Make a timeline for a nonlinear novel

Maintain one list in story-world order and another in reading order. Track what the viewpoint character and the reader know after each scene.

Try it

If a flashback reveals where a key came from, check that no earlier scene in reading order assumes the reader knows its owner.

References

• Fiction writing basics · CUNY OpenLab

• Keep a subplot from crowding the main story
• Choose where to end a chapter