I’m a new user, using AT in conjunction with Scrivener to get a handle on my novel outline, which spans three distinct eras. It’s helpful to see dates for my scenes, but I wonder if there is a way to test out alternative narrative structures. I know Scrivener can do this with collections, but TBH I don’t love the way that feature works.
My other question concerns dependencies, which I haven’t tried using yet. In my story, there are things about the character in 1980 that require backstory from 1950 to fully understand/appreciate. I’m trying to find all these plot points that require flashbacks so I can structure the scenes properly. Would this be a good use case for dependencies?
I have windows version of Scrivener, but I find keywords the way to go as tag all the information, characters, locations, themes, flashbacks, red herrings, whatever and then add item categories as needed in Aeon Timeline and then could use filtering in Aeon to create “collections” like in Scrivener and can even do split timeslines to see this. I use text based custom metadata dates to pull in dates into Aeon timeline. I also added a custom text metadata based item called story notes to write notes from Scrivener to Aeon , or in Aeon to Scrivener when sync.
Welcome to Aeon Timeline, and thank you for your question.
For testing alternative narrative structures, Aeon Timeline does not currently support multiple separate Narrative orders within the same file. If you want to experiment with different scene orders, a couple of possible approaches are:
Use a Mindmap view to freely arrange events and explore different structures.
If the alternatives are quite different, create a duplicate copy of the timeline file and experiment in that copy.
If the same scenes stay in the same overall order, but you want to focus on different threads, you may be able to use relationships or fields and then filter the Narrative view.
For your backstory/flashback question, there are a few possible ways to track plot points that require earlier context, and the best option depends on how you want to use that information while structuring your scenes.
Dependencies could work if you want to visually show that one scene depends on another, especially on the timeline. However, dependencies can affect the dates of dependent items, so they are best used when that behaviour matches what you are trying to track.
If you mainly want to record a story relationship, such as “this 1980 scene needs a flashback to this 1950 event,” then a relationship or text field may be a better fit. That approach is more descriptive and avoids treating the connection like a scheduling dependency.
One thing to be aware of is syncing: dependencies and event-to-event relationships do not currently sync with Scrivener. If you need this information to sync with Scrivener, it may be better to track those notes in text.
If you are comfortable sharing your file, you can post it here. If it contains sensitive information or you would prefer not to share it publicly, you can email it to us at support@aeontimeline.com. We can then look at your specific setup and help list the pros and cons of each approach, including example screenshots based on your situation.
Thank you for sharing this Goaliedad. I am a novelist and new to AE3. I love the idea of syncing with Scrivener. A question if I may. How do you manage your subplots in Scrivener? I have used the Label list in Scrivener.
I love keywords. You can have as many as you want and then I can use the keyword info to create the tie to individual scenes. This will be the tags in Aeon. I use the tag info to create whatever items I want in Aeon- Themes, Story Beats, Subplots, whatever your heart desires. Then you can filter in the timeline/subway view etc to isolate these events. I use the story notes text custom metadata to send info back and forth between the programs as I work in each. see images
I’m in agreement with your request - please see my request called ‘Narrative Collections’. It sounds like we’re talking about the same thing. For novelists experimenting with ‘how to tell the story’ it would be very useful to experiment with the Narrative Structure and keep each experiment.
As for your other question about dependencies, I haven’t tried that either.
