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A continuity worksheet for serial fiction

Keep track of what happened, who knows about it, and what the next chapter must respect.

A long story gives different people different pieces of information. The reader may see a secret that the viewpoint character misses. A character can remember where they left an object without knowing whether someone moved it. A small ledger helps you keep those differences deliberate.

Use this worksheet alongside your manuscript. It is a place to record accepted facts and open questions, not a requirement to explain every clue in the prose.

Separate three kinds of knowledge

Keep possible twists and rejected drafts outside the accepted-facts record. If you have not decided who took an object, write “undecided” rather than letting a brainstorming suggestion quietly become the answer.

An invented example: the ferry token

In chapter 3, Mara hides a ferry token beneath a tavern stool while Jon is outside. The reader sees her do it. When Jon returns, he notices mud on Mara’s sleeve.

Established event

Mara hid the token beneath the stool. The accepted chapter shows the action.

Mara’s knowledge

She knows where she left it. She does not know whether anyone moved it afterward.

Jon’s knowledge

He saw mud on her sleeve. He did not witness the hiding and has not been told about it.

Reader’s knowledge

The reader knows the hiding place and Mara’s involvement. The cause of the mud remains unestablished.

Consequence to carry forward

The token stays beneath the stool unless a later event moves it. Someone will need it to take the ferry.

In chapter 4, Jon can become suspicious, ask about the mud, or search the room. If he confidently names the hiding place, give him a source for that knowledge. His suspicion can also be wrong. The private record should make that distinction clear without forcing an explanatory speech into the scene.

When you revise chapter 3, check the affected later scenes. If Mara now hides the token somewhere else, updating only the ledger will not repair a chapter that still sends Jon to the old location.

Fill or copy a continuity record

Use one record for an important event, clue, promise, injury, or change in a relationship. Fill in the fields below, select and copy the record into your own notes, or download the original Markdown worksheet with tables and the example.

Chapter / scene:
Accepted revision:
What happened:
Source passage or scene:
Who knows, and how:
What each character only believes:
What the reader knows:
Still unknown or undecided:
Consequence to carry forward:
Next scene affected:

Start with the few facts that could change a later decision. You do not need an entry for every cup on a table. A borrowed key, an overheard promise, or a character learning a secret is more likely to affect the next chapter.

Before publishing the next chapter

1. Trace knowledge. For each important statement or decision, find what the character witnessed, learned, or inferred. If the source is missing, decide whether to add it, change the claim, or preserve the uncertainty.
2. Carry consequences forward. Check whether a missing object, injury, deadline, or broken promise quietly disappeared. Either keep the consequence active or show what changed it.
3. Read for the audience. Decide whether the reader needs another explanation. A clue can stay implicit even when your private ledger spells it out.

After an accepted revision, update the record and the affected scenes together. Label old alternatives as superseded so they do not get mistaken for the current story.

After you approve merge decisions, save or download a small accepted-decisions file beside the source drafts. Keep one fact per line, label the accepted revision and source passage, and mark unresolved facts as unknown. Manually supply that saved record with the next AI review or merge. Update it only after you approve a change.

Optional AI review prompt

If you choose to use AI for a review, give it only the relevant accepted excerpts and your ledger. Keep its suggestions separate until you check them.

Compare this proposed scene with only the accepted excerpts and ledger I provide. List possible continuity conflicts. For each, identify a short supporting passage and the character’s knowledge source. Separate established facts, character beliefs, and uncertain inferences. If evidence is missing, say “unknown.” Do not invent a missing scene, decide an unresolved twist, or rewrite the prose.

Check each suggestion against your manuscript. This is a proposed review exercise, not a guarantee of accurate editing or a claim that Castlori automatically tracks continuity.

Plan one scene with the five-line worksheet, or read the fantasy, mystery, and slice-of-life examples. The public Markdown resource repository contains both worksheets.

Prepared with AI assistance. The example is invented. This manual resource is free to use independently of Castlori.