How do I create a good TL

Most people here will give you advice about the finer details of it, but I will give you the most basic and probably the least followed of advice. Just go for it. The first timeline you do, or really the first anything you do, will never look or feel as good as what you have enjoyed seeing others do. But, no one starts out making high quality products. You just have to let yourself start writing get used to it. After a while, you can start to improve and further develop your craft. But, again, in order to do that, you have to perform your craft in the first place.
 
Know your broad outcome and know your PoD, then fill in the blanks being careful with the detail and drawing in outlier events and references to give it strength.
 
  • Go for it, and have some self-confidence. Know you can't please everyone
  • Make sure to research your subject matter in depth.
  • Try to have a justification for divergences beyond "I want to."
  • If someone asks you "what happened to [person or group you know very little about]?", just say "guess" and don't try to answer it.
  • Have a clear end-point.
 
Personally, I try to go for some sort of outline of what I know for cure I want. Then, I look for the realistic butterflies and add those in. With of course some help from other members where needed.
 
Most people here will give you advice about the finer details of it, but I will give you the most basic and probably the least followed of advice. Just go for it. The first timeline you do, or really the first anything you do, will never look or feel as good as what you have enjoyed seeing others do. But, no one starts out making high quality products. You just have to let yourself start writing get used to it. After a while, you can start to improve and further develop your craft. But, again, in order to do that, you have to perform your craft in the first place.

Know your broad outcome and know your PoD, then fill in the blanks being careful with the detail and drawing in outlier events and references to give it strength.

  • Go for it, and have some self-confidence. Know you can't please everyone
  • Make sure to research your subject matter in depth.
  • Try to have a justification for divergences beyond "I want to."
  • If someone asks you "what happened to [person or group you know very little about]?", just say "guess" and don't try to answer it.
  • Have a clear end-point.

Personally, I try to go for some sort of outline of what I know for cure I want. Then, I look for the realistic butterflies and add those in. With of course some help from other members where needed.

All of this is sound advice. Here's one last piece.

Don't just tell, show.

Thank All of You! Now I just need a gaming POD in the 70s
 
This is all stuff I have learned over my three years of posting:

  • It can be discouraging if you feel like there isn't enough interest. Difficult readers or attempted thread hi-jackers are another unfortunate reality. Do not let that stuff bother you.
  • Don't take it to heart if your first attempt doesn't work.
  • Once you get something of a support network, it can make things really easy. If you exchange ideas with fellow writers, make sure they are trustworthy.
  • Pick topics that interest you. Don't write for others because it can result in feeling miserable with how your piece is turning out.
  • If you are going through a rough patch or are busy, let your readers know you need a break and that you will be back with more posts. If they genuinely care about your writing, they will wait patiently. :)

Good luck!
 
Don't be afraid to ask for ideas or solicit help in other ways. WHen you say you need a gaming on in the '70s, do you mean video gaming? Pong could perhaps have been produced by someone else, perhaps Magnavox pushes theirs in a different way so they and not Atari release it, instead of Atari possibly using the idea which their founder may have seen at the Magnavox plant? (According to Wiipedia anyway) That could lead to other butterflies. See the excellent "That Wacky Redhead" for how a TV decision by LUcille Ball changed so much.

Don't be afraid to go small scale at first. Some TLs are really good because they don't try to do too much. There are some excellent ones on just one area, but remember that the smaller your scope, the smaller the fan base. Then again, there are ones on British rails that I dont' read but which get lots of view so you'll find readers anywhere. (And maybe I should check one just to see if it's larger scale.) I do plenty of baseball ones which don't touch on a lot else, if anything.

Don't get so bogged down in detail that you lose interest or become too absorbed that you go about 6 months in timeline in about 3 yuears outside.:) That is very tempting but unless you're writing for the TV show 24" there's no real need. Now, if within the timeline you have an idea for a story as a break (unless it's all story-based) that's when you can write the occasional characters and a little fiction based on it. A good example was the one whose name I forget based on an John Anderson presidency in the 1980s.
 
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Deleted member 94680

Be prepared to adjust things in your TL if others point out inconsistencies. Advice isn’t always wrong or highjacking, most posters just want to help.

Take your time, there’s no need to bang out the whole thing in one or two posts. Good TLs can be hundreds of posts long (with comments!) but if the thread is making progress, there’s nothing to worry about.
 
Be prepared to adjust things in your TL if others point out inconsistencies. Advice isn’t always wrong or highjacking, most posters just want to help.

Take your time, there’s no need to bang out the whole thing in one or two posts. Good TLs can be hundreds of posts long (with comments!) but if the thread is making progress, there’s nothing to worry about.
Thank you, all of you!
 
Well, i'm a bit of a rookie in making TLs (actually the two that i'm writing are my two first), but yeah, i can say something

● Do it for you, write to others isn't the same thing that write to yourself, you'll feel better doing it
● Plan the timeline before writing it, will help you get an idea of how/what to continue the story with
● If you have questions about things during your planning, it is always helpful to do a planning thread, it also helps to develop a base of interest to when you release your timeline
● Try variable types of writing, one time or another you'll find the type that best suits you
● If you're really trying and the TL isn't going well, don't take it too deep, if you want, just leave it and try again.
● Some research in the subject of the timeline don't hurts too :openedeyewink:
 

WILDGEESE

Gone Fishin'
As I'm in the process of writing some short stories (fiction) myself he's a few tips.

Firstly . . . obviously have a start . . . then the end.

You need to have a rough outline of how and why the story starts and why it finishes. Knowing how the TL finishes is very important as it will make the story flow better and not come across that you've rushed the ending. Have you watched the final series of GoT (Game of Thrones)? . . . I did and there were loads of complaints as the end seemed to be written by the author/director filling in to make the series last as he'd run out of ideas.

Secondly . . . don't look at it and be put off as it looks too daunting!

It's like looking at a wall that needs painting and you never get it started as you just sit there starring at it!

The main problem that authors have including me . . . is you get too overwhelmed with the start and get into a mind fart (mental block). It's like looking at a mountain and thinking you're never climb it. Thing is that when you do start to climb it, it's not that hard and you end up scaling it in an afternoon as the mountain is actually a large hill.

So just go for it . . . write it straight off the bat, it doesn't matter if it's spelled incorrectly, bad grammar etc . . . just write it out, you can always proof read it later on. You will then find that the stopper in the bottle is released and the rest will come naturally as you've cleared your mind and more ideas come into your head.

Thirdly . . . it's not a race so take your time!

Only write when you have an idea or when you feel like it. It's takes me over a month to write a chapter sometimes . . . then because I've ignored and not bothered with the story, I've gone to the pub with the lads and 'hey presto' . . . I've had a flash of inspiration and I've had to stop up late waxing lyrical writing loads of text!

Fourthly . . . do your research! . . . readers will pick up this up from page one.

For example if it's a military TL . . . talk to some ex-service personnel . . . it's surprising how many ex service folk are around you and you don't know it and if they know that you're serious they'll gladly reel off stories about their time in the forces . . . explaining what they did, friends. what happened on exercises, mishaps even weapons that they used, you'll soon get used to all the abbreviations even the 'slang' terms.

Also read books about the subject, watch some TV factual shows of a channel like whats on the History or Discovery channels

Fifthly . . . read other authors work on this site to get an understanding on how it's done. Read @flashhearts timeline on the Falklands War as a reference. Nothing wrong in letting him and others showing you how it's done.

And finally . . . ENJOY YOURSELF

. . . it's not a job . . . but a pastime. You're not getting paid for it so why act like it's a full time job.

Best of luck.
 
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