When you are finalizing your book and you realize the whole calendar is off!

[Leah]

I finally finished my sequel and did the last brush through before editing to find the sequence of events made no sense in relation to the seasons of the year. I had to go back to the beginning of the book and change the season from Summer to Spring, and from there change each consecutive season appropriately, along with whatever other changes to the story that prompted. Thankfully, most of the story takes place at night and I don’t have to change too many weather descriptions. For example, we have early morning/late night fog throughout much of the year in the east bay.

Does anyone else deal with this? I’m guessing I’m not alone.

[Leah]

Yes, it’s stressful. Then you worry there’s going to be something in the story you didn’t update in relation to changing the timeline. I’ve been using the Find/Replace tool on word to search all references to the time of events. Like the words ‘month, year, summer, spring.’ Ugh.

[Margaret]

I've screwed up too and going back to fix it is no fun! For my current project, I have notes on every chapter with a timeline so I know what day, what week, and how much time has passed. It's helped a lot.

[Leah]

Margaret, that’s a great idea. I’m going to make a timeline while I write my next book. I’m not sure why I didn’t do that to begin with.

[Leah]

Alex, yes, that’s for sure!

[Dwayne, Head of Lettuce]

I had something similar happen. I was recently working on a short story in which the main character had recently separated from his wife. The reason for the separation was that she wanted children and he wasn't ready. The story takes place in 1998.

Thanks to one of my wonderful betas (who is also a wonderful mod named Dan) he caught the grave error in this. This wasn't the first time I'd written about this character and Dan remembered that in another story, he and his wife were eagerly trying to have children shortly after their marriage in 1995.

I like challenges like that, though.

[Leah]

Dwane, I can see how easy it is to miss inconsistencies like that. That’s why beta readers are so helpful for sure. I’m literally pulling my hair out right now fixing the timeline of events. I found a few more timeline boo boos since I posted this. I had July and August instead of March and April in some chapters, the sun setting or rising at the wrong time for the season. I found I had also inserted a whole month of time that didn’t happen between two chapters and had to re-write a few things. I guess while I’m writing the book, I’m forgetting when things take place. Probably because I write slowly over the course of months to years.

[Michelle]

I am doing this very thing in my WIP. I need longer months in some chapters! And more time between some scenes which is going to push the calendar down the road. It is a pain to fix. I'm using a sketch pad with all my scenes listed and what day/month they take place. Found several mistakes this way :( But at least it's still the rough draft and not published.

[Leah]

Michelle, that’s helping me too. And yes, at least it’s not published yet!

[Anne]

That happened to me once, so now I use very detailed timelines, one for each POV character, and I stack them on top of each other to form a grid. The timelines are in weeks or months depending on how much time I cover in the book.

[Leah]

That’s a great idea too, Anne.

[L.K.]

I had quite a few issues in one novel where I had two pregnant characters and one with a new baby. It was the first book where I had it professionally copy-edited and I was really glad I did because she worked out the timeline and occasionally characters were at the wrong stage of their pregnancy and I think someone even gave birth at the wrong time! Thankfully it was fairly straightforward to sort it out, but it has made me much more aware of using timelines in future. My editor also picked up on some finer details like where I'd said the wind was too strong for the time of year it was supposed to be.

For a first draft I don't worry about timeline much, but once I'm getting towards a more final version of the book I go through and note how much time is passing and make sure characters are wearing the right kind of clothes for the time of year, and that the weather and environment is logical for when it's supposed to be. Some books have much more complicated timelines than others, especially when I'm also switching from present day to scenes in the past! Timelines really do help to keep things organised, and I don't think they necessarily need to be super complicated if it's mainly issues to do with making sure the weather and seasons are correct, but it can be a pain I've made an error earlier in the book and then have to make corrections at other points further through the book. I'm just so glad my editor spotted the issues in my book that had all the pregnancies in, that could have ended up a bit embarrassing!

[Anna]

From the look of the response, you are definitely not alone, Leah.

I keep track of every chapter, giving it name of day, plus the date, and the approximate time that things are happening. It's all very detailed but then something needs to happen in the story and oops... back I have to go.

I've just spent two days (about 6 hours) going over the timing again. I've given myself a real headache with this wip. It starts in the middle of the action and goes forward but then jumps back to explain things, then continues from where I started. On top of that, half of it is set in New Zealand where, of course, the seasons are upside down and signs of the seasons are also a little different. And the times are sometimes 12 hours ahead and sometimes 11 hours. As the hero goes back and forth by plane (needing connections), it's become complicated. Plus the pregnant lady and getting her to have the baby when the hero is around!

Google now thinks I am planning to fly round the world and sends me appropriate ads. It never sends me any for guns though - phew!

[Tomas, Wandering dreamer]

I admit I give this a lot of attention in my drafts - there are times when I remove a passage but use some part of it elsewhere - often during a different season which means I have to be careful checking things like that - even if it's small mention of leaves turning red which suddenly doesn't make sense if the scene was moved to the spring of another year.

In the draft I just finished, there were many scenes shuffled around as collateral damage from the cuts and changes I made so I'll need to check and re-draw my timeline pretty soon.

[Leah]

L.k., Anna, and Tomas, it definitely seems I’m not alone in this! I spent the whole day yesterday going through the story, fixing and rearranging things that were off or not consistent. I have a feeling today will be the same. Thankfully, I took two days off this week and next week. I’ll also be sending my book in to my professional editor before the 18th. I think I’m definitely going to set up a timeline during the first draft of my next book, even if it’s a very simple one. Otherwise, it causes way more stress than I’d like at this point. When I’m getting closer to publishing, I prefer spending time on smoothing syntax and grammar out, not rewriting parts of the story! Not if I can help it anyway. And only if it truly needs a facelift.

[Valerie]

This thread makes me feel so much better about the time I had to spend days going through a story fixing the wonky timeline! Looks like it's happened to us all at some point. I learnt my lesson, as many have said, and now have a timeline that I add to as I go along so I know what day/week/month/year I'm in (depends on the span of the story, obviously). There is no other way... and even then, because nobody's perfect, myself or my beta usually find an inconsistency eventually! But hey, isn't editing fun? lol

[Wanjiru]

Leah wrote: "L.k., Anna, and Tomas, it definitely seems I’m not alone in this! I spent the whole day yesterday going through the story, fixing and rearranging things that were off or not consistent. I have a fe..."

That's a great idea to send the ms to a professional editor. I had a similar experience a couple of months ago. My beta readers hadn't caught some of my inconsistencies. I was floored and thankful when my developmental editor caught them and moved things around.

[Leah]

Valerie, I feel a lot better too! Only part of editing is fun lol.

[Leah]

Wanjiru, I agree. Editing is well spent money, in my opinion.

[Debra]

You are not alone. I have gotten seasons backward, and characters confused especially when you try and write two books simultaneously. Maddening.

[Leah]

Debra, yes. Quite literally maddening lol.

[B.A.]

I am double checking on my book which is on preorder to make sure I got the timeline straight. I had to change it as there was a glitch in the time of day for the event I was using. I had to move the time from winter to summer. It meant changing a lot of scenes and all the headings for the chapters. I'm glad I caught it before the actual publishing.

[Leah]

B.A., that is a pretty significant difference in climate lol. I think California’s somewhat erratic weather saved me from too many changes when it came to weather descriptions. When it came to the college school year and holidays, that’s where I ran into problems.

[Micah]

I've not screwed up a timeline (yet) but because I'm a pantster rather than a planner (or in GRRM's terms, a gardener rather than an architect), I keep having to rearrange the timeline in one of my in-progress works. I write some new stuff and realize that it's not logical for some of my previous scenes to come before the new stuff.

Thankfully, the way I'm writing in Scrivener makes it easy to rearrange stuff. But I still have to make sure I account for any time mentioned in the sections moved.

It's like a jigsaw puzzle that gets created as I put it together.

[Roxanna]

I haven't messed up any timelines as of yet, either. I think because I cannot write a story if I don't have at least a preliminary timeline. Also, I've done only short stories so far, I guess it is much easier to keep the time right than in a novel.

[Leah]

I can definitely see how having a timeline before you start writing may be a good idea. On the other hand, my writing style is naturally unorganized I guess. I don’t like to have a fixed timeline, especially in the beginning. I like the story to write itself as it goes. But then again, with that method, I tend to run into things I have to restructure in the end!

[W.]

I have not had to deal with it because of the construction of my books. The climaxes are almost always set by some astronomical event (full moon, new moon, etc). Thus I set T=0 and everything else moves around that date.

[Roxanna]

Leah, I think these are two extremes but I believe in finding the sweet spot for a particular story; some want to be written mostly in one way and some other. I am neither a fan of strict outlines and stories that are planned top to bottom; paraphrasing what you said, too much structure ahead of time kills the joy of discovering the story as one is writing. However, I don't deny myself any tools that can help me with with what I need to help me write under some circumstances. And rewriting is inevitable anyway. ;-)

[Leah]

I agree, Roxanne. I actually had a simple outline that I added to as I wrote. I just didn’t have a timeline with a calendar. I will most likely have a second simple outline with a timeline too next time.

[B.A.]

If you write a book with a specific event as the focal point and it happens on a specific day, You need to be more strict in you time line. Normally, I give a general season and go from there but in the one book, it is based on the blood moon eclipse in 2015 which took place on Sept. 27, 2015...that is very specific. I changed to that specific event as it fit the book better but that meant going from winter to fall. The book takes place over two months, so I had to change some scenes as the university classes didn't start until the last week of August, the difference in temperature, etc.

I prefer using a general season and not getting so specific on the dates, days of the week, year, etc. as it does take away a lot of the flexibility when you begin to write.

[Leah]

B.A., I too find it easier not to write around specific dates. I do often use certain days of the week now and then, when it’s important for a specific scene. I actually started writing my book leading up to a certain event that only happens during September. The reason I had to go back and change summer to spring was because I’d gotten the event month wrong originally. It’s important to me to be historically accurate, even if it’s a real yearly event in contemporary times. That’s also why I’m going to have a timeline for my next book if a specific event and date is important for the development of the story. I’ll need to check dates before my book writes itself.

[Ian]

My most embarrassing example was some time ago. I wrote a novel and part of it had the fall of the Soviet Union in 2018. I sent the script off to a publisher and the Soviet Union collapsed in transit. Oops.

[Leah]

Ian, so you’re behind the fall of the Soviet Union? Jk

[W.G.]

Yeah, that can ruin your day. I'm working on a military suspense novel set in 1975 with major scenes taking place on the Barcelona subway the night Generalissimo Franco died. Of course, I got the date wrong, didn't realize it until after the scene was finalized and then had to redo that scene, many of the scenes that led to the subway scene, and the scenes after it. I have no advice other than make sure your dates are good before you finalize your work, that and keep a hammer around to boink yourself on the head when you make such a lame mistake.

[Dwayne, Head of Lettuce]

This just in, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead. Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow. -- Chevy Chase

THIS JUST IN, GENERALISSIMO FRANCISCO FRANCO IS STILL DEAD. GOOD NIGHT AND HAVE A PLEASANT TOMORROW. -- Garrett Morris

[Leah]

W.G., yes! Boink.

[Leah]

Dwayne, ha.

[W.G.]

Yeah, I remember those sketches, back in the day when I still had hair.

[Leah]

Hair is overrated, W.G. That should be the title of your next book. 🙃

[W.G.]

'Hair is overrated.' That'd be a good title for a book about an aging hippie, such as myself, or maybe a book about the Marines

[W.G.]

A semi-related question. I'm wrapping up a navy suspense novel. I've organized it into chapters with one or more scenes. The chapters are introduced by date/time and location (eg: 14 Sept 2019 / USS Endeavor, 20 nautical miles ssw of Norfolk, VA.) In a multi-scene chapter, the 2nd scene is introduced by six dashes in the first line (eg: ------) followed by the actual writing. QUESTION - If the second scene takes place at a subsequent time, or a different location, should I get rid of the dashes and instead use a date / time stamp and / or new location line at the top of the 2nd scene? What works best?

[Leah]

I don’t really understand entirely, but I’d think it’s best to be consistent.

[Deborah]

I was working on the third book in my trilogy into 2001, and then 9-11 happened. Plus I was home schooling my kids, who then in 2006 and 2010 went to college...and then I got a part time office manager job at the POA I live in. It took until 2016 for me to begin on the book again and finished in 2018. Folks, you never know...

[Dwayne, Head of Lettuce]

W.G. wrote: "In a multi-scene chapter, the 2nd scene is introduced by six dashes in the first line (eg: ------) followed by the actual writing. QUESTION - If the second scene takes place at a subsequent time, or a different location, should I get rid of the dashes and instead use a date / time stamp and / or new location line at the top of the 2nd scene? What works best?"

I'm confused. Are the second scene and the 2nd scene the same scene? I'm not seeing anything about a first, third, etc. scene, so calling each scene second is throwing me off. What purpose do the dashes serve in the first place?

[L.K.]

W.G. wrote: "A semi-related question. I'm wrapping up a navy suspense novel. I've organized it into chapters with one or more scenes. The chapters are introduced by date/time and location (eg: 14 Sept 2019 / US..."

I sometimes have a similar situation to what you are describing, where I have a shift in time or character POV that is dramatic enough I will put in a subheading with the character name / time etc within the chapter. The scenes are too short to be considered chapters in their own right, but different enough that a normal chapter divider (like the three dots centered on the page) isn't sufficient. In my books this usually only happens near the end when a lot of events are happening extremely fast.

In your case, if you are frequently needing these shifts in time and location within a chapter I would suggest having an overall chapter number or name, and then scene headings, eg:
Chapter One
Location/time
Text
Location/time
Text

Chapter Two
Location/time
Text
Location/time
Text...etc

I'm suggesting this as I feel using location and time as your chapter heading and then also using it to divide up chapters could be confusing. I think you need a separate chapter heading, then location and time subheadings. If it is very important for readers to know when and where you are talking about I wouldn't use dashes to represent these shifts, I would just tell them when and where the action is about to take place.

Of course, I haven't read your book, so I can't really say for sure, but this was my immediate reaction to the situation you described and the genre of book you've written.

[B.A.]

Keep it consistent. In my one book, I put in the date and add the time when it is needed to break up the scene when POV changes. On chapter is broken down by specific hours due to what is happening.

Consistency so they know what to expect.

[Leah]

When my books change POV, I also title the chapter with that character’s name.