Creative Jumpstarts

Burnout is a real thing, and it is something I worry about.  My multi-series strategy is something I came up with to help combat it– I’d be less burned out if each thing I write focuses on different characters.  But even still, I need to have other ways to kickstart my creative energy when I’m in a lull.

Part of how I do that is delving back into the primordial parts of the creative process- worldbuilding, outlining, mapmaking.  I love doing that stuff even if there isn’t necessarily a project for it on the horizon.

But I also love to keep going back in and expanding the work I’ve done, finding new ways to express it.

Which is why I’m so thrilled I found a new toy, which I’m going to blatantly shill: Aeon Timeline.

This is a cool program that lets you create timelines, spanning from cosmic levels of ages down to by-the-minute.  You can use it to work out the history of a worldbuild or outline a specific project.  You can even create your own calendars and dating system, track multiple arcs, tie events to people or things.  It is a powerful tool.  It even can sync with Scrivener, which isn’t a feature I’ve tried out yet, but I think I will when I dive into the Lady Henterman’s Wardrobe draft.

But I’m really thrilled.  Plus you can export in all sorts of ways, like this image of the history of Druthal:

So, let’s have a bit of fun.  If there’s something in the history of Druthal that intrigues, tell me in the comments.  I’ll expand upon it in an upcoming post.

For now, back to the word mines.  These books don’t write themselves, after all.