# Continuity log template

From AxiomStory (https://axiomstory.com/blog/continuity-errors-in-novels).
Start it at chapter 1. Each time you state a fact that could come up again, add a row.
Copy the exact words, so you can search for them later.

## 1. Facts

Kinds: looks, injuries, time, travel, objects, knowledge, names, world rules.

| Fact | Kind | First chapter | Exact words | Later chapters that mention it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |  |

## 2. Names

One line per character, with every name, title and nickname they go by.
Search for each one when you reread.

| Character | Other names and titles | First chapter for each |
| --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |

## 3. Timeline by day

Count days, not chapters. Most time errors show up as soon as you do.

| Day | Chapter | What happens | Who is where |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |

## 4. Who knows what

A character can only act on a secret after the chapter where they learn it.

| Secret | Who knows it | Chapter they learn it | Who must not know yet |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |

## 5. Breaks on purpose

Changes you meant, such as a lie, a clue or a narrator who remembers wrong.
List them so nobody "fixes" them, including you.

| What changes | Chapters | Why it is on purpose |
| --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |

## 6. Reading passes

Read the draft once for each kind. Tick it off when the pass is done.

- [ ] Looks: eyes, hair, height, scars, clothes within a scene
- [ ] Injuries: wounds heal at a believable speed
- [ ] Time: days of the week, seasons, ages, how long ago
- [ ] Travel: distances and travel times match every time
- [ ] Objects: who holds each important thing in each chapter
- [ ] Knowledge: nobody knows something before they learn it
- [ ] Names: every name and place spelled the same way
- [ ] World rules: each rule keeps its limit and its cost

## 7. When two chapters disagree

1. Keep the version the rest of the book leans on.
2. Fix the other one, then search for every other line that mentions it.
3. If the plot needs the change, add a line in the story that explains it.
4. If you meant it, add it to section 5.