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Creating a timeline for my story
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[deleted user]
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Jan 24, 2016 05:41PM
I'm writing a fantasy story and I need to make a timeline for myself. My main character is 190,000 years old and I need a visual timeline for when she met different characters in her past. Anyone know a good and free way to make a timeline. I use a Mac if it matters.
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It you want it to be really 'visual', as in pretty, then this option will not be that attractive.
Wow, that's a very ambitious project! CB's probably got the right idea with regard to a spreadsheet. You may want to do separate tabs even by century or millennium, depending on how long the other characters your MC has met live(d). You can make a "boring" spreadsheet but then use the drawing tools and maybe even macros to create something spiffy. Or you can make it in a spreadsheet, print it, and then draw it graphically using Powerpoint or something similar.
Yeah, there will probably be fairly large gaps, unfortunately I have to do some research into early human history so I make sure I get all my facts right. I think a spreadsheet will be the best, at least for now. I can color code each entry that way to keep track of historical events of significance and events that take place in my story, no need for separate time lines that way. Thank you
I had a timeline for my first series and I used a spreadsheet. Another fun thing you can do if you're looking for something offline is to put up a string or wire along a bare wall and get some clothes pins and index cards. This allows you to move events around.
Christina wrote: "I had a timeline for my first series and I used a spreadsheet. Another fun thing you can do if you're looking for something offline is to put up a string or wire along a bare wall and get some clot..."
I'm actually moving this weekend, but once I get settled I may have to try that. I know I have plenty of yarn (I knit, though lately I haven't been able to do much)
I'm actually moving this weekend, but once I get settled I may have to try that. I know I have plenty of yarn (I knit, though lately I haven't been able to do much)
Christina wrote: "I had a timeline for my first series and I used a spreadsheet. Another fun thing you can do if you're looking for something offline is to put up a string or wire along a bare wall and get some clot..."Old fashion. I like it! :-)
The original post made me wonder if you're talking about capturing a timeline for your own use - working notes to help line up events and keep the story straight - or a pretty version for publication.For working notes, a spreadsheet works well. I use Excel (or a simple table in Word) to keep track of story events, and if necessary a larger-scale timeline for backstory. Each row represents whatever unit of time makes sense - a day, a year, ...
I do like the thought of the line of yarn, though. Sometimes it helps to have something physical to play around with. Similar approach would be to mark up a big sheet of paper with your time axis (rule lines to show 10k year divisions or something) and add events on small post-it notes so you can move then around as needed.
If you need to produce something presentable, though, you probably need some kind of drawing package. I know I could easily knock something decent up in Visio or iDraw, for example.
No it's just for my own notes so I can use it for backstory
Christina wrote: "Another fun thing you can do if you're looking for something offline is to put up a string or wire along a bare wall and get some clothes pins and index cards. This allows you to move events around. "I'd love to be able to do something like this, but with toddlers in the house? Unlikely! :p
Since all my stories take place in one fictional universe, a timeline is necessary. I don't use any special software to do it. I know when the stories take place so I listed them all with dates and arranged them in order. You can see an example of it on my websitehttp://wordboy1.wix.com/wordboyswords...
I'll be updating this as new stories are completed.
I had a link to a website that lets you create a timeline with your own events, but I'm at work and don't have my notebook.However, I don't remember how well it let you export/print what you created, so I like the spreadsheet suggestion.
Will look for that link when I get home.
We use a spreadsheet, but I tend to think a bunch of cards tacked to a wall that could be moved around easily would be better -- easier to grasp at a glance and keep the "big picture" readily available. Just take photos of it to "back it up" in case a cat (or other being) decides to make editorial changes to it. There is also story-boarding software out there, but that may not be a good fit. I've never used it personally; just heard about from friends who've done video production.
Samantha wrote: "Yeah, there will probably be fairly large gaps, unfortunately I have to do some research into early human history so I make sure I get all my facts right. I think a spreadsheet will be the best, at..."That's kind of an interesting idea considering "civilization" is only about 10k years old give or take. Most of the timeline you'll explore the hunter-gatherer aspect, the migration out of Africa, the last ice age, the transition from hunter-gatherer to farmer.
Hi,I love spreadsheets but, with a timeline, there can be so many inter-connections between characters, I don't think spreadsheets cut it. I prefer to use mind mapping, where the map travels from left to right. Each "bubble" can be an event of sort and colour coding and flags allow you to indicate which character or place is involved. You can also link one bubble to another to show interactions.
There are lots of expensive software out there you can choose from but there's a really good freebie called "FreeMind" which is Java-based so it should run on a Mac.
Just a thought ...
Bill
You might want to look into mind mapping software as well. There are a bunch of them, some cheap, some (like MindView) very expensive. BUT, they're flexible and look like they could be really good for quick updates and intuitive editing. Spreadsheets are all well and good, but they're not the best visually and tend to be fairly formalized as far as their UI goes.
Oh...looks like there are a couple of online software options. I've not tried these, but did find:http://www.timeglider.com/
http://www.timetoast.com/
Yesss! Timeglider was the link I was going to dig up for you. Thanks, Micah!
Has anyone used Aeon Timeline? I'm just looking into that one:http://www.scribblecode.com/index.html
I found yWriter5 very appealing. I haven't used it too much, but you're able to pretty much everything. Characters, locations, objects, and you could probably create a timeline by separating the chapters/scenes. I don't think it has a specific timeline feature, unfortunately. It's on spacejock.com... for some reason the link doesn't work when I try to post it here.
An author friend of mine just told me about software for an interactive timeline from Tiki Toki, http://www.tiki-toki.com/. It is not free, and I can't vouch for it, but she seems pleased with it and it sounds intriguing.
