Record facts at the moment they become true
Planning notes and published facts are different. A character may be left-handed in an outline, but that detail becomes canon only when the working manuscript depends on it. Mark the source chapter beside every important fact so you can return to its context.
For a first draft, capture only details that are likely to affect a later scene: identity, desire, allegiance, physical constraints, ownership, location, timing, and promises made on the page.
Give every entry a current state
A static biography explains who someone was. A useful continuity record explains who they are at the chapter you are writing. Add a current state and the event that changed it.
- Character: belief, goal, knowledge, injuries, and active relationships.
- Place: controller, condition, access, and the last scene set there.
- Object or clue: owner, location, who knows about it, and whether it has paid off.
- Faction: leader, public aim, private aim, and alliances in force.
Use a relative timeline before inventing dates
Many novels need sequence more than a calendar. Start with relationships such as before, after, during, and three days later. Add exact dates only when the story requires them.
Relative time prevents decorative precision from becoming a trap. It also works across invented calendars, flashbacks, and stories that deliberately conceal the year.
Track knowledge separately from truth
Continuity breaks often come from knowledge, not facts. The reader may know the heir is alive while the protagonist believes the heir is dead. Record who knows, suspects, misunderstands, or is hiding each revelation.
Before drafting a confrontation, check every participant's knowledge state. This catches accidental confessions and impossible deductions before they reach the page.
Audit one scene with five questions
Do not reread every note before each writing session. Run a short scene-level check and open deeper notes only when an answer is uncertain.
- Where is everyone at the start of the scene?
- What does each person know right now?
- What physical or social constraints are active?
- Which promise, clue, or relationship changes here?
- What new fact becomes canon when the scene ends?
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