Hi!
I’m new to AT but have been working with Scrivener for a while.
I’m currently plotting out a 3 act narrative stage show. I would like to be able to plot the narrative in one timeline but then plot the actual show (ie how long each act/scene would be as it’s performed) on another so I can get a visual representation of pacing etc. Is it possible to have 2 separate timelines for the one project? Or is there a better way to accomplish this?
Thanks,
Tim
You potentially could use the Narrative View and the Timeline View to plot two different timelines this way.
If you use the Screenplay template (under Fiction), then this gives you a Timeline View where you can plot in relative time (eg. event dates are just in time format like 03:20), so you can plot what time a scene starts and ends in the overall play. This will give you one timeline.
You can also add these events to your Narrative View, which orders the events as they appear in your narrative. (eg. Act 1, Scene 2). This will give you the other timeline.
These links may be helpful: Chronological vs Narrative Order - Aeon Timeline 3 Knowledge Base
How and Why to Create a Narrative From Your Timeline - Aeon Timeline 3 Knowledge Base
They describe how users might use Timeline View and Narrative View to order their events differently (chronological vs. narrative), however using the time that a scene occurs in a play instead of the chronological date of the event is a similar concept.
Thanks very much for your response.
I’m not sure that it gives me the solution I’m after though.
The story I’m creating takes place in two different times and flips between them. Therefore I’d like to plot the events chronologically (over the years that they happen in the story) and then make the narrative - as per the articles you listed.
Then, once I’ve got my narrative order in place and the scenes worked out, I’d like to create a separate timeline for the actual runtime of the show - which encompasses your suggestion about using the screenplay template (which I hadn’t considered).
Is it possible within the one project?
I hope that makes sense.
No unfortunately that’s not possible within the one project. Currently you can only have the one calendar system per timeline file, so if you are wanting to give your events dates and plot them chronologically first, then you would have to have a separate timeline to plot their runtime.