives on the world)have a lot to talk about. A lot of information to exchange between the two different world perspectives. I've looked back through this section of writing trying to find a good spot to break it up and extend the conversation into another day but I just can't find a spot that makes sense. I understand that in real life people get tired but the situation is so tense that I don't think either of the characters would be able to stop asking questions or reflecting on things.
What I don't want is for someone to be reading my book, come to this section and lose their sense of immersion because they think, "these kids couldn't have possibly done all this in one day."
So I ask, How much is too much for one day? Will a long day in the life of the characters wreck the immersion of the story?