TimeFrame Model

TimeFrame Module is the heart of BiblioCave. This is the digital manifestation of TimeFrame Model. This model is unique (even though it can easily be done with

corkboard, strings and pins) and serve as a main plot-muse management mechanism.

The module itself contains two special items: TimeArrow and Timeframe Miniframe.

the module is the place to synchronize and coordinate the big picture of sagas (for example). In the image bellow there is a world, built by two books, and a trilogy. Each Timeframe Miniframe represents a book (example). It can be seen that the trilogy starts in a time between the first two books. Using lines (as in the image), arrow and notes user

can flowchart the entire complexity of the plot and world building.

each Miniframe show on its face the start and end tome of its TimeLine

Time Frame Interface

Double clicking Timeframe Miniframe, portals the user into the Timeframe Interface. In the image bellow, the Corkboard’s grid is toggled on. The vertical-lines grid seen is the TimeGrid, that is in sync with the TimeLine ticks (fully customized colors) and as seen a live Time tooltip is synchronized to show Time on location. The tooltip is toggleable as well.

the time line is fully customable; user can select time system as pleased.

The main entities to be placed are Nodes and Strings. String derive its time parameters by connecting to Node.

(Dragging linear edge to a snapping point of linear/non-linear item, connects them until user breaks it manually).

String can show middle text (as start and end text) for short remarks.

TimeFrame Model

What make this model so useful and powerful? Its simplicity.

This is the model:

each node is a combination of location-event-character (who did what were and when). User don’t have to have any idea of actually what happens, and can randomly scatter Nodes on bord. (nodes have many visual custom properties) a location can repeat in several different Time (Nodes), for example the plot moves form London to Paris and back to London.

In the image bellow you can see randomly placed Nodes.

The next stage is connecting the Nodes randomly (if no real plot behind it) with Strings. User can use specific dash and color for each character, or for a group. In a real physical corkboard version, real colorful strings are used, each for a character. In the digital version, user can combine Node shape (effects number of connecting points), String color and dash to represent characters or groups (digitally, strings connecting same points will overlap so might be better using a string per group and not only per character). Strings represent traveling phase between nodes.

You can see in this image how a skeleton for a plot is looked like. It can be seen that the blue starry node is a nexus point where all the plot is focused to, as a final battle (for example), and the aftermath epilogue for two different characters or groups. If it was an and of a book in a saga, the end point would be at very and of the time frame at the nexus, with

no epilogue. That would be a cliffhanger for the start of the next book.