FIXING TIMELINE ERRORS // a writing vlog 

Library item return: Insert ONE item at a time. Kate: Ain’t nobody got time for that

I went though 10 pages of just "hey, read over your stuff to see how it looks" last weekend and...OMG editing is going to make me cry.

I haven't gotten far enough in writing yet to have timeline errors, but now it's something I'll keep in mind with the outline.

Who else has timeline errors throughout every single book or story they have written? Is it just me?

"Ooooh, I can color code it!" I've never related to you more😂

I do outline my projects (except short stories) and, indeed, I've never experienced difficulties with my timelines, because I figure it all out before I write the very first sentence. I would NEVER jump into a multi-chaptered project without an outline. I refuse! XD

I don't typically read YA (just not my preference) but I can't wait to read this! I love that you're bringing us along on this journey

Not to be totally off topic, but I really thought you were putting whipped cream on chicken for a hot minute 😂

Early in my first draft, I usually print out a calendar for when the story is set. I need to know when things are happening. In my middle-grade fantasy, I had to write out the calendar because it's different from ours! About names - have you ever taken the time to watch the credits of the movies or shows you're watching? They're really good places to find both first and last names.

I usually end up with timeline VAGUENESS. In which I was too scared to make timeline errors, so was reaaalllly non-specific about what days things were happening. What I do (always) have is injury inconsistencies. My characters will get pretty badly injured, and then after it being half-heartedly mentioned in the next scene, I'll completely forget to plan out their recovery. Plus I hate doing the medical research, so before revisions the injury will just be a vague 'problem with her leg'. Like, what does that mean, past Phoebe? A cut? A fracture? An infection? These things have vastly different consequences.

I enjoy watching your videos because when I'm having trouble facing my own fiction writing, I feel like I've got someone to listen to about their writing situations. I've been writing for decades, and have a hard time talking to anyone about my writing. Thanks!

I've only found you recently and I truly thank you and your writing experiments and shenanigans! Your infectious attitude has helped me get back to the keyboard again!

Oh my goodness, I feel you on the timeline issues!! I'm working on a King Arthur fantasy and I had to write out the before timeline (like all the important Arthur dates) the current time line for my book, and future timelines. I also just moved my story back 300 years, which helped everything click right into place, but man. I had to change so much.

I absolutely love Aeon Timeline! I used to have a lot of timeline errors until I started using that. Now as long as I remember to fill in Aeon Timeline as I'm writing, it's much easier to catch things before it's a whole manuscript full of errors 😅 I have only tried connecting it to Scrivener once, I don't love that feature because it doesn't work the way I would have liked, but still, they work really well using separately, too :)

i was literally stressing over the fact that my writing project has so many timeline errors when this video popped up in my feed... it will forever be a constant struggle

I have timeline errors often, particularly because I like to include multiple POVs and matching up this person's schedule with that ones is super tough. Keep up the good work!

I'm in the middle of a first draft and i'm just realizing how many timeline errors i could potentially have...uh oh. That's a problem for another draft! and i totally agree with you about the character names!! I have two major "ie" character names but I'm SO attached to both and I'm trying to decide if I can live with it hahaha

Okay dude what the hell? This vlog is so confusing but so satisfying lol

That was fun seeing your process. Looks like you have a pretty complex timeline for your story. I don't tend to have big timeline issues because 1) I'm a huge outliner, and 2) my stories tend to be set over a fairly short period of time.

1. I actually have a timeline taped to my wall for my current WIP, Project Bakery. It's my only outline but I've been working on it for a month and moving things around constantly. 2. In romances I have to stop myself from naming characters names that start with J. It definitely stems from the fact that the person I had a crush on for three years has a name that starts with a J, and so I subconsciously implement that into all of my romantic interests. The romantic interest of Project Bakery, Julie I'm allowing because it's the only name that I feel fits her perfectly because she was named Julie very early in her conception.

I love using WorldAnvil to figure that stuff out. It has a lot of those same features and it’s free

Timline errors are one of the biggest pain in the asses to correct when editing in my opinion.

Timelines are the death of me! I do like that program! I think it's a little too "much" for me when I like more simplicity, but I can see that totally solving so many problems!! I can't wait to see how Thanksgiving turns out in Project Purple!

I just realised how creepy this is, but when you show pages I always pause to read them, I'm just so hyped up to see the book.

Omg AEON Timeline is absolutely amazing! Worth it!

Congrats on figuring it out!!!

I am a pantser, but thus far my books have taken place over pretty short timelines. I also keep a running timeline in a separate document as I go, which helps me keep track. But this has reminded me that several days have gone by in the book I’m drafting since I last updated that timeline! I’ll have to go back and do that today. Thanks!

The timeline problem is so hard because you have to have like a spreadsheet or completed document in front of you because it’s so hard to keep everything in your head. I saw a comment on one of your videos and I think I’m gonna print a calendar and fill it out for my story as part of the outline next time. Watching your videos has actually helped a lot as far as figuring out all the planning I need to do for my sequel to make it easier on myself. Thanks for the video it was nice to know I’m not alone in major timeline issues!

Yay! Another writing vlog! Always a pleasure to see one of these! Revising is one of the hardest parts of writing. Best of luck, because we all want to read project purple!!

You know how much I love Aeon Timeline! Now we can both gush about it lol! I actually use it before I even start my novels. You can export the entire timeline as a line-by-line single page image, then I put that image into Scrivener. It's so nice having the timeline actually in Scrivener so I don't have to toggle between the two programs when I have to look something up (which is often hahaha!) I am so excited to read this book! Eep!

Really enjoying seeing other people's way of writing, it shows how little time I put into it but I guess I've just started and only decided to do it as a pass time when I'm away on deployment. Timelines are not something I have considered about much but as it stands I haven't used any specific dates or events situated around a certain time of year, but definitely realised after watching this video that it is something I should think about later down the line. Also, have to say your nervous laugh is very endearing and that I hope Spurs win on Saturday (can't remember which video it was I saw you watching the semi-final in )

Timeline errors can be sooo annoying. It wasn't until I started writing the sequel to a book I wrote when I was younger that I realised the timeline meant the huge event (mass murder) at the end of the first book had taken place on CHRISTMAS DAY. And so I had to come up with some stuff about how the main character had been too stuck in the events leading up to it to really pay attention to the festivities, and actually had no idea what the date was. It was such a mess.

KATE I NEEDED THIS VIDEO! my novel needed some fixing because I didnt even know when stuff was happening!

Hi Kate! New viewer here, and I just want to say that you motivate me to get my stuff done! I use Microsoft Word to edit for continuity errors. I typically change the color of the font and color code things I need to do as I write. Blue: Transition problems (As in one scene doesn't connect to the next and additional words need to be added. Most of the time, I'm not satisfied with the scene because of transition problems.) Orange: Deletions (something I'm thinking about deleting but needs to be read over first) Green: Move (If I write something I like but it doesn't belong in a scene, then I see if I can move it somewhere else. This could be one sentence or one line of dialogue that needs to be moved.) Purple: Diction/ syntax (Typically this is awkward wording that needs to be changed)

In my story I have a Lily and a Lucy, and I mix them up all the dang time. I also have a Jude, Janice, and Jack. And then there are the main characters' parents, and I can never remember who's who. I totally understand the too close names problem

Hi, Kate! Dude, that program looks totally dope! I'm one of those who keeps timelines sorted in my head as I'm writing a dual timeline series, and I can see how massively helpful that would be. Also, Floridian, so I love that you have Project Purple's kidnapping set at Disney! Haha! This was awesome, thank you 🙂

I love your videos so much!

I'm also glad I'm not the only one who covers up my computer's camera😉

SO relatable. I often mix around chapters willy nilly and leave the timeline adjustments for later. Have fun, future me!

Funny, I always figure out characters' full names when I start outlining my stories. Doesn't mean i never change my mind later, but then I never have to deal with the issue of figuring it out later :p

Yay! How awesome! I love that feeling of knowing there’s so much progress to be made but knowing exactly how to go about it. That timeline program looks tempting 😅 I’m not sure if I have any actual timeline errors because I’m usually vague about time in my stories, but my recent one does have a focus on other people’s birthdays 😅 so we’ll see how that turns out lol Also just wanted to say that this story sounds so so entertaining and interesting with how it’s written as an autobiographical sense. Very much want to read this! ☺️

That software looks really cool!

I AM SO, SO EXCITED FOR YOU! When I saw what this vlog was about, I HAD to watch it because I am currently dealing with revising timeline issues too! So, for your read-through, you printed your manuscript out, then made like a scene list in Google Sheets, then tried Aeon Timeline? I would LOVE a template for the way you set up your spreadsheet, because this process is the only one I've seen so far that I think could help me. TIMELINE ERRORS ARE THE WORST OKAY

since I outline like crazy, usually my timeline is pretty solid in the first draft since I've already figured out the events in order in my outline, and regarding character names; I have a list on my phone with names that I like and whenever I need to throw in a random name I just pick it from there :)

Yay!!!! Fix that timeline! Tell it who's boss! I love the software you used. I'm definitely going to have to look into that! =)

I love that I can’t think about thanksgiving without thinking about Project Purple😂 Love the video💛

Your eyes are so green in this vlog! I love it

I loved watching this video. Great content as always! Timeline issues have been a frequent topic of discussion for me, primarily due to the shifting point of views and flashbacks. It can get hard to pace everything right and make it still understandable and believable. Just a little side note, I know you're working on your first screenplay and there's plenty of great books that help. My main recommendation is John Yorke's 'Into The Woods', but there is also Robert McKee's 'Story' and Lajos Egri's 'Art of Dramatic Writing'. Another great tip is to watch video essays on RU-vid (channels like Lessons from the Screenplay, loverboymedia, Hitop films, and Houstonproductions1 are some of my personal favourites) - they can give some great pointers in terms of narrative, visual language and how to create scenes and beats for maximum impact. Hope that helps and good luck with the screenplay!

I'm a newbie when it comes to writing, so I personally haven't had any timeline errors, but I did have to help my best friend with her story and the timeline errors she had (that was a fun week), and we had to do that all by hand. As for character names, I kind of just get a feel for certain names, though more often than not, I use BehindTheName to help pick and finalize my character names. And yeah, I don't like having too many characters having too similar names. I had two characters named Lily and Lady, and apart from not liking Lady as a name for a modern teenager, I just found it was too close to Lily (if that makes sense). Also, for your chapter titles, you were saying during your NaNoWriMo vlogs that you highlighted some text that you just really loved. Maybe you can use those as the titles or inspiration for titles. I can't really think of many stories I've read recently with chapter titles, but of the ones I can think of, they kind of sum up the chapter, for example; in Philosopher's Stone, the chapter with the dragon is simply titled "Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback". I don't know if that'll help, but it's just some ideas. Good luck, hun! I know you can do it! :D

I like your idea of having a spreadsheet to show all the things you need to fix. I might have to do something similar rather than just slogging through like I have been. Now I've typed that I'm having a why didn't I think of this sooner moment.

Yeah, I've definitely got timeline errors in the book that I'm editing right now. Right now I am using sticky notes + a cork board to sort mine all out. (It started in a bullet journal, then moved to a cork board when the sticky notes stopped being, well, sticky.)

I feel your struggle with the chapter titles. I like them, they sound nice, but I tend to not find the right sounding ones für my chapters. But I like how you keep up with your reread. I usually put post-its between the pages, but I like yours way more. Propably gonna start using excel as well :D

I can totally relate to wanting certain events to match up to certain dates in my stories. But I don't seem to have nearly as many timeline errors as you seem to. I think it's because I do a relatively comprehensive outline before my first draft. Still, and I don't mean to toot my own horn or anything here, I don't seem to have that many timeline errors while I'm creating my outline. Maybe it's because I have everything in chunks that I can easily refer to? Also, love that "Florida November" note 😂😂 currently feeling that xx

If all else fails, change things to make them fit the book. ie. 5 days, 5 hours, 5 minutes, becomes 3 days, etc. If this book is in the future or has magical healers, recovery can be faster. I know your pain. Jon in rural BC, Canada

For me I am a stickler for the details, for instance if my character is in high school she has to have a birthday at a certain time to be a certain age because kids born in September go in the grade above where all there friends are, I don’t know I’m just very picky! I use a calendar to properly plan out the time line because I just give a event to a certain day and am able to move things around without worrying about messing up the timeline. It’s still messy though!

I'm probably never going to write a novel but I am going to start writing a script for my webcomic in July for camp nanowrimo and I am terrified yet excited. I'm enjoying bingeing my way through your videos in preparation!

ooh that program looks really cool! I’m trying to draft a time travel story and I am dreading working out the timelines 😂😭

Depending on what country you're in Thanksgiving falls on different day. For instance, Canada's Thanksgiving is in October where US is in November. So if you wanted to you could technically put Thanksgiving in February and it really would make a big difference. It's a fictional world, if you want the sky could always have a rainbow in it and no one could tell you it's wrong.

I don't know if they're timeline errors but I usually forget that characters need to rest and eat to funtion and can't fight and run all day (? So to correct this I started using a site called Plotist, so I make timelines to know the days and when to give the characters a rest For names, I just use a random name generator because I'm that lazy (for my last novel tho, since is a fantasy one, I mixed diferent translations of words that describe the character)

I don't know if anyone has said this yet but the whole timeline software is basically just a Gantt chart that you can go ahead and make in Excel or find a whole load of free versions of it online. Just in case anyone else is looking for something like this.

You go woman, you are so thorough! I always thought people just wrote a book(once), sent it to an editor, it got fixed and published 😂 I have been confused before on timelines in books that I’ve read... I wonder if they just skated through without actually fixing it OMG conspiracy theory, haha! I am just stupid and confused easily. Edit: it’s so cute how excited you are at the end !!! I totally feel your excitement and it’s awesome

My novel takes place in mid to late December and it wasn’t until I reread my first draft that I realised that I hadn’t mentioned Christmas. At all. That was fun to fix!

Great video 😁😁😁

It's Pink... it's fine! Also, this is brilliant..... you are brilliant! thanks :-)

I'm really bad at using excel despite taking Accounting class for 2 years 😂 I really need to learn to use it for my writing life :') ALSO, I'm SO excited for your boooookkkkkk, you're like my official idol 🌸💕💕💕💕💕

That program sounds fricken amazing ! I have timeline errors all the time!!!

Yep. I have to fix mine too. I have to brake out the calculator though. There are a lot of time sensitive elements in my story that requires a little math. Okay, maybe a lot of Math.

Timelines...They are a special level of hell, aren't they? I am not that great at outlining as of yet...something to work on, though it tends to make me want to rip my hair out...wait...timelines, not outlining! Okay, so yeah...I recently tried to shove an entire week into a day. **nods my head** LIke...it could have worked...but ol' girl would have been beyond exhausted before she was even halfway through the day. I'm sure we have all had days like that; and they truly suck and you feel like crap for the next week. Anywho, when I realize that my timelines are messed up I tend to use pen and paper to put my writer brain back into the realm of reality. STICKY NOTES ARE MY FRIENDS!!! But yeah, you're totally not alone with timeline errors...That app that you were using looks like a gift from On High; it made my dorky heart so happy to see the layout. Okay, have to go for now before this comment turns into a book all by itself. You have a great day/night; and make sure that you smile!

I've had aeon timeline sitting around for months (mainly cos writer's block), never used it because I was in my cozy comfort zone of one shots. Until one shots started to decide they preferred to be multi-chapter fics. So yea. Dragged it out of mothballs. There's some user hacks I see as I binge on aeon TL vids, too. Pantser transitions to plantser. We'll see where that goes next.

Oh wow I really like this video. It must be hard to fix your timeline and how do you do it BC I would never have been thinking about the timeline.

my current sci fi novel is probably littered with time line errors, not to mention a couple of day one minute night the next parts that need to be cleared up. Just a few of the list of issues going on in there and that was with a kind of outline.

I needed this! Omg my timelines are always messy asf!

Yo how did you get your book into that spiral bound notebook? That's so cool!!

I'm going through timeline errors right now...Fun stuff.

omg I outlined and I still have a timeline problem. I might actually try that software you used. That would be super helpful.

I tend to not have timeline errors until after the first round of major edits (removing and replacing scenes, etc). The timeline is pretty much all I outline since most of my projects are ensemble povs and that's necessary to figuring out what pov each section should be in.

About to go to sleep, but then Kate posts... Ummm, excuse me, sleep who?

Okay but here I was thinking I was ridiculous because I always name characters with short (3-5 letter) names that way I don't have to deal with nicknames -- what they prefer to be called, who uses them, etc. I don't even think twice about it and then I get halfway through a project and go "welp there's another four letter name."

Great video! Where do you do your live write-ins? Is it like on twitch or something?

Thanks Kate for the video. I am trying to find a way to map out the timeline of my series. I tried Google sheets like you have but it's not working. I think I need to establish a anchor event, like you did, and start there. I'll definitely check out Aeon Timeline .

I feel your stress. I rly rly rly do.

I've actually been using Plottr!! I didnt know about this software. Theyre both 50 dollars but this looks more indepth. I am plotting my novel out first using Plottr to make sure I'm hitting story beats ^^

The majority of my story takes place in only five days, so I didn't have to make a timeline necessarily. Now that I'm 44k words in, I'm thinking that I should start the story a little sooner, and then have chapters dedicated to past events sprinkled in to elucidate/inform the characters' actions and thought processes. With the amount of skipping around that's going happen, I'm probably going to need to make a timeline.

Do you have an in-depth tutorial on how you use excel (google sheets) for your books? Your method looks very interesting here and I would like to learn more about it lol and how to do it for myself.

I have timeline errors, but I think you have TIMELINE ERRORS! :O I usually change 1 or 2 things and it's fixed. What I'm editing now is a werewolf romance and they get time alone away from the pack for a while, and I had it as 3 months, but it didn't work, so I made it 4 months and problem solved.

Jenny Cholmondeley-Featherstonehaugh (Chumly-Fanshaw) would be my vote.

I use world anvil. It’s not exactly a time like guide but it can help when writing a bigger story if it gets out of hand

1:31 "pg. 99" is the name of THE BEST BAND

I have the opposite problem, I am purposely vague with time passing, but now its not clear that two events have a month between them and not an hour..... sigh

My current wip has timeline errors because I never really established a timeline 😂😂 I couldn't decide what season I wanted it to be in so I never mentioned it

Where do you go to print and bind your drafts? I feel like this may have been asked but I have seen a lot of your videos and don’t remember if you said so or not. I’m wanting to do the same thing when my draft is done with major plot changes and revisions and I only need to add things here and there and fix grammar issues; not whole plot points that never existed in the previous draft as well as a POV change from 1st to 3rd person limited.

So far none of my stories have been reliant on a timeline. So as long as I put things in good order it doesn't really matter when it happens in relation to the time. I use both. My initial work is done on paper and then I put things into Scrivener so they are easier to look at and I don't have to flip through an entire notebook for one piece of information. I go out of my way to make my character names mean something. If I have a character that is in a position of power I'll pick a name that means something like a leader or nobility. That or I will pick a name that clues you into their character traits. And the name will usually come from whatever their background is. Like a character with Irish family having an Irish name. It is just my way of tossing info in without openly saying it. Names are incredibly important to me.

I'm pretty trial and error on timelines. I might have to improve on that. I'm not a big outliner either.

I realized I had a timeline error when I got to- oddly enough a Thanksgiving scene- and one of my characters hadn't given birth yet and when we met her I said she was 5 months pregnant. Right now I'm having timeline errors because I have an event coming up that I want to have happen at the end of April, but so much as to happen and people need to find things out and I feel like I'm like so they waited like two weeks and did nothing about it. I just want to do the scene I want to do and fix it later, but I think that would just cause problems in editing. I do an outline for events and when I want them to happen, and where certain thing happen and some lines that need to be said and when. It also just the main part of the story line that's outlined and then the subplots just kind of happen. In my WIP a subplot for a supporting character has become part of the over arching story for the series. I have not used timeline apps or software. It might help with my current work because part of the story takes place in 1998/1999 and the other part in 2016/2017. When I started my story I had an Amy, Amanda, and Abby; a Jeff, Jamie, Joan; and a Michael, Marcus and Mary. I keep it to two characters names with the first letter the same. Amy stayed, Amanda became Audrey, and Abby became Jordan and I left Michael, Marcus and Mary because they don't have scenes together- ever. When Amy and Audrey or Jeff and Jamie have scenes together I make a character sandwich with a character who has a different first letter in the middle.

In my current WIP it doesn't really matter date wise when anything happens but I say multiple times stuff like this took a month, this took three months, this took nine months, it takes three hours to walk from point A to point B, etc. And all of those keep getting screwed up and small things are taking the wrong amount of time of bigger things and it's all very messy. I don't have any programs yet for it but in my case I see something that you can just put this in order and amount of time rather than date being most helpful.

Lol, I need to get one of these. I use my own calendar for writing so I have things in 1997 and 1534...

with my current project i wrote out a timeline first so that as i write i stick to the timeline. it avoids a lot of issues later down the line, but obviously the occasional slip up now and then still occurs whoops

I never went back and fixed time-line errors... I just. "Time passed. Suddenly it was Christmas.". Done. I never really cared about that omg I got pay more attention now

I’m currently fixing timeline errors on B&C2. I was about to get started on that and then saw this video, so thanks for helping me procrastinate further 😂 If you need a last name for Jenny, you can use Bourne... like, I’m fine with it 😎

I'm really good with having an outline before hand, so thankfully, I never run into timeline errors!