Separate Three Kinds of Order
| Order | Question |
|---|---|
| Story chronology | What happened first, and how much time passed? |
| Manuscript presentation | Which scene appears first, including flashbacks and summaries? |
| Reader knowledge | Which facts are known in which chapter, and what remains unknown? |
A handoff recalled in Chapter Eight still happened last week. An empty shelf shown in Chapter Two does not identify who moved the parcel.
Oh Story’s tracking method separates objective events, reader knowledge and actual revelation chapters, keeping future plans in the outline. The table below is a manual worksheet, not a tool input schema. Story-bible organization covers book-wide materials; this page focuses on chronology and reveals.
Do Not Invent Dates to Complete the Table
Collect explicit time phrases, prerequisites and ordering. “After the rain,” “two days before the handoff” and “that evening” can remain relative. Do not invent a calendar date where none is specified. Record conflicting times for a decision instead of silently choosing one.
For important events, note occurrence, evidence location, presentation location and current reader knowledge. When duration matters, compare the required interval with the time the draft actually supplies. External facts such as travel or recovery require separate verification; an author’s timetable cannot prove real-world feasibility.
Keep unperformed plans separate from completed events. Characters also have their own knowledge boundaries: the author and reader knowing a parcel moved does not mean its recipient knows.
Original Case: The Empty Shelf Before the Move Is Revealed
Suppose the manuscript reaches Chapter Eight. On Friday evening, Qin Bo moves Xu Jian’s parcel from an outdoor shelf into an indoor cupboard to protect it from rain; Xu Jian is absent. Saturday morning, Xu Jian sees the empty shelf and assumes no delivery. Chapter Eight flashes back to Friday, showing the move for the first time. The cupboard remains shut, and Qin Bo has not told Xu Jian.
This complete premise is original to the guide. The worksheet records the written version:
| Event | Time and revelation |
|---|---|
| Qin Bo moves the parcel | Friday evening; Chapter Eight’s flashback first shows the move indoors |
| Xu Jian sees the empty shelf | Saturday morning; Chapter Two shows her mistaken conclusion before readers know the cause |
| Xu Jian learns its location | Not yet written by Chapter Eight; no planned future chapter counts as an actual reveal |
Current state: readers know the parcel is in the cupboard; Xu Jian still assumes it was not delivered. Qin Bo knows his own action. Chapter Two contains a character’s mistaken belief, not an erroneous authorial delivery record.
Qin Bo explaining in Chapter Ten can remain an outline plan. Update Xu Jian’s knowledge only when the explanation is written. This example does not prove the flashback is effective; judge it against suspense and reading goals.
Update the Written Version After Moving a Scene
Moving Chapter Eight’s flashback to Chapter Three changes when readers learn the move. It does not automatically change Friday’s event or Xu Jian’s knowledge. Deleting the move removes support for the cupboard’s parcel and later explanations. Distinguish event changes from presentation changes before checking later dependencies.
Organize the timeline for [written scope]. Give event chronology, quotation locations, presentation chapters, reader knowledge and character knowledge. Preserve the source’s time precision; mark unknowns. Separate mistaken beliefs from objective facts and future reveal plans. Report candidate conflicts without editing prose or files.
This prompt supports manual organization. In a formal Oh Story project, timeline views are generated from structured state; do not directly edit the author-truth or reader-knowledge views. Approved chapter revision updates current state through the last written chapter. A completed table does not itself repair contradictory prose.
FAQ
Can I still use flashbacks and hidden truths after organizing a timeline?
Yes. Organization separates occurrence, presentation and knowledge without enforcing chronological narration. Check that clues are understandable and character judgments fit what they know at the time.
Do it with the skill
Use the prompt above for a manual read-only worksheet. For chapter revision with /story-long-write or $story-long-write in Codex, workflow-revision and tracking-transaction update events, actual reveals and current knowledge. This worksheet is not formal transaction input, and organization does not authorize rewriting.
Read the method: Events and actual revelation records · Local revision and joins