Campfire: How to Create Timelines

Campfire’s Timeline Module helps you visualize events in your story, be they plot points or historical events in your worldbuilding. Better yet, it’s integrated with Campfire’s Calendar Module so that you can customize the eras, months, weeks, and more.
This video shows off most of what the Timeline Module has to offer, but if you want to learn more, check our written guide: www.campfirewriting.com/learn...
If you’re brand-new to Campfire, check out our video tutorial to get up to speed: • Campfire: Writing and ...
The Calendar Module works closely alongside the Timeline Module, another tool for writers to plan out their stories or detail the history of their setting. Learn more about the Timeline and Timeline events here: www.campfirewriting.com/learn...
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//VIDEO CREDITS//
Script by Adam Bassett: / adamcbassett
Voice of Jackson Dickert: / swagxmcnasty
Video editing by @4bs_ben
//VIDEO CHAPTERS//
0:00 Introduction
0:49 Creating & Editing Timeline Events
3:10 Managing Event Relationships
4:35 Organizing Events on the Canvas
6:29 View Events Chronologically with the Gantt Chart
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[@thatoneguy1350]

I miss the old visual timeline, the chart is the closest thing to it now and it's far too zoomed in. My timeline takes place over 100s of 1000s of years and the old timeline display did a really good job of compressing that into a clear and visually pleasing timeline.

[@joletapetty6706]

So much more functionality! Thankyou for listening to feedback 👏👏👏

[@shadowscribe]

Ooo, I take it back, you guys went above and beyond rerigging this

[@specsa.1426]

Hmm. I love this program but I'm having a hard time visualizing what the timeline module should look like with a fully mapped out set of timelines for one story. I'm wondering if there are examples out there that I could look at of what that might look like.

[@campfirewriting]

There is no "should look like" for any modules, really. People use the Timeline in different ways. Some create intricate histories of the setting, while others use them to plot out events in the story. If you'd like to see one used as a bit of both, this story published on Campfire has a pretty detailed timeline, though you may not have everything unlocked by default (some authors hide content like this until the reader has begun to complete chapters of the story): www.campfirewriting.com/explore/Rise/timeline

[@robgagnon]

Hard to follow certain areas even though I'm in Camfire at the same time. For example, I don't have the view at 3:46 or saw how you got to it. I have the option of Gannt Chart, Hide Chart, add Section and Visible range. Also, I want two timelines - one real world 2030 - 2040 and one in-world, Alt100 - Alt1000. How do I do that?

[@robgagnon]

I found your view: Hide Chart to see the elements.

[@campfirewriting]

@@robgagnon Glad you worked out the relationships/canvas options! As to your other question, we can't have more than one timeline, however you can have multiple pages on it, and that does something very similar. We point those out at around 0:36 in the video. Hope that helps!

[@robgagnon]

Thanks for the replies guys! Great that you are monitoring these videos and helping new users! @@campfirewriting

[@williamrohan3888]

I like it, but I really wish that I could change the dates to match my fantasy world. It would be really nice to have the option to change the months/years/Eras into what my world uses. Not what the real world uses. Instead of January, numbers or BCE I could have whatever I use to track those things. Sorry if this comment doesn't make sense.

[@campfirewriting]

You can with the Calendar Module! Just set up a custom calendar there and sync your timeline with it in the Timeline Module using the Calendar option in its toolbar. You can see that demonstrated in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5nbm6Kcfrusjrs

[@williamrohan3888]

cool!

[@ivankonstantinov3729]

Nice feature, but way too clunky - it takes too many clicks to put your existing chapters or characters on the timeline. Imagine having like 50 of them, and setting names for each node and frame manually. Was going to try it any way, but also found out that Campfire can't synk my offline progress from Mac M1 - the app just not working properly. So I think I'll pass this time.

[@campfirewriting]

If the desktop app's sync tool isn't working I'd recommend sending us a bug report. Our team can help you out there: www.campfirewriting.com/contact

[@akgk6669]

I wanted to make a chart of the time periods of my fantasy world, but for some reason, I can put only dates 6000 years before and after point zero. Also, the fact that exact dates are mandatory, which sucks as the known history history of my world starts 38000 Bm to 10855 Am so I dare say it's kinda of a downgrade comper to previous versions.

[@StarlasAiko]

That is going to be an issue for me as well. I want to include the age of myths and gods, starting my callendar roughly about with the creation of time and the world, since mythology is a major cultural aspect. But I want to be able to develop the world to eventually arrive in the post-digital age, tens of thousands of years after the first civilisation gained the gift of fire.

[@akgk6669]

@StarlasAiko Preach it brother 👍

[@campfirewriting]

The year limitation is there because the timeline begins to slow down after you add too many years to it. There's not a lot we can do about that at the moment, but if we find ways to better optimize it in he future I could definately see raising the cap. As for specific dates, you can remove dates entirely if you like by removing the calendar (Calendar menu -> No Calendar). With that, all dates go away.

[@maxwelljay1665]

​@@campfirewriting I would like to believe you but this seems like a very easy fix in terms of optimization. What they're asking for is an integer and visual compreasion for the timeline. It really shouldnt be that hard to implement.