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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/11007
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I want to visualize the internal structure of my plot. I noticed several contradictions, and want to better understand what's going on in my tale.

I'm not talking about different characters doing parallel stuff in different places. My plot has one single chronological thread. What I want to visualize are topics, themes, artifacts, that appear and reappear during that plot, are related to and influence each other.

For example, my two protagonists argue about something, sometimes leaning to this, sometimes more to another conclusion. When they take up the argument again a few days and pages later (having been together but not discussed the topic), both may have thought about it for themselves and changed their opinions, but at the same time, the other person will not know where they now stand, so that person must continue as if to the last opinion of his partner.

I'm getting a bit confused in my rather convoluted plot, and want to get the continuity straight. Since I'm a visual person and am currently lost in a flood of paper notes and computer files that I cannot view at the same time and therefore can't put in relation to each other with my small working memory, I'd like to somehow draw it all in a timeline-like graph.

What would you recommend? What do you use?

**How do you visualize plot structure?**

Also, what tools do you use for this?

Original score: 11