# How to do a Simple Timeline in Scrivener



## TromboneAl (Mar 20, 2015)

*Important Update: This is obsolete. *I have since gotten Aeon Timeline, and it MUCH better than this system. The features I thought are "complicated" are handled well by that app, and I now find them indispensable. For example, moving events or groups of events around isn't possible with the simple system I describe in this post. It doesn't let you keep track of days of the week. You put birthdates and book events in the same timeline, and it tells you the age of each character for every event.

*So, Ignore the rest of this post!*

I started looking for a timeline app, then I realized that even though timing of events was critical in my book, I didn't need anything complicated.

These two screenshots should be all you need to see how it works. I have one short-term timeline for what happens in the story, and another long-term timeline for backstory (keep track of people's ages, etc.):



















IMPORTANT: I also put the date that each scene happens at the beginning of its synopsis. That way it appears in the tooltip when I hover over the binder entry.


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## KGGiarratano (Aug 14, 2013)

I swear I only how to use 5% of Scrivener's capabilities.


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## C.F. (Jan 6, 2011)

That is so simple yet so brilliant! Thank you for sharing. When I wrote a book with a complicated timeline involving reincarnation I used Aeon Timeline which is made by the same people as Scrivener, but this is a great solution for a simple timeline.


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## Douglas E Wright (Mar 11, 2011)

Great idea! - It's a good way to get a timeline in. I just started using Scrivener -- again.










I have the time of day as a label, along with the characters. But the characters are also keywords. Those are the colors on the edge of the index cards.


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## TraciLoudin (Sep 10, 2013)

Fantastic idea! I'm sick of using Excel for timelines. I'll give this a shot for my next novel, thanks!


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## I_Love_Vampires (Dec 1, 2014)

That is so simple  and yet brilliant.  Thanks for the pro-tip!


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## TromboneAl (Mar 20, 2015)

Douglas E Wright said:


> But the characters are also keywords. Those are the colors on the edge of the index cards.


Whoa! Very neat. Keywords were completely below my radar. Thanks.


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## s.tenderbaum (Mar 18, 2015)

Excellent! Thanks very much


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## A Woman&#039;s Place Is In The Rebellion (Apr 28, 2011)

You are making me want to learn Scrivener with this.  Need more hours in the day!


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## SB James (May 21, 2014)

Another great tip! Thanks so much. Bookmarked for future reference!


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## A Woman&#039;s Place Is In The Rebellion (Apr 28, 2011)

I officially kicked off my Scrivener journey yesterday and am already obsessed.  Thanks for motivating me!


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## a_g (Aug 9, 2013)

Douglas E Wright said:


> Great idea! - It's a good way to get a timeline in. I just started using Scrivener -- again.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I love to learn new stuff like this. Brilliant!


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## AlexBrantham (Feb 27, 2014)

Of course, a timeline app is also known as a Calendar! I just set up a blank calendar and then created entries for all the scenes: it was very handy to be able to just drag them around as I adjusted sequences, timings, delays etc. I use Outlook as I have it on my desktop but you could use anything, like Google Calendar for example. Just create a new Calendar for each work...


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## Guest (Apr 5, 2015)

Thank you for this! I had no idea about keywords. This will making organizing and finding information so much easier.


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## Dennis E. Taylor (Feb 10, 2015)

TraciLoudin said:


> Fantastic idea! I'm sick of using Excel for timelines. I'll give this a shot for my next novel, thanks!


Which is funny because I've just gone from scrivener back to excel for my timelines. Although TBH, my timelines are complex enough that I had to set up a calculation column to space out my events properly.


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## K. A. Jordan (Aug 5, 2010)

I love Scrivener! I used to need calendars, index cards, notebooks, loose-leaf pages, a fistful of highlighters...

SO much easier to do it all in one place.


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## Peculiarist (Apr 1, 2015)

This is a simple and brilliant idea. 

And can I say that "Day of Sneeze" is so mundane a description I immediately (and paradoxically) assumed it was the most important and exciting part of the book.


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## [email protected] (Mar 8, 2015)

Thanks, Al!

I'm still (forever?) nailing down my plot, and I think this will be helpful.


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## Victoria LK (Jan 31, 2014)

This is a great idea and yet another way to use scrivener to help you be organized!  It was the best $40 I've spent!
I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo, and I swear that scrivener has taken so much of the fear away, because it keeps me organized!


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## Tim_A (May 25, 2013)

I've been bullet-pointing characters in my scene synopsis. I never even thought of using keywords - brilliant idea!


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## Douglas E Wright (Mar 11, 2011)

Douglas E Wright said:


> Great idea! - It's a good way to get a timeline in. I just started using Scrivener -- again.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The only drawback I had was matching the colors in the Keywords, POV and under your character's tab on the left side. So, when you do all of the Keywords and Characters labels on the right side, remember what color you used so you can match it up on the left side. I used the crayon box and it does tell you what the color is named. That way you aren't trying to match everything when you go to the character tab in the binder. I don't make much use of the icons, I remember colors easier. At least in the index cards and outline.


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## 58907 (Apr 3, 2012)

KGGiarratano said:


> I swear I only how to use 5% of Scrivener's capabilities.


That's exactly how I feel! 

Bookmarked!!!!


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## RBradyFrost (Mar 20, 2015)

Wow, I can tell from these screenshots that I'm no where near utilizing Scrivener effectively! 
Thank you for the tips.


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## CharCarr (Jun 21, 2015)

Awesome. Thank you for sharing that!


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## Lou Harpr (Nov 5, 2014)

Aeon Time line (http://www.scribblecode.com) is a great app if you need something a little more complex, and it only costs forty bucks.


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## TromboneAl (Mar 20, 2015)

Lou Harpr said:


> Aeon Time line (http://www.scribblecode.com) is a great app if you need something a little more complex, and it only costs forty bucks.


Yes. I discovered that just a little while ago, and it's fantastic. It syncs with Scrivener. Indispensable. It's mentioned on another thread, along with a coupon for getting it for $30.


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## Seshenet (May 20, 2015)

I've played around with Scrivener just a bit, but I love to learn  features! Thanks for the thread!


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## TromboneAl (Mar 20, 2015)

Seshenet said:


> I've played around with Scrivener just a bit, but I love to learn features! Thanks for the thread!


Note, I've updated the first post to mention that Aeon Timeline is a much better solution.


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