Timing Troubles

This happens to me all the time!

What I do is plot out an excel spreadsheet with my chapter, scene and a brief description and then a column for time/date/phase of the moon, etc. That way I can keep track of whether I've stuck to a timeline that makes sense.

I also do a character spreadsheet that shows all of their descriptions, when they appear in the story and their relationship to the other characters.

In addition to being excellent Writing Avoidance Techniques, these spreadsheets can sometimes come in handy!

TheIT said:

How much of your plotting relies on the timing of events?

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I'm basing my WIP on actual events during the Pacific War, so yes, I need to time it right. For example, I had characters doing things, etc. between the time the Japanese invaded the Pacific (basically the same day as Pearl Harbor) and then the sinking of the HSS Repulse (a few days later). So it's a challenge to fit everything in that time line (especially since some travel is involved and people back then simply didn't travel fast).

It takes some research, planning, and fine-tuning, but it's possible. Or else, I'd have to rethink my plot.

Well, there don't seem to be breaks for eating and sleeping in some books that have made it pretty big (Dan Brown). But you could probably do a spreadsheet for that, too, or a list of some kind.

I do a sort of spreadsheet - and use different coloured pens for each character. I find that helps to keep track of what they are up to and that they are not in two different places at the same time! It also stops me from doing idiot things - like having a character pop up in a pub a couple of days after I've killed them off!

I had this problem in my current WIP - two timelines that need to converge and when I changed one part, the knock on effect was awful.

I printed out the offending part and chopped the scenes / parts of scenes up, then reordered them so the time ran correctly. Only took a little bit of cut and paste and some smoothing and bingo!

I also use something called Timeline 3D to work out the time lines. Pretty useful -- more so than spreadsheet since it's visual.

Yep, mine involves travel and police finding bodies and my MC basically kidnapping a lot of folks, so the timeline matters a lot.

The situations also get more bizarre [dark comedy] because of new problems piling on old ones. So the order matters a lot, too.

The reader won't see it, but I honestly know when every character would get hungry, etc

maestrowork my spread sheets are very visual! Usually A3 size and scribbles all over everywhere! But the Timeline 3D sounds very interesting ... I'll go and see if I can find it somewhere - so thanks for the info!

TheIT said:

How much of your plotting relies on the timing of events?

I'm currently revising my first draft. I ended up changing the order of some events which seemed like a great idea at the time, but the changes are forcing further repercussions to later events in the story. At this point, I'm still trying to hold onto the original storyline, but I'm also trying to go with the flow and see whether the story might be better if I play around with what happens first.

Anybody else run into timing troubles on later drafts?

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I'm a "pantser" so I run into this a lot when I write. One of these days I'll make it easier on myself and actually outline something.

I'm dealing with it now. I had to include a subplot, but because of the very tight timeline, there wasn't really a place for it. So I've had to rethink the timeline.

I ended up making a timeline chart on paper--just four columns labeled for each day, written in pencil. This layout was my starting point, though I just put the events in the columns and used days. Then I wrote down the major events where I thought they should go. Twp particular events was giving me a lot of problem because I was following the timeline for an auction and its pre-exhibition viewing based on research. I finally decided to fudge it and moved the auction a little later.

The first day was way too crowded, so I bumped the last two events to the next day. Most of the second day got bumped to the third day to free up space for the subplot, and I moved up some much later events into the second day. But in addition to being able to get the subplot in, the story started to fit together better. Most of the changes have been to add the missing subplots (now two).

Mapping it out on paper first made a big difference because I could see how it was impacting the story before looking at it from ground level.

Yep, I'm still in the outlining process for this one particular WIP, but timing certainly matters. My MC needs to arrive at a certain location in time to hear an attack take place and the attacker needs enough time to actually do it and get themselves a good alibi. Then I've also got to work out locations and alibis for all other people and suspects for the story to work.

Since it's a screenplay, my timing matters a lot, because if I do it wrong, filming it would be a disaster...

I dealt with it in my last novel--a very complex thing with three different storylines that have to converge. So... yeah. I nearly had a nervous breakdown.

What I do is have a big cork board in my office. Each chapter has a 3x5 card. I use them to track what goes where and when. I can track things as they happen, move things around, etc. And it's very visual, so I like it. Worked for me, anyway.

Spreadsheets and creative use of Visio does it for me when I need precision plotting. If the work is based on any historical event then it becomes even more critical.

Great thread! I'm running into the exact same problem right now, and I never considered using a spreadsheet. I've thought about making a mock calendar to track events, though.

TheIt - at least you understand that there is a time line in your book. I read somewhere that a lot of authors don't realize this or even think about how time passes in a novel.

Doodlebug said:

TheIt - at least you understand that there is a time line in your book. I read somewhere that a lot of authors don't realize this or even think about how time passes in a novel.

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No kidding! I read one book that didn't have any timeline. It was just one long day, even though all the events couldn't have possibly happened in one day.