How the 3 Different Timelines Make for Great Worldbuilding

Two pictures depicting the same mountain range across 2 different timelines with a blue sky and white clouds. The left shows it in summertime with a yellow grassy plain and the right shows it in winter with a snow-covered grassy plain. The center mountain on the right no longer has its top whereas the one on the left does. The mountains have snow on them.
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Sunfire

CONTENTS

Overview

Of all of the themes that creators in the fantasy genre explore, none are as encompassing as that of time travel. There are infinite possibilities to craft great stories using this particular theme that it can be difficult to come up with ideas on how to incorporate it in your own. Fortuitously, there are many different timelines you can use!

The vast majority of works that feature time travel involve the protagonist going back in time, to a period before his own. Traveling to the Past enables creators to shine light on monumental events that helped shape the world the main character dwells in as well as dive into the chain of events that led to them. However, when going to the Past, there are two different dimensions, one of which you must choose when fleshing out your own story.

The first is what’s called the fixed timeline. Of all the different timelines, this one is intriguing to work with, for everything that originally transpired before the protagonist stepped foot in it will always occur, regardless of what actions he takes. The fixed timeline is great to explore since creators don’t have to necessarily worry about the potential of the protagonist inadvertently changing history and can create a stellar plot that takes full advantage of everything the Past has to offer.

On the opposite side of the spectrum sits the unfixed or mutable timeline. This one is where the possibility of changing history exists. The protagonist can endeavor to work hard to change it though he runs the risk of causing the world he’s from to disappear entirely and himself as well.

Some creators prefer to use parallel universes to showcase what-if scenarios. Out of all the different timelines, parallel universes are among the most popular, for creators can explore different ideas and themes without affecting existing history and lore. The drawback to this is that it can become impossible to bridge the two, meaning the timeline in them will go on their own ways, essentially becoming wholly different from one another.

This is the ninth article in the time travel series. If you’d like to see what else we have, you can find more articles on our blog page!

Different Timelines: the Fixed

The fixed timeline is where nothing can be done to alter the course of history, meaning that everything will happen no matter what the protagonist does. At first glance, the fixed timeline might not be fun to work with but if you look deeper, you’ll realize that it is far more flexible than you think.

The main advantage that comes with this one as opposed to all the different timelines is that you can freely explore the history of your world without having to worry about the main character accidentally changing history. This means you can craft stories that use the Past as a backdrop, a prelude if you will, to the main drama of the Present and have the protagonist see what happened then in order to get a better understanding of what’s going on in the Present.

A golden road meandering through a green plain with a green forest on each side. Two rock outcroppings jut out at the bottom above the forests. In the distance is an erupting volcano with a ring of clouds swirling around it and a range of green rolling hills. Above them is the blue sky with light gray clouds and lava flying out from the volcano. Writing a prequel enables you to show events that happened in the past that effects the story in the present.

You can use the main character as either a spectator or an active participant. In the former, he bears witness to the events of that time, where he just lets things progress as if he wasn’t there. He does so as to not cause any issues that could lead to the time he’s from from disappearing.

Should the protagonist opt to participate, that’s where things get really interesting. There are a number of avenues you could pursue in terms of storytelling where you can use the fixed timeline to your advantage that you can’t really do when working with the others. For instance, you could have him fight vainly, a losing battle if you will, to prevent the world he’s from from coming to pass.

Another kind of plot line you could use is to have the main character wind up causing what he is attempting to prevent from happening. In short, he essentially becomes the culprit for the problem he faces in his own time. In this vein, events in the Past continue with no change at all.

The Power to Alter History: Different Timelines

While the fixed timeline is rich in storytelling potential, the same holds true for its counterpart on the other side. Indeed, there is so much potential that it can be hard to think of a storyline that uses everything the unfixed timeline has to offer. However, this particular timeline comes with its own risks that must be taken into account when working with it.

The unfixed timeline is dynamic, meaning that the possibility of altering history exists at all times. One could make the argument that by virtue of his presence in the Past, the protagonist has already changed history since he wasn’t there originally. The thing of it is, though he is from a later era, whatever actions he takes during his time in the Past stands the chance of changing the world he’s from.

A golden road meandering through a red plain with a red forest on each side. Two rock outcroppings jut out at the bottom above the forests. In the distance is a volcano with a ring of clouds swirling around it and a range of red rolling hills. Above them is the orange sky with gray clouds. Part of writing a sequel is showing more of the world as well as the end destination.

Creators who make stories that incorporate the idea of the mutable timeline do so to showcase how even one little deviation from the original Past can completely alter the future. It could be even little things like meeting someone later on, going to a different restaurant, or rescuing someone who originally died in the Past.

Unlike the different timelines that creators explore in their works, this one comes with great peril. For example, the protagonist’s efforts to alter history runs the chance of everything he knows and loves disappearing permanently, himself included. He does so knowing his life is the price to pay if it means making the future better.

Another issue that comes from changing the Past is that the main character could return to a world unlike the one he’s from. It could be better or worse. Some stories showcase that despite the protagonist’s efforts to try to prevent the world he’s from coming to pass, they wind up causing it to be worse, rendering all of his efforts moot.

Different Timelines: the Parallel Universe

When it comes to checking out all the different timelines, none are as fascinating as that of the parallel universe. This one offers a practically infinite amount of storytelling potential since it diverges from the established one. This means new technologies and civilizations can appear in this alternative world, each with their own story to tell and this has no direct bearing on the original world.

The parallel universe essentially boils down to a what-if scenario. It could be anything from a technology that never came to fruition, a civilization lasting longer than it originally did, or a war that engulfed the entire planet in flames, effectively destroying all the countries involved in said conflict.

Purple question marks within white clouds above a mountain range in the blue sky. These question marks signify what goes into creating a fantasy social hierarchy.

What the parallel universe has going for it is that it gives creators tremendous freedom to dive into ideas and themes that they feel cannot realistically work in the world they’ve already created. They do so not having to worry about dealing with how it affects the already established lore.

Of all the different timelines, there is something to take into consideration when working with the parallel universe that makes it tricky. There will eventually be a point where the two worlds diverge beyond the point that they can be bridged, as if they are going their separate ways. This means that if someone is able to move between the two universes, they will see one wholly unrecognizable, having become its own entity.

Events in alternative timelines have no direct bearing on the original world since these universes have reached a point that the latter cannot be impacted by the former in any capacity. While this enables creators to compose and pursue plot lines that affect only the universe they are in, it runs the risk of overshadowing the original world. That world is the genesis of everything, meaning creators should still devote plenty of time to it even as they flesh out the parallel universe.

Tying it all Together

There are as many different timelines as there are themes in the fantasy genre. Each one shapes both the story the world are set in, giving creators great latitude in making fantastic works that use this particular concept to its fullest extent. When deciding to incorporate it in your own, first you must decide on what kind of timeline you’d like to explore.

Many works feature an ironclad, or fixed, timeline. The premise of this is that the timeline cannot be altered, no matter what the protagonist does. Whatever happened in the Past happened and will happen again and again no matter how many times the main character is there.

A good number of works also depict an unfixed or mutable timeline. In this one, the chance to change the course of history exists at all times, meaning the protagonist can influence it to try to make the world he’s from different that what he remembers it. The drawback to this one, especially when compared against the different timelines, is that there is a chance that his original world will be erased and he will disappear from history. It will be as if he never existed in any shape or form.

The parallel universe is a goldmine in worldbuilding. Creators dive eagerly into what-if scenarios, showing an alternative history than the one they already built in the original timeline. They can let their creativity flow as they work in the parallel universe, taking solace in knowing that they don’t have to worry about affecting the original world, meaning they can leave it perfectly intact until the next time they work on it.

Should you deign to incorporate the theme of time travel in your own story, think about what kind of timeline you want to use. This is an important decision to make, for it will shape the trajectory of the plot and what you can and cannot do.

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Thanks for reading this and until the next time,

Sunfire

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