A way with worlds: 28 - Timeline-Based Writing: The Critical Axis

First of all, I'd like to announce that "Way With Worlds" just picked up another distributor! It's available at the re-launched lit.org! Lit.org was a cool site for RPG, writing, comic, and sci-fi enthusiasts, and was just relaunched by its creator. Check it out - and they need contributions, so see if you can pitch in!

And now, on with the show . . .

A few columns ago, I wrote about "Timeline Based Writing, which works in the following way:

1. Keep a timeline of all major and relevant events, transitions, etc. in your setting.
2. Locate "clumps" of events that are important for you to tell the story of the world and its inhabitants.
3. These "clumps" become outlines for you to use for your stories.
4. Thus, you tell all the important elements and the Timeline helps create plot outlines. You tell the story of your world through stories focused on the important elements.
5. Review the timeline regularly to keep it fresh and tight.

Well, I've been streamlining my technique of timeline based writing, and found cases where I had all "clumps" but no story. So, I figured I'd share my experiences and my solution with you.

ALL CLUMPED UP AND NOWHERE TO GO:
As mentioned above, I recommended keeping a timeline of events in your world, and locating places where major events and ideas "clump" together, and developing these as stories. But having "clumps" that don't make a story is a real pain.

Even if you don't use Timeline-based writing, you've probably had an experience like this - ideas, ideas within similar timeframes and settings, but nothing brought them together.

At first, your option may be to tell several stories. After all, sometimes things work better that way, and you can focus on extra detail. However, sometimes you may wish to cover the events together, or you can't get a story from one event. Worse, there may be that irritating feel that there's some way to tell all your "clumps" together.

So, when facing this, I found myself looking for what I've nicknamed the "Critical Axis."

In examining the elements of the timeline you wish to tell together look for one with some (if not all) of the following traits:

• A clump of events that starts around the same time or before the other clumps.
• A clump of events that ends around the same time as the other clumps.
• A clump of events where other clumps interesect - even if they don't intersect each other.
• A clump of events that either tells or involves broad events or has a focus that allows people to intimately experience details.

This "clump" becomes what I call the "Critical Axis", and the Critical Axis is going to help you get some order in this story without compromising the importance of keeping your reader informed as to what is going on.

USING THE CRITICAL AXIS:
The Critical Axis becomes the core of your story. It may not even be anything epic. For instance, one critical axis for me became a character needing to learn a particular skill.