Those of you who have made a timeline for your novels, how did you go about doing it? -What year did you start at? -Did you go all the way back to Year 0, or did you just cover the period pertinent to your novel? -How did you decide to label it? aka, traditional numbers, or something different? -If you started all the way back at Year 0, aka when the people of your world first started recording history/events, or first landed on the homeland, or first spawned, or whatever, how did you decide how long after that the current events of your novel took place? I have the when of events that immediately affect my plot figured out, but I came up with some backstories and want to go ahead and do an entire timeline of my world. Any answers you have to my questions or any advice you have would be helpful.
I defined Year 0 as the founding year of the first permanent settlement on the world. Things are dated from that First Establishment (F.E.). Earth dates don't mean much, since the trip from Earth took centuries and there is almost no communication with the mother planet. I used first Excel, and then Aeon Timeline 2 as well to maintain the timeline. The timeframe of the current story (around 450 FE) was determined by how long I thought it would take them to progress as far in the terraforming of the world as I wanted them to. The duration of the story (a little over 25 years for the bulk of it) was determined by the MC's first child needing to be 16 or so at the climax of the series arc, and the first several years of the story involve the MC getting to the point where she can have that child. Really detailed backstory stretches about 90 years back from the bulk of the story, because it takes a while for a new ecosystem to take hold in the caldera of a former super-volcano.
So, basically, the timeline begins with the establishment of written history, before that is unknown aside from the lore. and it is separated into two eras... the time of the ancients, who were an advanced utopian society that became corrupted and eventually destroyed by a meteorite shower. the second part has to do with the Ice Age that proceeded it and the eventual re-establishment of society, ending with writing. Since the time before is unknown, estimating around 5k to 10k for the ice age and recession, and the time span of the Ancients is unknown. though it was long enough for them to go from cave dwellers to the advance-pre space society, just coming into energy weapons used for slave suppression. So the rest of my stories is a post-apocalyptic story. . just don't let the beautiful scenery fool you. as for the timeline post-Ice Age, the new society's advancements are a little more hastened thanks to recovered knowledge and tech from the ancients. Some of the first being writing, medicine, and indoor plumbing. As for the timeline itself... a lot of where they were placed, depends on a vital event that takes place, changing the course of the planet. My current MC, Kristol, is one of the four founders as they come to be known, (though technically, there were several people involved in the process). So I determined her date of birth, giving a semi-random date, then reverse-engineered the dates of other events that take prior to her story and after her story. and exactly when the major event takes place., which is thirty years after her birth and about 9 years after her story initial stories end. And since there is a ton of characters involved, the events of other stories depend on what generation they are. For instance, the Granddaughter of my MC takes part in another story, involving another important MC, who is not part of the Founders, but important in other ways. Another MC is literally the descendants of all four founders, his story taking place about two-hundred years after the birth of my current MC, Kristol. I used excel to keep track, but i'm constantly updating and correcting. I also use it to determine how many generations are between each story or prior to Kristol's. Such as a unification war that begins about 100 years before her birth. I also give names to important figures of those generations.
For my series I've written the Triskele Event Time Line. The WC is currently at 6,924. Year 0 is the Zelassa, the extinction event that marked the end of the previous world, and goes to 6313Z when the novels begin. It tracks the development of invention, literature, art, and all the various civilizations. Here's an excerpt: Vampires appear -2981AF The Dearg- Sith vampires appeared in Inionenn. Dwarven Tradefasts are Established 1000 through 2000Z Trade Established between Md’r and Ledrae -2114Z Md’r establishes a major trade route with the island city of Ledrae (Byblos). Seh-Nergal Establishes Trade with the Enlil Raun-2300Z Seh-Nergal established a formal trade route with the elves of Enlil Raun. The Arrival of the Avi and the Rise of the Dj’w Empire -2314Z A M’ht warrior, Uruk, answers the call of the Avi Djed on a mountain in M’dr. The first Avi comes to Triskele, followed by a host and the Dj’w Empire is born. The Dj’w or Djed Calender is Established-2316Z The old M’dran lunar calendar is replaced by a solar Calendar. Year 01 begins 2316Z. Yeah, this gives you an idea of what I'm working with. It's definitly a work in progress, and intended solely as a writing resource.
