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