The Worst Timeline

The to-do list for the next draft: places where the book contradicts itself, where it drifted from the plan, and real-history slips. They get checked off here as they're fixed.

1. bibleNo names for the narrator, the uncle or the antagonist

   Every document uses roles only. The public post lists a name for the hero and a name for the villain as still to decide; the uncle doesn't have one either.

2. bibleWhat actually broke in 2000

   The divergence is "around 2000", followed by declining social stability and more global crises, but no document says what event split the timeline or what the uncle changed to cause it. The journals, the interventions and the climax all depend on this, and the public post names it as undecided.

3. structureFirst person or third

   The original concept is written in first person ("my uncle revealed", "I embark"), and the site's pitch calls the hero the narrator. The later chapter breakdown, plot outline and bible describe "the protagonist" and "they". Decide the point of view, and with it the narrator's age and gender, which no document sets.

4. bibleIs the uncle dead before the trip?

   The prologue has a deathbed confession and Chapter 1 has the narrator honoring a "dying wish", but the bible's Act One calls it "a dead man's wish". Decide whether the uncle dies before the narrator leaves, and whether he could be met again in 1997.

5. bibleWho the antagonist is

   The antagonist thrives in the broken timeline yet works against the narrator in 1997, with "resources within the past". No document says whether they're a fellow time traveler from the present, someone living in the nineties, or both across time. That choice decides how they can always be a step ahead.

6. structureWhose sacrifice

   The concept calls for "a significant sacrifice" at the moment of divergence. The bible and chapter breakdown mention sacrifices made "by themselves and potentially allies" without saying what. Decide who pays and what.

7. bibleReal historical figures as allies

   The character profiles suggest the allies might include key historical figures, or fictional people placed at key moments. Decide which, and if real people are involved, keep them in the background rather than making them characters.

8. bibleThe title drops "The"

   The concept note, Story Concepts and the site use The Worst Timeline. The bible and the April 2025 chapter, character and plot docs call it Worst Timeline.

9. bibleThe reference list is empty

   The reference collection is a template with no entries, even though the notes put heavy weight on getting 1997 to 2000 right. The bible's only named source, "The Time Traveler's Guide to the Worst Timeline", is a heading inside the concept note, not an outside reference.