How do you organize?

I write on paper too, any piece of scrap on hand from coupons to notebooks to junk mail. I would reread and number each scene according to where they fit into the novel, and then type it all up in sequence so I have a semblance of organization.

Me? I guess I know where a piece of writing belongs before I write it. If it's a new story, I write it in a new document. If it belongs in an existing story (even I'm not sure exactly where) I add it in the most logical place (to be moved or removed later, as required).

What sort of things are you writing that makes them difficult to organize?

Organizing material depends (in part) on what you want to use it for.

When I'm working on a novel that has complex world-building (think Tolkien-esque fantasy) I usually have three documents: Outline, Characters, World. The first contains whatever I know about my PLOT. The second is a description and history and short synopsis of each character and their role within the overall novel. The third contains notes on anything else of relevance: religions, countries, governments, social classes, myths, etc.

What goes into those three documents usually starts on index cards or post-its or scribbled pages in a notebook. I organize by taking all the bits and pieces and putting them into some sort of logical progression in whichever document in relevant on my computer. I do this to save time so I don't have to look for the stack of index cards when I'm trying to remember which plot point is next.

But the key thing is to figure out what works for you. And part of that means knowing how you'll use those notes scribbled in your notebook or on loose pages.

When I write short stories I tend to brainstorm by writing ideas out by hand. Once I have the idea in my head I write the story, most of the time without referring to my initial notes. If you work that way then maybe all you need is a drawer in your desk labeled "Project A" to put all your stuff in. If you're very detail oriented in your prep work (i.e. writing out sketches of every chapter and dialogue exchanges, etc) you'll want to collect all the information in one place (or document(s)) for easy reference.

Some people put things in Excel and do spreadsheets to track project wordcount and character arcs and such. My brain thinks that's too much like work so I don't do that, but it works for some.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, what about your current approach feels like it's disorganized? Maybe once you figure that out ("It's all in different places and I can't find anything", for instance OR "I can't see the whole plot at once and it's giving me hives," possibly) you can start figuring out what you need to do to remedy the problem.

Just my two cents.

I gave up on organizing. In the end it was only a procrastination tool.

I have on Word document per project, and I write linearly. Nothing gets written down until I make it to that scene. I'm good a storing information, though, so if there is a particularly nice line I like, for example, then I'll remember it. I just won't write it down until I get there.

I usually need a little more organization in edits, but not first drafts.

I don't organize, I just write. I've found most ideas and notes sound great when you think of them, but are worthless later on. Or worse than worthless, if you try to force them into a story.

So I have one document that I begin at the beginning, and end when it's finished.

Me? I guess I know where a piece of writing belongs before I write it. If it's a new story, I write it in a new document. If it belongs in an existing story (even I'm not sure exactly where) I add it in the most logical place (to be moved or removed later, as required).

Click to expand...

Me too. If it's for an existing first draft of a novel I go to the relevant scene and at the start type XX insert notes XX. If it's for scenes that have yet to be written it goes at the end, after where I'm actually writing. When I tidy up in second draft the info is there (or I can search for XX), because my memory isn't what it once, young' un.

CalynMorgan said:

-Aggy
Do you throw out your index cards and what not when you add them to the Word documents?

Click to expand...

Nope. I just put them up on the shelf over my desk (or in a drawer) where I can find them again. (If I have enough room on the wall I'll usually stick them up where I can see them, but they aren't in the way. But that's just a personal preference held over from film school.)

There is something different about the way the brain processes "tactile" information and having actual objects (index cards or post-its or napkins or whatever) with my plot points written on them and being able to actually manipulate them with my hands is different than just moving text around in a computer document. If I get to a point where it feels like something isn't working right, I pull the index cards back out and lay them out and move them around until I figure out what's wrong.

It sounds silly, but it works wonders for me. For that same reason when I feel my creativity getting thin I write by hand for a while instead of typing. It puts my mind in a different creative "space" that in turn helps me look at the story in a different light. But, again, not everyone is as weird as I am in that regard.

I never organize. I hate things being right where I can get to them

Jamesaritchie said:

I don't organize, I just write. I've found most ideas and notes sound great when you think of them, but are worthless later on. Or worse than worthless, if you try to force them into a story.

So I have one document that I begin at the beginning, and end when it's finished.

Click to expand...

So James, how does "I don't need to organize" help the person asking how to organize?

Maryn, a curmudgeon in her own right

I have a 4'x6' corkboard on my office wall that I use to post story ideas, tidbits of scrap paper, and the like, so that when a possibly-interesting idea hits me, I can jot it down on a post-it or 3x5 card and stick it up on the board and not have to worry about forgetting it.

When I'm working on a project, I usually have one or more Word docs that I add to as I come up with world-building elements, character ideas, etc. Once I feel like I have enough info to turn it into a short story or novel, I create a new document for the outline.

I've lost too many documents and scraps of paper to count, so having it all in one place is much better for my sanity.

When I have a new idea, I buy a notebook for it - the bigger the better. I handwrite my entire story, so it's partly for that, but little notes end up in there as well. If I reread a section or chapter, I have a red pen and leave little notes to myself in the margin to remember to incorporate into my edits later.

I also have two bulletin boards. One is for my current project and has notecards with scene ideas (along with little red-inked notes written onto the cards) and any other scraps with ideas on them for my current WiP. The other bulletin board has no organization whatsoever, except that it's all for future ideas or projects that have been set aside, and usually things for the same story/idea are pinned together.

I also write everything plot-wise in black ink and notes and other possible ideas in red-ink to help me distinguish.

Maryn said:

So James, how does "I don't need to organize" help the person asking how to organize?

Maryn, a curmudgeon in her own right

Click to expand...

I essentially had the same answer as James. Maybe the OP is over-thinking it. Always a possibility.

But Calyn, you might try the index cards. Never use more than one index card per subject. So: one card on your main character, one card on the love interest, etc., one card on each setting, and then you can also have one card per scene. You can also keep them color-coded (green for character cards, yellow for setting cards, pink for scenes). Etc.

It's easy enough to carry around the cards with you during the day if you're the type where inspiration randomly strikes. Either that or do the same thing but using a notebook.

But me, the more stuff I have to look at the more disorganized I get. One document for me works best. Keep it simple.

I don't make notes ahead of time because it's just crap that clutters up my hard drive. I'm forever cleaning, in real life and on my laptop and looking for things to get rid of. And it's a bad, bad idea saving scribbles in the hope you fit them into a future project. If they fit, you'll call the scenes to mind when it comes time to write that particular book and if they don't fit, they're best forgotten.

Now you might wonder how does that apply to the projects you outline, SP?

When that happens, I brainstorm some scenes, set pieces and so on, put them in a vague order in a bullet-point list in MS Word. This gets labelled "TITLE - notes". This step takes about half an hour to a couple of hours, tops.

After that I set up an MS Excel file with all my formulae in place (I have an outline template saved) for working out how many words I've written so far, daily average, chapter average, projected total, blah blah. Saved as "TITLE - outline".

After that I write each chapter out of sequence as and when I fancy writing them, keeping my running total updated in Excel. Chapters can be rearranged at will, shortened, amalgamated, skipped, deleted, re-inserted, you name it. Each chapter has its own word.docx file and as I complete each one, I paste it into the master file.

The notes, the outline and each word.docx are all saved in a folder: "TITLE".

Each TITLE folder is grouped together in my overall 'WRITING' folder.

Of course, when I choose to write straight through, no outline, in order...I just have one word document, titled according to the project's name, and that's it.

Probably makes no sense to anyone other than tt42, but it works for me (and her).

I despise 'messy' hard drives and have to keep everything clearly labelled, where I can find it, or my brain aches.

I use MS OneNote. I try to stay as paperless as possible. When I start a new WIP, I begin a new notebook. In the "Characters" section, I copy my main characters from earlier novels, then add new characters. I don't get too far ahead of myself here. Usually, I add new characters to the notebook as they're introduced in the WIP.
I have other sections in the notebook for "Outline" and "Research". It makes it very easy to keep track of all the secondary characters, places and things when writing a crime suspense novel.
If you have MS Office 2007, you already have OneNote.

The Home/Student version, at least. Not every Office package has OneNote.

I have a folder for writing in my documents. Within that folder are folders for the works in progress. Withing the works in progress folders, there are folders for each chapter as well as folders for snippets and ideas, references, outlines, etc. Within each chapter folder, I keep a copy for each revision round. (First Draft, First Revision, etc.) It sounds complicated but it really isn't. Everything is easy to find. If I need to refer to an older draft and the way I worded something, it's quite easy to pull it up because I know exactly where it is.

I don't even know where my documents are. That way no one will be tempted to torture me for my original ideas.

What is this organization you speak of?

When I'm designing I tend to do it electronically. I have files about background, characters, plot and I tend to name them accordingly -- BG, CH, PL, then the file name. When I'm researching an idea or setting, I'll often add RS files. When I write little essays or jot notes about my story's themes, I'll file those as TM. You could do the same with a ring-binder folder, or just label the top of your Moleskine page.

I used to go all out on organizing. The subfolders within subfolders within subfolders within subfolders kind of crazy. I literally had a folder for every single aspect of the novel and the world. I realized this was a bad idea when I had to refer back to this sprawling network of folders for information and...I couldn't find the information I needed. Yep, I was so organized I had lost track of everything.

Then I thought to myself hey, shouldn't all this stuff be in the story anyways? I dismantled my huge encyclopedia of folders and started jotting down things I needed to know instead of the things I thought I needed to know. Amazing how short the new list was, comparatively speaking. XD Of course I was new to worldbuilding at the time too so I had all kinds of ridiculously irrelevant material. I'd also needed a reason for everything, right down to a character's name and their eye/hair color. Yeah. Luckily the phase only lasted for one barely started, now long-abandoned novel.

Now I just keep folders for each large project, mostly to contain the drafts. I use notebooks to keep track of details, things that need to be researched, etc. Then I mix all the notebooks up and can't find the notes anyways, but that's besides the point. Sometimes I'll write it directly into the draft instead so when I go back for revisions I'll have anything I need to know literally in front of me. Most of the time though it does end up on a piece of paper. I may even find the paper, someday.

RJK said:

I use MS OneNote.

Click to expand...

Yay! I second this. OneNote has been my redemption. It allows me to organize as I work--which is brilliant, not just in terms of writing, but researching. I often forget little pieces of information, but OneNote keeps them handy for me.

Maryn said:

So James, how does "I don't need to organize" help the person asking how to organize?

Maryn, a curmudgeon in her own right

Click to expand...

Because "I don't organize" is an option, and, I think, a very good one. There's this notion with new writers that you must have plot points written down, every idea you get scrawled somewhere, and seventeen documents covering research.

It just ain't so.