keeping track of time and injures (and other things in my novel)
Iâve seen a few posts floating around about how different people keep track of their characters and timelines in their planning, so I figured Iâd add to the pile.
I find that the best way to keep track of my timeline is using a Gantt chart! I use the website TeamGantt. Iâm not affiliated with them in any way, I just found theyâre the best site to use, and I shall tell you why.
This is kind of a long post, with photos because Iâm super extra. I put a below the cut thing so I donât clog everyoneâs dash up with this.Â
The Gantt Chart
The Gantt Chart is a type of bar chart that shows a project schedule. It shows relationships between different activities and such, over a period of time. I learned about it in my productions operations class when I was in school for accounting, so itâs not actually a writing tool per se. But Iâve adapted it to suit my needs.
It took me a while to find one that I liked, and it still doesnât work perfectly because it doesnât go forward enough to fit my timeline, but I use just a general year to make it work, since time keeping isnât different in my book (vs a fantasy world of sorts). My WIP, the Devolved, is separated into the 4 seasons, starting with Fall.Â
Using the Gantt chart, I can plot out actual timelines, even though I never use actual dates (or have yet to other than in my Prologue). I can still keep track of roughly where each chapter will land on a calendarâ which for me, is really great because I want to make sure I keep track of which chapters fall into which seasons.
At the top, it shows the date, and then I have a bar for each chapter. The little bars show the relationship between each chapter, so for example, if I move ch 3 to be 3 days instead of 1 day, all subsequent chapters will move 3 days into the future automatically, doing all the work of adjusting my timeline.
Keeping Track of Injuries (and other things)
The Gantt Chart also makes it easy to keep track of other things, not just the timeline. My characters always find themselves injured, and I want to make sure that the healing time is accurate. Some of my character heal faster than others, so itâs important that I have a way to keep track of that!
Iâm able to keep track of major events that cause injury, as well as corresponding injuries with estimated healing times. That way, I know if one of my characters gets injured in Ch 2 with a dislocated shoulder and bruised ribs, sheâll still be feeling those wounds 5 chapters later, in chapter 7.
It easily breaks things down into bite sized chunks and you can close and open each to show them on the chart side, that way itâs not difficult to look at Injuries for Winter because there is 2 entire seasons of bar charting in between.
In the End...
I did a lot of searching into free software and sites that use Gantt charts. The user interface is often really clunky and ancient looking. I wanted something easier on the eyesâ something Iâd actually want to use, instead of using something that looks like it was made for the project manager at a construction site.
This website kind of fit the bill. It has really nice videos to help you get along, showing all the different ways you can use the site and how to use it. The UI is really great and modern looking. You can change colors of all your bars based on groups and stuff (the few that I show in those pics just so happened to be Brownish Orange for Fall and Orange for my red-haired main character).
And best of all, itâs free (for 1 project).
If youâre having a hard time keeping track of injuries or anything with potentially lasting effects, this will most definitely help!
If you find a better version of a free Gantt Chart, let me know! Because Iâd be totally interested. Or if this is overly complex and youâve found a better way, Iâd like to hear that too lmao.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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Never describe something thatâs not there. Describe what IS there.
DONâT: There were no trees as far as the eye could see.
DO: Flat planes rolled as far as the eye could see.
DONâT: Unlike the others, he wasnât covered head-to-toe in scars.
DO: Unlike the others, his skin was pristine and untouched.
See, if you place a noun in your sentence (trees, for example) your reader will instantly imagine trees, regardless of whether youâre describing trees or lack thereof.
In other words, this is what youâre doing to your reader:
I see this done so often, even by professional authors. Itâs not even technically a mistake nor is it grammatically incorrect so it often goes unnoticed by editors. Itâs just a neat trick to gain better command of your readerâs interpretation of what youâre describing.Â
Keep in mind, this doesnât always apply. There are words in the English that feature a noun and yet are literally used to describe lack thereof, (Shirtless, Colourless, etc) and though you could probably write a really nice description that eliminates those kinds of words too, you absolutely DO NOT have to stop using them. Just keep in mind that for sentences with maximum effect, describe whatâs there, not whatâs missing.Â
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Qualityâ Free Actions
Free to watch âą No registration required âą HD streaming
Reblog, reply, or send an ask with how youâre doing now that weâre halfway!
How is your word count? Are you miles ahead? Right on pace? Behind, but still trucking along? Somewhere else? I want to hear!
How is your outlook? Are you enjoying life? Are you determined to continue? Are you like me, conscious parts of it arenât as good, but writing anyway? I want to hear!
How is your story? Has there been a twist you didnât see coming? Have you followed or abandoned your outline? Are you enjoying it? I want to hear!
How are your characters? Are they behaving as expected? Have they revealed any secrets you didnât plan? Have they made any juicy mistakes?
Most importantly, how are you? You donât have to tell me in your reply if you don't want to, but I want to make sure youâre taking care of yourself mentally, emotionally, and physically--whatever that looks like for you!
NaNo is kicking my ass today, no words seem to be happening. Iâm trying to get the Muse going by putting on my usual âI can always write to this musicâ which is the Skyfall and Spectre soundtracks, but itâs not WORKING and I NEED TO WRITE WORDS TODAY.
me while on a break from writing: omg i have so many ideas. first im gonna kill off that character and then resurrect this one, and then the war is gonna start andâ
me while actually sitting down to write: I have no inspiration. how in godâs name am i supposed to write a book???
