Don't deny it.
It's right there beneath the bike. It's pinned beneath either the front or the back wheel. It's kind of hard to tell which.
Or it could be your grandmother.
But I digress.
Some writers are organized and others are not.
I use Microsoft Outlook and turn my characters into Microsoft Contacts. Then I organize the plot sequence in Microsoft Calender. And no, this isn't an advertisement for Microsoft. I'm just saying this is how I do it.
Writer Janrae Frank is an organizational genius. She uses Scrivener. It's amazing. But I'm a creature of habit. and stubborn, too. So I'm still using Outlook
How do you organize?
Forget the evidence shown in the picture.
Help the rest of us out.
Tell me how you really organize your stories, your characters, your plot, your timelines and your writing projects.
14 comments:
Um... I write them all down in a notebook. Yeah, real high tech.
Wow, that's a really interesting way to do things that I'd never even considered!
A notebook? We're going to have to deduct 10 technology points from your score!
Hi Kate! At least I'm one up on Alex!!
I don't do much organizing. Just some world building and thoughts about characters in Word. Most of the time I just wing it because I'm crazy like that.
JE, I'm betting you're just smart.
I write out the first draft in a journal. Then I type the second draft in my laptop, copying the first draft but also making changes as I go. Now I'm working on the third draft, where I printed out all the pages and am going through everything with a pen to see what I can take out or flesh out. My writing desk isn't very organized, though, because it still has a bunch of stuff on it that I've been meaning to throw out for months.
NA, so far you are the winner of the Most Organized Writer of the Year!
Sadly, the only thing that I do for myself that even remotely keeps track of things like characters, plot lines, etc. is print out pages as I write.
I started doing it for editing purposes, so when I had free time, I could take the binder and start editing and proofing. But now it doubles as an excellent way (at least for me) to keep track of what the various plot lines and characters as I mosey along to the finish line.
I do this for all of my writing projects, be they novels, novellas or short stories, simiply because we ocassionally have problems with concentration.
Or-gan-ise? Nope, you've lost me.
"I" can't organize my stories. But my unconscious can. And it doesn't like me telling it's secrets. not that I actually know them, of course.
Now that's interesting. I would never have thought to use Outlook like that. It makes a lot of sense though.
I use Excel do compose sonnets. I set up a template with the right number of lines and cells for the right number of syllables for each line. Then I list the rhyming scheme down the side. This helps me focus on content rather than on the form and rules.
I find it quite practical and effective. I use this approach any time I try a poem that requires strict adherence to form and rhythmic pattern.
I keep a character file for each book, set up by scene appearance, along with what they look like, and their relation to the main character interaction. I keep both the manuscript file and character file open at the same time as I write. I slip in timelines amidst the character blurbs too.
Bernard, I'm going to give you an A+ for organization.
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