Some people doodle while they think. Some people twirl a pencil. Some people bend paperclips. I like to make charts, graphs, and maps while I think. These charts, graphs, and maps are useful. They always support what I’m thinking about, which is usually the story I’m writing.
My current story makes occasional references to the backstory. I realized I did not know the timeline of that backstory. The timeline is important because some of the characters are children whose ages would dictate how they responded to or participated in past events, and even to what events they might remember. To help ensure what I described about the children made sense, I made a timeline and age chart. Now I know, for example, that Naia was two years old when the Dragon War ended. She could not have done some of the things I had imagined her doing. I’m glad I checked her age before I wrote those scenes.
My stories are always better when I make charts, graphs, and maps while I think.
