Just What I Need to Track a Timeline

Many writers have to double and triple check to make sure the timeline is correct for all events in a single book or especially a series. I have tried many timeline software programs and have found that Aeon Timeline suits my needs the best. I know I have mentioned it and even shared information on it before, but this time I'm going to talk only about Aeon and how many things work.
When you go to open up a new project you get a screen that has many options including; Fiction, Basic, Project Management, Legal, Daily, Historical, Numberline.

I have only used the fiction. In the fiction setup you can change fix the beginning to end times, Number & name of months, number & name of days and how many hours in a day. This is great for world building. Below are examples of these.

 As you can see, it has great customization features. For those that World Build, you have the ability to create your own times and adjust the names to go along with your stories.

 Here is where you change the skin and set up what you want to show in the inspector. It's really easy to set up and use. You can always go in and change everything if you want it different after awhile.
Managing the Entities is simply.         
 On the left you see the timeline settings. Here you can add and delete Arcs and persons (entities). You can change the colors if you wish. 

Below you can see under "Manage Entities" is where you see, add and change your "Arcs" and "Person". When creating a character, make sure you set up an "Event" for birth and link it in the this section so you can keep track of age and use the participation & observer function. 

To add an event you just fill in this simple form and click add event. As you can see here is where you can add participants and observers. You can always add them later is you're not sure yet. Here is the place to set the duration of the event. I have several that last days and some that last just a few hours. Setting what time it starts it will automatically set the end time at the start time. This is what I usually do as long as I add a time.  The title can be whatever you want, the color is whatever you have chosen for the project, I have several for my series. Leave "Parent" alone until you learn more about it. I haven't figured out a way to use it

with my situation, so I don't. Clicking on "Arc" you can place the event in any "Arc" you have set up. 

Once you have it all set up and "Events" in place your "Timeline View" will look something like this in the light skin:

Here is what it looks like in the dark skin I usually use.

 You can see all the different Arcs on the left. The color lines & dots show the Arcs in my "Global"arc. At the bottom you see the different colors I have chosen for my arcs names. I did that under "Settings" and "Colors". It helps me keep track of the arcs. Now I don't use arcs the way many others do, I use them for each book in the series.  So, you can see here I have four books in the works and the "Global" one that shows everything, last I have births & deaths.

There is a great feature I love and that's the "Relationship" view. If you look below you can see that the arcs or for me books are listed to the left, then you have the events. Looking to the top right you see names, character names that is. Now, look down from those names and you can see the participants and observers. Look even closer and you can see their ages at the time of the event.

A closer look at the left side also shows you the time between events. Like this...

There you have it, my experience with Aeon Timeline. There are youtube videos on how to use Aeon but I found them to be too simple. Feel free to contact me on Twitter ( @jesdeh2o) if you have questions. I will always try and help. 

HAPPY WRITING!

What Time Is It? NANO Time!

Ahh! November is almost here. The one month that gives me great joy and great sadness. Sadness is due to the fact my mom will have been gone for 15 years this year. The great joy is what this post is all about.

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a non-profit.
Their Mission Statement
National Novel Writing Month believes in the transformational power of creativity. We provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page. -(from their site).
If you wish to help support NaNoWriMo your donations are tax deductible. Donate here.

What is NaNoWriMo all about?
Well, the best way I can describe it is, you write 50,000 words in 30 days. You think it sounds really hard, it is sometimes. For me it's a breeze. Yes, that's right, I have finished every year and the last 3 I have hit 50k in 13 days.

On many social medias you may have seen "Prep-tober" This is related to NaNoWriMo. Prep-tober is October for us Wrimos (NaNoWriMo participants). Prep-tober means a month long planning, outlining, plotting, researching and pulling our hair out month.

I plan meals and snacks more than anything else. I don't outline in a traditional way, my plots are usually thought out months if not years before. So, what do I plan for meals & snacks? At least 20 crock pot freezer meals, recipes can be found on my Pinterest, click on the link to the left. I stock up on Halloween candy all of October, make rice krispy treats, puppy chow, brownies and ranch oyster cracker. In October, I make a bunch of cookie dough and freeze it in balls so I just pull them out and pop them in the oven.
As for my outlines, I said I don't do them in the traditional manner but I sort of outline. I use Aeon Timeline to get the event in order. With it I can even have the event timed out, as in it lasted years, 3 hours or 12 seconds. This helps when I'm doing 2 point of views (POV). It is also what I keep all my events for the series in. Each series has it's own file. If I didn't have Aeon I'd never get anything in the correct order. Between books events happen and I can look and say "She did that months ago." if it is brought up in a future novel.
This is what mine looks like.

Yep, that's my outline stuff... Now, what do I use to write? Scrivener! It has everything I need, no hopping over to another window or screen. I keep my inspiration photos, notes, names, rules, definitions, etc. No need for individual programs for it all. They say it's a typewriter, scrapbook and ring-binder all in one. Take a look for yourself...

You can see on the left is my binder , the middle is my writing space and the right is my scrapbook... Yep just like their website says. I used to use Microsoft Word but after trying Scrivener 5 years ago, I can't go back to it.
I bet you wonder what I do when I have an "ah ha" moments, well I carry pen and paper everywhere.

The last week of October is my "try not to write" week. With all the preparation I do it's really though not to. My brain keeps saying "WRITE!" when I can't. On November 1st my manic state will kick in and I will write starting at midnight.

This year my 13 yr old neighbor girl is joining me NaNo through the Young Writers Program. It's for all kids under 18 years old. This year she asked about it and we got her started. I am amazed how into it she is. Asking all the right questions and she has more planned out than I do. I love seeing young ones get excited they was she has.

SO, what are you doing this October? What's planned for November?

It's That Time Again

I finally finished Dalara a few weeks ago. My beta readers have it. I also completed the novella that come after it. Yes, I've been busy. The novella needs a few changes but will be off to the beta readers soon. You would not believe the feeling I got when I finished. I was excited and jumping up and down for a few minutes. Then I dove into the novella, Tasmina. The the anxiety hit, I really sent Dalara off to others. Someone is reading it and OMG! What if they hate it and I suck? So, I decided to get ready for CampNaNoWriMo, takes place in April. With CampNaNo, I can work on current projects or new ones, unlike NaNoWriMo in November. I have completed transferring over the information from Tasmina over to Naleena. I do this so I can keep track of character changes and places added. It's so simple with Scrivener. All I have to do is drag and drop from one project to another. Then I set up a new parent group on Aeon Timeline. For this all I had to do was a few clicks and some words. With Aeon I have all the projects of the series  there, as you can see here.

You can see that each story of assumed story is lined up in order of when I think they should happen. I will probably change them around or change who is involved with those after Naleena. Each event that I write about will get placed in as below shows for Dalara.

I have a few notes written out and ready to go but this is what my desktop looks like.

 

Now I just need words on the page. Remember to sign up for CampNaNo during March. I usually do it around the 7th.

I support all third party software and apps I share but am not compensated for sharing or reviewing them.

It's February!

As we enter into the second month of 2018, I'm looking at what is to be done. Being bipolar with anxiety and arthritis this month sucks. January I completed only a few tasks out of 25. I managed to read A book, cook meals, kept up with dishes and folded laundry when it was brought home. Things I didn't get done that NEEDED to be done: read 5 books, write every day, lose 2 pounds, cut back on soda, drink more water, cut down on smoking and staying calm when kiddo-2 acts out.

I know what you are thinking, I wanted to do more than I should have. Though I think all were reasonable. I'm not too upset I didn't complete January's to do list. This month will be better I hope.

Mental Issues
1. I went to therapy and just bitched about kiddo-2's behavior. Mainly the fact that when I try to remove myself from the situation she follows me, even outside. Therapist had no ideas for me, as usual.
2. I saw my shrink. We decided that I could go 2 months between visits rather than 1. I was also given the go ahead to wean myself off the primidone. That means dropping from every night to every other night for 2 weeks then off them completely. As I have said before my shrink has the confidence in me to control my meds myself. I tried to go off  keppra, but that didn't work well. That means I am staying on it. So far the primidone cut hasn't given me trouble.
3. I managed to socialize with my neighbor, lets call her P. P had an incident that I know will effect her forever. I went through it a long time ago. We hadn't talked much other than the hello in passing. Now we talk 4-5 times a week. She has bipolar, OCD and anxiety too.
4. I made several healthy dinners and made sure there was leftovers to take to my other neighbor, the shut-in. Lets call him S. S doesn't like being around anyone and he doesn't cook other than toss it in the oven crap. I just knock, he answers and I hand him the container. That's it. I go home... walk 3 steps to my door.

Writing
I didn't even come close to me writing goals. I started Midnight Whispers over and am stuck. I tried to edit Dalara and just couldn't get into it. I had hoped to have at least 10,000 words done. Though with everything going on I understand why. When I'm stressed I can't focus and I'm trying something new with Midnight Whispers. Oh, and I've been sick for 2 months or more. Now that I'm better focus should come soon.
Here is my February goals:
1. Re-setup Scrivener for Midnight Whispers
2. Write 15,000 words of Midnight Whispers.
3. Edit at least 2 chapters of Dalara.
4. Get Inevitable Destinyz off to a beta reader & editor.
5. Research self-publishing again
6. Get Aeon Timeline set up for Midnight Whispers


Reading
I finished "When Darkness Comes"  by Alexandra Ivy. It's the 1st in her Guardians of Eternity series. I have read it several times and I love it more each time. This month I plan on reading the next 4 in the series.

Other Goals
1. Make freezer meals (Feb. 2nd & 3rd)
2. Cut down o soda
3. Drink more water
4. Keep the living room clean
5. Crochet a bit

That seems a lot but it really isn't. I know if I set my mind to them all I can get them all done. Remember, when setting goals make them small and simple. Even 1 small thing completed will make you feel better.

First Post of The Year

The last several months have been hell on earth in my life. I have made progress in coping with everything.

Anxiety level dropped yesterday when I found out the cysts in my breasts are just that and not cancer 🙌. The thought of cancer had me shaking and anxious for the last 4 months.

Money 💰is still an issue since my hearing for disability isn't for at least another 6 months. The process is long and dragged out but I understand. I know many people that have tried to get it and are able to work. The process saves tax payers money and keeps lazy people off of it. There it is the word 'lazy'. The last few months I have been called that for not working. HA! If I could work I would. There are days I wish my illnesses away just so I can get a paycheck I earned. Yes, that's right, I want to work. Doctors tell me it's not possible. My legs keep swelling, my arthritis is in more joints than before, my anger & rage is not always under control & my anxiety around people is worse. The pain of it every day gets worse but I manage. I could work, my opinion, not the doctors. If I even try to get a job it's blocked by several of my doctors. Then you have the people that say 'why didn't you fight it before now?' Well, I didn't have enough wrong with me to fight with appeals and that would have made it impossible to apply for disability until 2019.

Enough of that. My writing has been slow and a chore. Today is the first day since Nov. 20th 2016 that I have been able to write and I can see my skills are a little slacking. I'm going to push myself to write tonight and every day for the next 30 days. I want to write at least 500 words a day. In preparation today I set up my faithful Aeon Timeline 2© for the new story-line and I have many ideas written down in a notebook📒. Scrivener© is set up as well. Now all I need to do is put those notes into a story. Easier said than done. My mind won't focus for long periods of time and the words don't seem to come. I can picture the scenes in my head but the words are lost. Here is what I know:

• How the species🐺 began
• First 18 chapters of characters
• When it starts (2011)
• Ages of characters (18-20,000+yrs old)
• What is happening in the first 2 chapters
• The species' history
• Laws
• Hierarchy

What I need to know:

• Professions of characters
• Likes & dislikes of characters
• Ceremonies' process

Once I have that I should be able to write it without many issues. Though my mind keeps jumping back to the previous series I was working on. This new one has no connection to that series and is making it hard.

NaNoWriMo Prep in Full Swing

Prepping for NaNoWriMo is hard for a pantser. With each step I want to write. I have my Aeon Timeline & Scrivener all set up. With each plot I come up with I get excited and want to write again. Research is done, as much as I can anyway. I think I learned more about weapons from the 1700's & 1800's than I learned about science in math in high school.

Here is my main planner steps.

• Figure out if it will be one of my series.
• Figure out what characters will be bouncing around. 
• Find character pictures for inspiration
• Make a playlist to get motivated
• Research whatever I think is needed.
• Try and find characters that will be in but on the sidelines.
• Take notes when something comes to mind.
• Name characters.
• Make out bios and back history for characters if needed.
• Plan meals.
• Plan snacks for my long days of writing.
• Get house cleaned so no distractions. 
• Set time limits for Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Try not to write (hard as heck).

Here is what I wrote when I got up this morning. It has nothing to do with NaNoWriMo but I was inspired. It is political so beware. I usually don't post about politics but this one just came to me.

Morning Thoughts

I am NOT normal so this post won't be either.
HYPOTHETICALLY in the future....
Lets say I just got out of bed, my brain wanted to grab a penis. Not sure who's penis but non the less a penis.
Now lets say I actually left the house and saw a hot sweaty, sexy half dressed guy with a penis (most guys have them). This guy is just walking along, well more like strutting (you get the point). Say I walk over to him say 'Hi' & grab his penis. He doesn't like it and calls the police.
"Miss, what do you think you were doing? You can't go around grabbing a man's junk."
"Officer, President Donald Trump said grabbing pussy was okay so I grabbed me some penis."
"That is not what he said."
"Officer, I have all of his debates on my computer, a USB and burned to a disc."
"What you did was sexual harassment not 'locker room talk'."
"I see a half dressed sweaty guy right." I point to the guy. "He was just in a man's locker room, at least it looks like it to me."
"I see your point, you may go."
This teaches us that t's a two way street.
Just think men who want Trump as president, a disgusting drugged up female may just walk up to you and grab your penis. She'd get away with it.
Women just think a nasty, dirty, drugged out guy could walk up to you daughters and grab them some pussy and of course he'd get away with it.
Get your heads out of your asses and see the truth.

That's it for politics.

Now to planning more. I want to get a few more secondary characters bios done. So off I go.

Oops! Too Many WIPs

Today I was organizing my Scrivener files and making sure they were all named by the MC (Main Character). I didn't realize I had so many started and not past the first few chapters. SO, being OCD I decided I will NOT start another one until I finish half of them. I do have 2  I'm editing, which means they are written but need some TLC. You can see them all in the photo here. It's my Scrivener files.

I'm hoping my brain will do as I want it to. It keeps jumping in with new story lines and characters. I guess that's part of being extreme rapid cycling bipolar disorder.

Once I put all my WIP into Aeon Tmeline 2, I found the gaps. That made me even more determined to finish them. I love that I can nest every event in each WIP, I can see where the gaps are. I can open them all and see where I need more stories at the bottom and top.

With taking my max dose of meds and staying inside so I don't have issues with my neighbors; I should have plenty of time after all my appointments. I may not like being forced to stay inside due to my anxiety and bipolar but it doe seem to get me writing and the house clean.


Excerpt of New WIP (Work in Progress).
Remember it is the 1st draft.

Morgan was running through the woods as fast as she could carrying her young. She knew they were coming for her, to take the baby away and impregnate her again. They were using females as breeders and sending the young off. After weeks of planner she finally escaped with a few other females, though she hadn’t seen any of them for days. Another branch smacked her in the face while holding the little one as close to her body as she could. Stopping near a small stream Morgan inhaled trying to smell if they were still following her and if so how close. Signing in relief, Morgan walked to the edge of the water. Setting the little one down on soft sandy bank, she drank the water as fast as she could. Not knowing when it’ll be available again.
© 2016 Jessica Markley

New Aeon Timeline

Over the past few weeks I found I wanted to upgrade to Aeon Timeline 2. I love the first version so I used my cigarette money to buy the new version. I can't be happier with my decision. Not only do I smoke less I have another awesome tool to organize my writing and plots.

Downloading Aeon2 (Aeon Timeline 2) was simple. I learned you can keep the first version and projects for them. When saving a current project you can save it as a new one and keep the older version. This is what I have done.

Aeon2 still has the original features such as ability to create your own times (years, dates, etc.), create your own templates, ability to link to sites & pictures, Arcs, ability to see ages of participants in an event, and the ease of navigation

A new feature I like is the different skins available. I'm hooked on the the 'Dark' theme as you can see below.

Picture 1

Aeon2 states the following on features.

*Events are displayed graphically on the timeline with a title, date, and duration, but you can associate a lot of additional meta-data with an event, including colors, tags (keywords), notes, completion status, and other user-definable fields.
*If you give an entity a date of birth, Aeon Timeline will calculate that entity’s age for each event they are associated with, allowing you to quickly see someone’s age at important events in their life.
*In Aeon Timeline 2, you can select which entity type to group by (e.g. Person, Project, Arc, Location).

You can see below that it has a type of nesting, it's called 'Parenting' and 'Dependencies'.  I have not used different Arcs yet except for birth/death and global. Since I'm writing a series, the global Arc keeps the timeline completely visible for me. Later I'll move them to different Arcs, after I have played around more.

Picture 2

Another feature I use a lot is the ability to see ages of  characters at a certain event. This is perfect since my characters' ages span over a million years. Below is an example.

Picture 3

The 'Manage Entities' is great. I can add Arcs & characters. With the characters you can add date of birth and date of death & link it to an event like below. I put all Birth & Dates in their own Arc as in picture 5.

Picture 4

Picture 5

Well, it's time for me to get back to writing. I hope this helps you decide if Aeon2 is right for you.

*Sited from aeontimeline.com

Summer Writing& Update

It's a beautiful summer and what am I doing? Not much. I've kept the house clean and that's about it. No writing and almost no reading, just OCD watching Netflix. I hate when I get in this phase. All I can focus on is the next episode...

CampNaNo is a struggle but I've been trying to get words written. This WIP (work in progress) has a slow start. Not sure how the characters are going to react so planning is not happening. I have set up my Timeline and Scrivener project for it.
I am hoping to finish CampNaNo so I can get the discount to purchase Aeon Timeline 2. It looks great and easier to use.

Now for psyc update....
Due to the drama here at the apartment complex my shrink has me at maximum dosage of all medications. I really wish I could afford to move because I don't think I should have to medicate more than normal because people can't stop gossiping.
I have also been denied disability and I'm in the process of appealing it. More stress. It shouldn't take too long since I have more doctors reports to add and they all say 'You should NOT work. You don't know your rage triggers and may never.'

What reading I have done:
Red Stone Security by Katie Reus
It's not my normal paranormal romance I read but I am hooked. Katie Reus keeps the pace of the plot moving. Each character has a unique history that makes relationships hard.

April 2015 CampNaNoWriMo Preparation

Camp is just 20 days away. 

Time to make preparations. Many things to do.

Even though my kids are teens and can fend for themselves mostly; I plan snacks for them. I cut up fresh fruit, veggies and make yogurt dip up weekly. Putting them in airtight containers for easy grabbing.
For simple easy meals; I pre-cut & pre-slice up everything for subs, sandwiches & tacos. Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, olives, and anything else they want.
As normal procedure I make up freezer crockpot meals & cook all hamburger I'll need at the first of the month. Usually doing the following:

• Chicken & Beef Fajitas (1 each)
• Sweet-N-Sour Meatballs (2)
• Mongolian Beef (2)
• Taco Meat (3)
• Brown Sugar Chicken Thighs (1)
• Hamburger with garlic & onion for Goulash & Spaghetti (4)
• Chunky Beef Stew (1)
• Pepper Steak (2)
• Pineapple Pork Roast (1)
• Teriyaki Pork Chops (1)
• Buffalo Chicken Meatballs (1)
• Cheesey Broccoli Ham and Potatoes (1) 

You can find many of these recipes on my Pinterest. FOOD! & Freezer meals! Below is a sample of my menus. Most crockpot meals can be frozen so all you have to do is thaw and toss in.

Then for quick grab breakfasts I make up tons of pancakes, sausage links & bacon. Freeze them on cookie sheets then place pancakes and a meat in a freezer bag or foodsave them. Kids just grab slice open and heat for 1 minutes 30 seconds. I also bake muffins on Sundays.

As for writing snacks and other kid snacks I make up spinach/artichoke dip, marshmallow treats, dill oyster crackers, and of course cupcakes, cheesecake, and brownies. My girl will make cookies at least once a month so we have those as well.

Writing Preparation 

I do the following:

• Drag series template from last Scrivener project to a new project. Makes it so easy to be able to easily drag all character & place info and notes over.
• Plan plots and twists (until characters change it all up)
• Add an arc to Aeon Timeline for new novel in series (gives all series timeline in 1 place)
• Figure out a few new characters to toss in. Supportive one.
• Make up Writing Month Chore Chart for the kids. They are an extra help in April, July and November. I won't have to do much.
• Clean up all 3 of my writing spaces (my desk, kitchen table & my favorite chair).
• Read through the last in the series I was working on (so to remember small details)
• Chart possible emotions that will be displayed (I have a hard time with these)

After all that...

I write up a list of things I can manage in the writing sprints 10 minute breaks.

1. Start a load of laundry
2. Switch laundry
3. Fold a load of laundry
4. Soak dishes
5. Wash a load of dishes
6. Vacuum a room
7. Sweep floors
8. Clean toilet
9. Dust half a room
10. Scrub stove & counters

You get the idea. Quick chores that can done in minutes. Plus you get bathroom breaks and refill snacks & drinks time. 

Now is the time to prepare! How do you get ready for a month of writing? Post in comments.

What a February

The last month has been terrible. Not only did the sewer back up I've been sick for 5 weeks. Now that the carpet and kitchen flooring has been replace and the 5th round of antibiotics are working, I'm finally feeling better.

I have tons of stuff to put back in place after all the flooring being put down. URGH! I hate that. At least the flooring guys moved everything and put it back in the places I was going to rearranged the furniture. That saved me time.

Now I have to deal with my son's father wanting to have my boy move in with him so he doesn't have to pay child support any more. That would mean my boy will be driving 60 miles to and from school every day (costs more for gas than child support). I have sole custody so my ex will have to take me to court and spend even more money. Then there will the car insurance I won't pay for any more, his phone his grandmother won't continue to pay and  no Netflix. HA! I get to talk to him tomorrow about it all. They can wait 6 weeks for the move (after graduation).


Yes, part of my refusal has to do with money the other part is after 13 years of not being in my son's life he want him now. Oh! Add in the fact he's my boy and not really ready to be away from mommy. He can use the oven and microwave, cook mac-n-cheese and make eggs but that's it.

I have been told I'll be approved for SSI (disability type) in the next month or so. That'll fix the money issues but not the emptiness of my son moving out.

My son has distanced himself from me the last month or so. We used to talk an hour every night and now it's like pulling teeth to get a word out of him. I think that hurts more than anything else.

April is CampNaNoWriMo and I'm preparing for it. My goal is 9000 words. Researching is the part I hate the most. I have done the timeline on Aeon Timeline and have all characters & places set up in Scrivener. now all I have to do is figure out snacks and easy meals for April.

~~~~Happy Writing~~~~

~~~Happy Parenting~~~ 

NaNoPrep Moving Along

With less than a week to go, I have most of my prep done for NaNoWriMo. Here's what's completed:

• Plots determined
• Twists (if characters let it happen that way)
• Characters 
• Character relationships (though they may change my mind)
• Places described and arranged  
• Title and title to the series (at least I think)
• Started writing 2000 word daily
• Aeon timeline set up
• Scrivener set up
• Calendar set and marked for all the writathons
• Word count meters setup 

This week has been good and hoping that this next week I need to get more done. I have most of my housework (Fall Cleaning) done. That is always a must before November and NaNoWriMo gives me that extra push.
SO, here is what has been done in my house:

• Scrubbed all floors on hands and knees
• Cleaned washer 
• Removed all lint from dryer vent
• Washed every dish in the house with soapy bleach water
• Wiped out cupboards
• Scrubbed & disinfected bathroom
• Vacuumed all carpet twice
• Washed rugs, curtains and bedding (I do bedding every other week though)
• Wiped all light switches and door knobs with Clorox wipes
• Dusted everything (picture frames included)
• Cleaned frig and freezer (inside & out)
• Cleaned microwave and oven
• Cleaned inside windows
• Re-arranged the living room for winter

There! See I have been very busy. Now on the 3rd I'll do my monthly grocery shopping and then prepare freezer meals for the month. Oh! And make NaNo snacks. @GetWordies has tons of meals, freezer meals and snackies on their blog and on Pinterest.  With 25 meals prepped and ready my kids can just toss them in the microwave, crockpot, or slap together a salad or sandmich. I think freezer meals were invented for NaNoWriMo. 

Kids will get their rooms done in the next few days so the whole house will be done before the 1st!

As for writing, I started what was to be an adult novella. It seems to be turning into a YA that will link with the series I'm working on. Don't know how that happened but it did. That one will be call 'Sara' I think. Maybe "Sara's Coming of Age". I guess I'll figure it out later.

How I use Timelines

I thought since I showed y'all how I use Scrivener it was time to show you Aeon Timeline.

Aeon is by second best writing tool. Of course Scrivener is my bestest. Scribble Code has come up with an easy way to track events in your novel with Aeon Timeline. As we explore Aeon keep in mind this is the way I use it. Everyone will use it differently.

Many like the idea there are several options to time periods. As you can see here; you have the basics along with the ability to create your own. This helps in world building. I use the normal BC-AD for my novels. 

As you can see here is part of my time line for my serials. I have 2 arcs open with the characters below. Their ages are added when you add an event that includes them. At the top you have you dates and at the bottom you have a slider bar to move quickly over long periods of time. I use this the most since my WIP is over 1000s of years. 

The arcs are easy to flip back and forth to. You can have several open or just one. I usually have the MC I'm working on and the Birth/Death arc open. The Characters are always open in mine. All my arcs are color coded as are my characters by generation or who's book they are going to be in. (That's if the characters cooperate.)

Here is an event on my global arc. As you can see to the right is the open inspector. It contains everything about the event. Time, date, label (which is the MC for me), Arc it's in, and of course the title. As you can tell this is in Dalara's book and it's in the Global arc under Dalara's label. 

This is one of my favorite options; the ability to lock events so you don't accidentally move it. Once I have the date set I lock the event. And believe me I have deleted events or moved them years from where they should be.







Here is my character listing. You can see that there are a few different colors and their ages are visible. This is one feature I love since some of my characters are over 2000 years old.

Here is my Birth/Death arc. I record births in pink and deaths in black. This is scrolled in as to see as much of the time line births as we can. 

So, that's how I use Scrivener Timeline. It's simple and easy. Plus it's one of the few easy ones that won't break your bank. They sponsor NaNoWriMo and I bought mine at discount when I won last year. Check out their free trial. I guarantee you won't be sorry.