Timeline Format?

Okay, I have some questions. I'm writing a timeline, and I've got a few posts made, but I'm unsure of exactly how to format it

I could do it as a list of dates and events, probably arranged by year. While on the plus side this makes it easy to follow, I do think it makes it harder to draw you into the world.

I'm currently trying to do it as a series of historical documents. I think that this has several advantages, namely that you can keep the updates thematic (and thus get a more consistent narrative) as well as introduce bias, it also relies on having a much greater long term plan, because you have to write these documents (excerpts from History books, etc) as if you're writing from the modern day of the timeline, which in turn requires you to know what the modern day of the timeline is like. I'm not sure I'm willing or able to plan quite that far ahead, especially if I have to make adjustments on the advice of other people as the timeline goes on.

So what do you think? Which style is better, or are there other styles I can consider

Also, what do you think is a good length for an update? Some timelines, like 'Now Blooms The Tudor Rose' have updates in the 15000 word range. Is that really necessary? What I have so far is a tenth of that, or less, but I'm not sure that will hold people's attention.
 
That's really a question of taste! No matter which option you chose, you will always please some people and bore others. So make sure that you like to write in the type you will have taken!

That being said, you can of course mix different styles. For instance, you can post a few longer prose postings and then add a summary in list form.

Many people like a novel-like style of writing, which underlines the literary aspect of AH. I for one tend to be left behind in TLs with only lengthy postings, even if I very much enjoy the style of writing. I'm often very impatient to learn some key facts, and more than the literary aspect I'm interested in the rational speculation about possible effects of alternate events. Again, this is a question of taste, and the two aspects can often be reconciled easily.

I very much like your suggestion of making up historic documents or articles of *history books. This is kind of a compromise between a novel and a succinct list.


P.S.: Please remember to post threads like this under Adminstration/Help and Feedback next time.
 
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