A thought for those posting a story over weeks, months or years…
Adding a story of meandering plot to BC I've found it necessary to make a character list page with a few relevant details which it would be embarrassing to forget - leg count for a character may decrease but not in most universes increase. Posting it as a final chapter I've notice it is has a consistently high hit rate by readers so I guess I'm not the only one who appreciates or needs a memory jog
**Rhona**
Comments
Good thinking Bat Woman!
Good thought Rhona,
as my stories are long and rambling I think I may try this, at present I keep a track of my characters on the post-it note app so I know who's who - but for the poor reader well it must be nigh on impossible
Christina
Faulty memory?
For years, I had the account under my Name, Barbara Lynn Terry, but since I had an atrial fibrillation, my memory has been in the forgetfulness stage. I forgot my login information for my Barbara Lynn Terry account. So, I know what a faulty memory is.
"With confidence and forbearance, we will have the strength to move forward."
Love & hugs,
Barbara Lynn Terry
"If I have to be this girl in me, Then I have the right to."
"With confidence and forbearance, we will have the strength to move forward."
Love & Hugs,
Barbara Lynn Terry
"If I have to be this girl in me, then I have the right to be."
Tell me about it
Once Anmar exploded into the universe I had terrible trouble keeping track of everything.
In fact, the effort proved so difficult that in the end I had to accept help from others to keep such information up-to-date. Eternal thanks go to Dennis Joyce and Julia Phillips for their invaluable assistance.
Julia's page has everything for both our works (so far!) and is so comprehensive I have bookmarked it specially: I sometimes have to open it while writing just to find out the names of nobles, towns, get maps of places, etc. I'd be sunk without it.
Penny
Time Lines
For my two major efforts, A California Saga and The Cynthia Chronicles, I have time lines that list significant events and characters. For each novel or shorter work I have a separate folder. I import the most recent time line, based on the order that I wrote the story and update/modify it to avoid conflicts and maintain continuity. This sometimes necessitates going back and editing a previous work. That might mean just changing a sentence or two. I don't always make changes on BCTS, but I do update all my master copies as I go along. I still intend to publish and I don't want conflicts showing up. There will be nine interconnected novels. So it does get a bit complicated. As I write, the time line is always there for immediate reference. I did complicate things quite a bit by not writing the stories in chronological order. The major complication has been that I started to write without ever having had a formal writing course. I know that's not unusual here, but many here got a much earlier start than I did.
Portia
Learning by doing
You are so right about timelines Portia, and It would have helped me to have real dates of birth for my characters
Rhona
Rhona McCloud
Presses enter button twice.
Please delete this double entry.
Imperfect memory - oooohh yes, absolutely!!!
It has been said by friends that I'd forget my rectum if it wasn't screwed in. (They used a somewhat more succinct name for it.)
The same applies to my stories. Consequently I have a special chapter/page for each novel with all the characters' names and vital statistics duly noted.
AND - I - STILL - GET - IT - WRONG!! Occasionally!