Description
Compare narrated duration with a scene timeline span.
Story planning separates the order of telling from fictional chronology, continuity records and practical writing budgets. Explicit labels, counts and invented calendar rules can make a local convention consistent without deciding narrative quality or inferring facts from manuscript prose.
Compare narrated duration with a scene timeline span.
When to use this tool
Use Scene Timeline Duration Gap when checking a supplied story-continuity, chronology, calendar or drafting-budget convention.
How to use the tool and how it works
- Enter sceneStart, sceneEnd, narratedDuration. Use the units and conventions below.
- Run the tool. Correct any format, range, or cross-field input error before interpreting the output.
- Read timelineDuration, gap. Use the output convention below.
Compare narrated duration with a scene timeline span. Require sceneEnd >= sceneStart and narratedDuration >= 0; timelineDuration = end-start, gap = narratedDuration-timelineDuration.1
| Input field | Meaning and units | Accepted input |
|---|---|---|
| sceneStart | Scene Start | Required. Finite number. |
| sceneEnd | Scene End | Required. Finite number. |
| narratedDuration | Narrated Duration | Required. Finite number; minimum 0. |
| Output field | Interpretation | Returned shape |
|---|---|---|
| timelineDuration | Timeline Duration | Required. Finite number. |
| gap | Signed difference under the stated comparison convention, with matching units. | Required. Finite number. |
{
"input": {
"sceneStart": 10,
"sceneEnd": 20,
"narratedDuration": 4
},
"output": {
"timelineDuration": 10,
"gap": -6
}
}Limitations and assumptions
- Use one time unit; a signed gap does not by itself establish narrative inconsistency or error.
- Inputs must satisfy both the field types and the cross-field conditions above. Invalid input causes an error; a successful false flag or documented placeholder is a different result.
- Numeric calculations use binary floating point unless exact decimal-integer arithmetic is explicitly stated. No hidden measurement tolerance or decimal rounding is added; nonfinite or out-of-contract results are rejected. Numeric signed-zero results are exported as zero.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Use the manuscript, scene outline and the chosen style/calendar policy for a complete editorial review; interpret numerical budgets in their narrative context.
References
Similar or alternative tools
- Scene Present Time Reference Gap
Return three signed narrative time offsets.
- Story Timeline Flashback Offset
Return a scene's timeline offset and ending anchor.