---
description: Build a chronological timeline from a manuscript's events
argument-hint: "[path, glob, or selection]"
allowed-tools: [Read, Glob, Grep]
---

Read the material at `$ARGUMENTS` and construct a chronological timeline of events. The result is a reference document the writer can use to spot inconsistencies and ground future revisions.

## What to extract

For each event of plot significance, capture:

- **Event** — what happens, in one sentence
- **When** — absolute date/time if given, otherwise relative timing ("the morning after X", "three days before the inciting incident")
- **Duration** — if the event takes more than a moment
- **Characters involved**
- **Location**
- **Source** — chapter/scene where this is established
- **Significance** — major plot point, minor beat, background

Include events from any era the text references — pre-story backstory, on-page action, and any post-story implications mentioned in epilogue or dialogue.

## Output format

Three sections:

### 1. Backstory timeline
Events that happened before the story opens, in chronological order. Include character histories and world events the text references.

### 2. Story timeline
On-page events, in chronological order (not necessarily the order they're presented in the text). Note where the narrative diverges from chronology — flashbacks, parallel scenes, time-jumps.

### 3. Consistency issues
- **Contradictions** — A happens before B in one place and after in another
- **Impossibilities** — character in two places at once, travel times that don't add up
- **Gaps** — unexplained jumps in character or plot timeline
- **Vague spots** — events where the timing is ambiguous and should be firmed up

Format the timelines as Markdown lists or tables. Cite chapters/scenes for every entry. Keep entries to one or two sentences each.