As a writer, having a great idea is just the beginning. The real challenge is putting those ideas into words and creating a story that engages your readers. However, before you start typing away, consider how you will organize your work. And why is that important? So glad you asked. ? In a word—clutter, or more specifically, reducing it. Whether it’s your desk, your office, or all the thoughts swirling in your head for your story, keeping things tidy and organized makes getting the job done easier. And what do you want to organize? Things such as character sketches, timelines, places, words with unique spelling, and anything you might wish to refer to as you write your story. For example, character sketches allow you to track not only personality traits but also birthdates. A timeline provides a map for your plot, showing what your characters were doing, when, where, and with whom.
An organized system will help you keep track of all the moving parts of your story and avoid inconsistencies. For example, if you say your character has blue eyes, you may remember that info in Chapter 1, but by the time you’re writing Chapter 15 and have introduced other characters, you might suddenly give them green eyes. Yikes! Your readers will pick up on that if your editor doesn’t spot it first. Names can be another area where things get confusing. One of the characters in Book 2 of The Michelle Kilpatrick Mysteries is named Suzie, but if I wasn’t careful, I might later refer to her as Susie.
Don’t worry about finding the perfect system the first time – that’s not the point. Instead, pick one that sounds easy to use and give it a try. The more you write, the more you’ll realize what you need and what you don’t need in your system. When I began writing my first book in the Michelle Kilpatrick Mysteries series, I had no idea what I was doing. However, it didn’t take me long to realize that I had too many names and details to trust to my memory. First, I tried a combination of sticky notes attached to my desk, Word documents, and, yes, I confess, random pieces of paper scattered here and there. Initially, my menagerie of notes was easy to work with, but as I added more information, I realized I needed a better system. My next step was to only use Word documents. I printed out the pages and kept them in a three-ring binder so I could easily flip between them. My system got the job done, but still did not do what I needed it to do. And thus began my search for a system that worked for me. That’s the key to success—trying different systems until you find the one that works for your unique work style.
Reaching the goal is not defined by how you stay organized, but rather by being organized, which allows you to be more efficient with your time and frees up your brain space to be creative.
Okay, we’ve established that having an organizational system is good, but what needs to be organized and how? Perhaps the simplest way to avoid sticky notes and random pieces of paper is to start with Word Docs.
WORD DOCS
FOLDERS
Arrange all of your writing-related documents into folders that you need, such as
- Character Names and Descriptions—I like to have a working list of all my characters’ names with their descriptions. Michelle Kilpatrick b. 1955, wears glasses, journalism major, favorite foods—pizza, and cheesecake.
- Outlines—if you like to outline your book first, this is where it goes.NOTE: I work on a manuscript as a whole, not in sections. However, if you prefer to separate your chapters, name your files BOOK TITLE/CHAPTER NUMBER.
- Resources—Since my mysteries are set in the mid-1970s, I keep a list of slang terms, music, fashion, current events, TV shows, movies, and so on. You may need information on weather conditions, architecture in a particular city, seaside pictures, etc. Anything you need to make your story authentic should be included here.
- Style Sheet—I like to use a Style Sheet to maintain consistency in the spelling of words that can be written in multiple ways, such as backroom vs. backroom or TV vs. TV.
- Timelines—handy for keeping events in chronological order.
- Thoughts—a folder for ideas for current and future projects.
- Work in Progress—after a day of writing, I name the file with the date and drop it in my WIP folder. If you have an external hard drive, consider saving it there as well, just in case your computer crashes. I also email myself a copy. Having multiple backups can save the day.NOTE: I save all my Works In Progress (WIP). You never know when something goes missing after a revision, or you decide you like the original version you wrote better than the one you revised.
- Smile Bringers—jokes, quotes, anything that makes the writing journey more enjoyable. Whenever you need a smile, you know where to look.
- Writing Tips—this is where I put articles with, you guessed it, writing tips. The internet is filled with articles to improve your writing skills.
SOFTWARE
I like Plottr for tracking characters and places, and I am trying Scrivener, which seems to
SOFTWARE
I like Plottr for tracking characters and places, and I am trying Scrivener, which seems to have a steep learning curve, but I keep working at it.
OLD SCHOOL
Of course, for some people, using notecards and keeping them in a file box works, and that’s okay. Just remember to keep them contained.
There is no right or wrong way to stay organized. The key is to find a system that works for you and use it consistently.
