This chapter is going to contain one – yes, just one – tip on how to keep track of your characters and plot. The concept I’m going to introduce to you will probably be a new one – a timeline table.
Yes, people, I’m going to show you how to make yet another useful table. You can see a small version of it in the multimedia section or click on the link in the first comment for the larger and more detailed one.
Why I don’t just put the larger one in the multimedia section?
Because the scale will be wrong; the picture will get smaller and will be unreadable. Keep that in mind when you post your banners.
So now for the table.
What do I call a timeline table?
Well, it’s a table in which I include the names of the chapters along with a brief description of each of them.
Do you make the timeline table before or after you finish a story?
I make it as I work on the book. I start a new chapter, I add it to the timeline.
How many columns should a timeline table have?
I use four but you can make your own versions of the timeline tabble.
Column #1. Here you write a number which corresponds to a day. Number one is day one, number two is day two, etc. This will help you if you need to remember how much time has passed between two events.
Column #2. Here you write the days of the week. This will help you if you need to remember which day an event took place.
Column #3. Here you write the name of your chapter and/or its number.
Column #4. Here you write a brief description of the chapter.
How many rows should a timeline table have?
As many days as your story. You can start with thirty and then add more rows when needed.
So let’s say that your story starts on Monday (you can add a specific date if you want) and the second chapter takes place on Friday. In chapter one, your main characters meet and they arrange a date for Friday. Here’s how your timeline table will look:
Column #1 | Column #2 | Column # 3 | Column #4
Day 1 | Monday | Chapter 1 | Mandy meets Joe while walking her dog in the park
Day 2 | Tuesday | |
Day 3 | Wednesday | |
Day 4 | Thursday | |
Day 5 | Friday | Chapter 2 | Mandy meets Joe at the restaurant; they fall in love
Day 6 | Saturday | |
And so on, and so on. I know this looks messy here but if you see the screenshots from timeline tables I’ve made (again, in the multimedia and the comments), you’ll see they look much neater.
What if your story starts with a prologue describing events prior than those in the book?
You can start with a zero. In the first column on the first row, write 0 or Day 0 and write your prologue. Then on the first column on the next row, write 1 or Day 1 and give us the events from the present. Here’s how the table will look:
Column #1 | Column #2 | Column # 3 | Column #4
Day 0 | Ten years earlier | Prologue | Mandy’s parents split up; Mandy is devastated
Day 1 | Monday | Chapter 1 | Mandy meets Joe while walking her dog in the park
Day 2 | Tuesday | |
Day 3 | Wednesday | |
Day 4 | Thursday | |
Day 5 | Friday | Chapter 2 | Mandy meets Joe at the restaurant
Do you have to start from Monday?
Of course not; start from whichever day you want.
And what if you write a chapter and then skip to two months later? Should you leave sixty empty rows between those chapters?
Of course you don’t have to do that! You don’t have to have empty rows. If your Chapter 1 takes place on Day 1 (let’s say Tuesday) but your Chapter 2 takes place on Day 15, you can do this:
Column #1 | Column #2 | Column # 3 | Column #4
Day 1 | Monday | Chapter 1 | Mandy goes on a vacation
Day 15 | Monday | Chapter 2 | Mandy returns home
Day 18 | Thursday | Chapter 3 | Mandy finds a job
It’s a bit difficult to calculate which day of the week it is this way, otherwise it makes for a neater timeline table.
What if you don’t mention a particular day? Or if one chapter has events from two or more days?
Let’s say Mandy woke up on Monday morning, went to the park with her dog and the met Joe. They knew each other from high school but haven’t seen each other for a while so they decide to have dinner together on Friday. Mandy says goodbye to Joe and goes on to do whatever she does on Monday. You write about her going to bed and then in the same chapter you write about her waking up. You don’t mention the day but since it’s the next one, it’s obviously Tuesday. So you write about her Tuesday (maybe she visits her sister), end the chapter and then start a new (third) one that takes place on Friday. How will the timeline table look then?
Column #1 | Column #2 | Column # 3 | Column #4
Day 1 | Monday | Chapter 1 | Mandy meets Joe while walking her dog in the park
Day 2 | Tuesday | Chapter 1 | Mandy visits her sister
Day 5 | Friday | Chapter 2 | Mandy meets Joe at the restaurant; they fall in love
Day 6 | Saturday | |
Still don’t get it? Look at the pictures!
And you still don’t get it? Comment on what is unclear and I’ll try to explain it!
Have a great time wattpading, everyone!
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