Timelining
by paintpastel

So, what is timelining, you might ask? It's exactly like it sounds; dealing with the timeline in your stories. When writing any book, it is vital to consider one of the most important things that make up our world; time.

Time is behind everything, in reality and in worldbuilding. What would society be without a timeframe? We wouldn't know when to wake ourselves up for the day ahead, or how long we have for every task we undertake. Time ages us, time loses us, and sometimes, time can help us. Our world today wouldn't be able to function without the aid of a clock.

The same goes for the characters in your story. Yes, fictional clocks do exist. And without time, there would be no objective for our hero or heroine. In most books of the action genre, time is running out, whereas in a romance, the characters often wish they had more time to spend together. Look at science fiction; time-travel is often a vital plot device that the characters discover and navigate through.

But why bother about factoring time at all? It's only fiction.

That's the first mistake many authors are in danger of making. I first didn't bother with keeping time, and I almost immediately fell into plot holes. Time is essential for the setting; is your book set in the past, future or present, for a start. What comes with this time period? Will serious issues crop up that are key to that year or decade? And that's before considering the fandom you're writing about – are you going to stick with the time period the characters live in, or are you thinking about writing an AU?

What problems or benefits will come from this time period? Say you were writing a romance between two male or two female characters, they might experience homophobia if they were in the 1800s, or they could find community and acceptance in the year 2050. The same goes for race, gender and other topics that would be sensitive 100 years ago.

The background of the protagonist, secondary characters and even the antagonist also involves time, and finally – timelining. What happened to a character to make them who they are today, and what events had an effect on the other characters in the story? This is where you do need to make up a timeline of some sort, whether it be a list on your phone (which I am guilty of) or a diagram in your favourite notebook. It is preferable to make your list along with where all your plans and drafts are, just so you know where everything is and to make it easier for yourself when referring back to information.

But what do you mean about a 'timeline'?

When I say timeline, you're probably thinking about some horizontal diagram you see in history books, but that's not what I'm talking about, not really. It can look however you like – a list or a diagram, like I said – but it has to be something you can add to. That's why I use my phone, as I can move events around pretty easily, and I don't have to take up lots of paper. My timeline is essentially my overall plan, as I know where the story is going, and if I see a gap in said timeline, I can just fill it in.

How complex does this timeline need to be?

Well, it depends. If you already have descriptive notes, then you just need to refer to those, but if this is all new, try to plan in chronological order for both yours and your story's sakes. Another factor is the complexity of the story itself – if you're only writing a one-shot, you have a very easy job, but if you're starting a huge series, then you need to be prepared. Log everything important you write in your story that could have consequences in later chapters, just so you don't have to go through every single previous chapter (that can be time consuming when you've written about 50 chapters already).

But why is this relevant in my fanfiction?

This is where the stigma of fanfiction can get in the way of really great writing. I am an aspiring author myself, and I hope to publish fantasy and adventure books in hardback, but for now I love to write fanfiction. I don't see why the same time and effort can't go into fanfiction, even if it is online and inspired by other media. So, as I would do with any book, I plan and timeline and draft to make sure my story is something I would be happy to sell in book stores and to promote in real life.

Timelining is key to this – if my OC is using technology that hasn't come out yet, or has a flashback to her childhood in a year where she couldn't possibly be alive for the age she is, then I desperately need to revise my writing. A common mistake is getting tangled with flashbacks, as they can be hard to keep track of and stay true to the character – if you're writing Steve Rogers as someone who was into Fortnite as a child in your Captain America fic, you've made a pretty big mistake.

The scale of the fandom you're writing about is also key with timelines. TV series like Riverdale have less canon content to go off; Riverdale is only associated and linked with Archie Comics, and Riverdale isn't linked to any other TV shows or films (except maybe Sabrina the Teenage Witch) and thus there is one established world you can stick to. However, fandoms like Harry Potter, Marvel and DC have a whole Universe of characters, stories, locations and events to explore, and so you have to account all of that in too while devising your events for your timeline.

For instance, my first fanfiction was one about Arrow, a DC superhero, but I incorporated elements and characters from other DC shows and comics such as the Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. Although the volume of the Universe could bog me down or challenge me, as I often found it difficult to fit my original character and her timeline around the timelines of the many other characters, it also gave me a lot of characters to play with, especially if I was struggling to name and develop one of my villains or background characters.

How do I go about timelining, then?

Well, first, look at your story as a whole. What key events happen at the start and end? These, obviously, are what begin and finish the timeline of your story. Note these down, with relevant characters, places and times (I try to use a date as specifically possible, for example, May 2018). Now you have somewhere to start and somewhere to end, we have to look at everything that goes on in between. What are the most important events in your story? Start with those. Add in their dates – if you're being specific – and why this event affects your main character.

For instance, if you're writing a Harry Potter fanfiction, is it the day Harry Potter arrives at Hogwarts? Whether Harry is your protagonist or not, I'm sure his arrival will affect your Harry Potter fanfiction in some way. For Marvel fans, is it the day the wormhole opens over New York City? How will your characters react? Where were they and what were they doing when they saw or heard about the wormhole?
You get the gist.

Anyway, like I said earlier, how you set out your timeline is up to you. The only thing you need to remember while writing your story is adding to your timeline. Before you know it, you've written 10 chapters without logging them, and then you have to amend your mistake all at once, painstakingly looking back at everything you missed off.

Not only is a timeline important to know what's happened in your story so far, but for peace of mind. You don't have to keep checking your past chapters to see if a character has or hasn't told another character something vital for the story, or if your protagonist found out that important thing about their antagonist. Plot holes are easy to see, especially to your audience, and they make your characters and your story on a whole less authentic. Take my story – I often had to look back at things I had forgotten to note down, such as who my main character had revealed her superhero persona to.

Once you have added the important events of your story to your timeline, you then need to look at the events of the show, movie or book that would happen during your own story. Again, Harry Potter – the first and last book have a very different sequence of events, and the characters act differently in both books too. Once you know what events you're dealing with, you can then look at how your story and the original story of the fandom could link or play alongside each other.

Is your OC going to be a love interest or fellow hunter in your Supernatural fanfiction? If so, how would that work? Would they have to be a demon hunter before becoming a love interest, or is Dean Winchester going to flirt with your protagonist at a bar first?

Considering everything I have written above, there is one last thing you need to remember – enjoy writing! Crafting a timeline is one of my favourite parts of writing; knowing where you're going with your fanfiction gives me at least some reassurance, and it helps when you have a dozen other ideas whizzing round your brain too.

How have you set the time in your fanfiction?