Make a rough draft on a piece of notebook paper. Write out the list of events and their corresponding dates that will be included on the timeline. Try to make the event names short. If they include lengthy descriptions, the timeline will look cluttered.
Organize the items from one to 20 in order of how they should appear. Once you have your list from the timeline in order, underline the first event and every fifth event. Your timeline will be designed to look like a ruler, and these events will be on the longer lines in order to stand out from the others and denote how much time has passed.
Create your real timeline based on the events that you have listed. To do this, have a large enough writing surface---a piece of white or light colored poster board would be ideal---and use a pencil with a good eraser to draw the first draft of your timeline. Using a ruler or some form of straight edge, draw one long line horizontally across your drawing space. This line should be close to the top of your page and parallel with the edge. Still using the ruler, draw 20 shorter perpendicular lines down from the horizontal line. These perpendicular lines should be in even intervals that start at the very beginning of your original horizontal line and go to the very end. Then, make the first perpendicular line and every fifth line longer.
Fill in the events. Depending on how much space you have, write each event's name and date either horizontally or vertically beneath its corresponding line; either way, make sure you use a ruler so that the lettering is neat. Once you have finished, review your timeline carefully and make any necessary corrections.
Go back over the pencil with pen or marker once you have verified that you are happy with what you have created.
Personalize your timeline by decorating it with magazine pictures of whatever is appropriate for the topic. For example, bridal gowns and cake if you're planning a wedding.