# Time and calendars

> How Author writes story time: Gregorian and relative calendars, partial dates, approximate times, durations and relative scene timing.

Source: https://author.geenius.io/docs/time-and-calendars/

Every book has a **calendar**: Gregorian or relative.

## Writing a time

Story time is text in the book's calendar.

| You write | Means |
|---|---|
| `2024-03-04 18:00` | A minute on a date |
| `2024-03-04` | A day |
| `1923-04` | A month |
| `1923` | A year |
| `Day 3 14:05` | In a relative calendar, the third day at 14:05 |
| `~1923` | Approximately 1923 |

An **epoch** says where minute zero is, or the date of Day 1 in a relative calendar.

## Durations

A duration is minutes (`90`) or text such as `1h 30m` or `2d`.

## Relative timing of scenes

A scene can be timed relative to another scene: an offset (minutes or `1d`) from its start or end, an optional time of day (`08:00`) and a length. That is how "the next morning" is written. If you move the scene it is relative to, this one moves with it.

## Precision

The timeline works at five precisions: year, month, day, hour and minute. A time with less precision, such as a year, is placed with what that precision allows.

## Order of time

The check *order of time* (C7) finds relative times that form a circle, and anchored events timed outside their scene.