# Story Timeline Title: ______________________ Series / Book #: ______________________ Author: ______________________ Last updated: ______________________ A story timeline records when everything happens, not just in what order. Order is easy to see in a manuscript; elapsed time is not. This template gives every scene a row with the in-story date and time, how long since the previous scene, where it happens, whose head we are in, who is present, and what changed. Fill in what you know, leave the rest blank, and update it as you draft. *Template by Bunsho (https://www.bunsho.io), the manuscript editor with a built-in continuity checker. Free to use, share, and adapt.* --- ## 1. Time ground rules Set these once. Every other row depends on them. | Question | Your answer | |---|---| | Story start date (or Day 1 label) | | | Story end date (or last day) | | | Total time that passes | | | Calendar used (real, invented, or none) | | | Season at story start | | | Day length, week length, month names (if invented) | | | Typical travel speeds (on foot, horse, car, train, ship) | | | Flashbacks or time jumps: how will they be labelled? | | --- ## 2. Scene timeline One row per scene. If you only keep one table, keep this one. Use a Day number (Day 1, Day 2) when you do not have real dates; you can convert later. | # | Chapter / scene | In-story date | Time of day | Elapsed since previous scene | Location | POV | Present | Who learns what | Notes: travel, injuries, objects, weather | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Copy extra rows as needed. A spreadsheet works well for this table: paste it into Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers. --- ## 3. Worked example An invented mystery, to show how the columns are used. Notice the Elapsed column and the notes: they are where the problems show up. | # | Chapter / scene | In-story date | Time of day | Elapsed since previous scene | Location | POV | Present | Who learns what | Notes: travel, injuries, objects, weather | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Ch 1, harbor office | Day 1, Mon 4 Nov | Early morning | (start) | Port Karrow, harbor office | Ines | Ines, Tobias | Ines learns the ferry log is missing a page | Cold, fog. Ines wears the green coat. Log page torn out. | | 2 | Ch 2, the ferry | Day 1, Mon 4 Nov | Midday | About 5 hours | Ferry to Aldermoor | Ines | Ines, Captain Voss, Tobias | Tobias learns Ines suspects Voss | Crossing takes 4 hours. Ines sprains her left wrist on the gangway. | | 3 | Ch 3, Aldermoor inn | Day 1, Mon 4 Nov | Night | About 8 hours | Aldermoor, The Gull inn | Tobias | Tobias, innkeeper Maren | Maren learns nothing; Tobias learns Voss lodged here last week | Ines absent, resting. Brass key found in Voss's old room. | | 4 | Ch 4, the cliff road | Day 3, Wed 6 Nov | Dusk | About 44 hours | Cliff road, 12 km from Aldermoor | Ines | Ines, Tobias | Ines learns the key opens the lighthouse | On foot, 12 km takes about 3 hours. Wrist still bandaged (2 days since sprain). Rain. | | 5 | Ch 5, the lighthouse | Day 3, Wed 6 Nov | Night | About 3 hours | Aldermoor lighthouse | Ines | Ines, Tobias, Voss | Voss learns they have the key; reader learns Voss lied | Brass key is used here and left in the lock. Ines grips the rail with her right hand. | What the example catches: the 12 km cliff walk takes about 3 hours, so starting at dusk means arriving in the dark, which is why scene 5 is a night scene. The sprained wrist is still bandaged two days later, so it must not be unwrapped in scene 4 or used for climbing in scene 5. The brass key is found in scene 3 and left in the lock in scene 5, so it cannot turn up in Ines's pocket in scene 6. --- ## 4. Travel log Any time a character moves between places, check the distance against the speed. Impossible journeys are one of the most common timeline errors in drafts. | Character | From | To | Distance | Mode of travel | Time it takes | Leaves (scene) | Arrives (scene) | Time that actually passes in the book | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --- ## 5. Character ages and milestones Ages drift when a story spans months or years. Record birthdays once and compute ages per scene. | Character | Birthday | Age at story start | Age at story end | Milestones (births, deaths, anniversaries, weddings) | |---|---|---|---|---| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --- ## 6. Seasons, weather, and the calendar Seasons announce themselves in details readers remember: leaves, daylight, holidays, clothing, harvests. Note the season each part of the book takes place in and any recurring dates. | Part / chapter range | Season and month | Daylight (sunrise / sunset) | Weather | Holidays, festivals, deadlines | |---|---|---|---|---| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --- ## 7. Subplot lanes When subplots run in parallel, give each its own lane and line them up by day. The goal is that two events in different lanes never claim the same character at the same moment. | Day / date | Main plot | Subplot A | Subplot B | Subplot C | Overlaps to check | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --- ## 8. Healing, pregnancy, and other clocks Things that take a fixed time in the real world. Write down when each starts and when the book says it ends. | Clock | Starts (scene) | Should end by | Book says it ends (scene) | Problem? | |---|---|---|---|---| | Injury healing (note the injury) | | | | | | Pregnancy (about 40 weeks) | | | | | | Journey or voyage | | | | | | Deadline, countdown, or ticking clock | | | | | | | | | | | --- ## 9. Contradiction log Every time two entries disagree, record the ruling here so you decide each one once instead of every revision pass. | Scene A | Scene B | The conflict | Ruling (fix A, fix B, or deliberate) | Fixed? | |---|---|---|---|---| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --- ## 10. Habits that keep it alive - Update the row in the same sitting as the scene. Later never comes. - Reverse-outline an existing draft: read each scene once and fill only Date, Time, Elapsed, Location, and Present. Do the other columns on a second pass. - Use Day numbers while drafting. Convert to calendar dates when the story settles. - When a scene reads wrong, check Elapsed first. Time is usually the culprit. *Prefer a timeline that keeps itself? Bunsho builds this record from your manuscript as you write and checks new chapters against it when you ask. https://www.bunsho.io*