Is the story timeline free?

Yes. The Free plan includes the timeline for up to four projects, with no card needed. Adding images to your scenes is the one timeline feature that needs Storymapper Plus.

Does the timeline need real calendar dates?

No. Story time is a simple left-to-right axis, so it works for invented calendars, flashbacks and stories with no dates at all. You can still write a date on any header or scene.

Can I plot a series or a story with several timelines?

Yes. Use a lane for each strand and header rows to mark each book, part or era. Scenes in different lanes line up against the same headers.

A story timeline maker that keeps the whole plot in view

Storymapper lays your story out like a Gantt chart: one lane for each character, plotline or place, and one card for each scene. You see what happens, to whom, and in what order, on a single screen.

Free forever for the core features. No card needed.

A Storymapper timeline for an example fantasy novel: four lanes of scenes under rows for acts, chapters and dates, with connectors between scenes. — The Timeline: lanes, scenes, chapters and the connections between them.

Lanes for characters, plotlines and places

Give each point-of-view character, subplot or location its own lane. Scenes sit side by side, so you can see at a glance who is busy in chapter twelve and whose storyline has gone quiet for too long.

Acts, chapters and dates along the top

Stack rows of headers above the lanes: acts, parts, chapters, in-world dates, sessions or anything else you count by. A header can cover one scene or run across a whole act.

Links that show cause and effect

Draw a connector from one scene to another and give it a label. A betrayal in one lane points to its consequence in another, so plot holes show up as missing links instead of surprises in the third draft.

Where each scene starts and ends

Every scene can carry a short note on the situation before it and the situation after it. Reading those notes in order is a quick continuity check on a character arc.

Story structures, ready to drop in

Add the three-act structure, the Hero’s Journey, a fifteen-beat sheet or four other structures as a row of beats across your story. Drag each beat to fit, and see at once which scenes carry it.

Reading order, print and share

Switch the timeline to chapter order to see the story as the reader meets it, with every flashback where it is told. Print the whole timeline on one sheet or save it as a PDF, and send a read-only link to an editor or co-writer.

How it works

Create a project and add a lane for each character or plotline.
Click a lane to add a scene. Give it a title, a chapter and a colour-coded label.
Add header rows for acts, chapters or dates, then drag scenes into place.
Link related scenes with connectors, and undo anything with Ctrl + Z.

Start your first project

Questions and answers

Is the story timeline free?: Yes. The Free plan includes the timeline for up to four projects, with no card needed. Adding images to your scenes is the one timeline feature that needs Storymapper Plus.
Does the timeline need real calendar dates?: No. Story time is a simple left-to-right axis, so it works for invented calendars, flashbacks and stories with no dates at all. You can still write a date on any header or scene.
Can I plot a series or a story with several timelines?: Yes. Use a lane for each strand and header rows to mark each book, part or era. Scenes in different lanes line up against the same headers.