Do you write notes? Or keep a Notebook with you just in case? I didn't, untill just before Xmas, and now, I have nearly filled half a notebook with ideas to use/been used. Just wondering how many of you do this? and if so, do you write loads, or just little short notes? I found myself writing entire first drafts in notebooks, and it really helps.
I mean to, but never do. I am so lazy though. Sometimes I wake up in the night with an idea and will jot it down on a scrap peice of paper by my bed, but I never know where I left it in the morning
I tried but my hands don't handle pen and paper well. I can barely write a grocery list and have it readable. I come to the computer and write out my ideas which works pretty well since I am home most of the time.
I never go anywhere without my composition book and pen. There is paper and pen on every level surface in the apartment, and in my office, i have three walls covered with newsprint to scribble quick notes.
I've never really done something like that. Talking to myself over the idea and daydreaming out loud (and visual) keeps stuff in place. I may jot down some important things on a paper once in a while...but rarely.
I don't do much notebooking cause most of my ideas come from brainstorming sessions in front of my computer. I do however write things down when I have a sudden stroke of brilliance. Luckily my church gives out pamplets every morning and when I ahve an idea I jot it down on the margins of the paper. At school I got notebook paper for my binder, and when i'm just walking around I have reciets in my pocket.
I tend to carry a notebook with me, but it's not for notes. When I get some free time at school, I continue writing in that notebook and transfer it to my computer later. And sometimes my writing is better when I write it out by hand, so that's the other reason. I have five writing notebooks, most of which are nearly filled with stuff for different ideas I've had over the past couple of years.
I write notes for my stories in a little composition note book (I think it's about 3" by 4" or something XD it's rather small). I even started one of my books in it lol
I take notes. I try to write them in notebooks (which I compulsively buy), but really anything that pencil or pen or lipstick will stick to is good enough. Napkins, receipts, the headboard of the bed, my hand etc...
I don't have a notebook, but sometime in the summer, I started a file on my computer devoted entirely to story ideas and jotted notes...it's currently over 100 pages, and counting. When I have writer's block, it's always really good to to scan over all those notes and see if there's anything I can use to take my story in a new direction. I also have a notebook by my bed for ideas I have in the shower (which happens with astonishing regularity.)
I write notes down on bits of paper and keep them in my wallet, when I'm away from my computer, then I enter them into the appropriate story. I still have heaps of them in my drawer. Half the time I can't even remember what I'm on about. They usually end up very cryptic :redface:.
I used to write notes on random pieces of paper, but then they got lost, so now I just write them down on the same file in my laptop.
I once wrote a lot of notes and would have a bunch of pages of them. But I realized that all I did is just write ideas and not write about them. Sometimes having trouble executing the ideas correctly but that's another story.
I have have long periods of note taking followed by non-note taking When I take notes I have a small pocket notebook with me everywhere. Actually, at the time it was two: One for writing the rough draft (it is an atrocious thing) and one for writing actual notes. I filled up half the notebook with the rough draft, and the other one was everything from map sketches, name lists, quick psychology studies (look up Enneagram for some interesting personality starters) and created a sort of Elian cipher (go ahead, look it up). I even started using regular sized notebooks, I organized them by People, Objects, Locations, Events, and Miscellaneous. Problem is, I really only used the People book, and for everything, and I really suck at taking notes for a story because I like to have it be a complete thought before I write it down, or at least be able to put into words what I need to remember. Anyone have any note taking strategies? Besides of course always having paper and a pencil. Fun Fact: I'm actually supposed to by writing a new rough draft/ outline for my story right now. I think I'm already doing something wrong with my note taking...
I was reading about the writing process of my favorite author (Dostoevsky!), and apparently he would take extensive notes of his observations and ideas. To those of you who do this, what do your notes usually consist of? I tried making random jottings of people I ran in to for example but so far I don't think I've created anything useful. If you have other writing wisdom to share too it would be appreciated. I've done lots of reading my whole life but am just starting to try my hand at writing.
Journaling from your characters perspective is very helpful. Also, I will hand write a scene and few days later type it. There is always a vast difference, but it makes it easier to get detailed the second time. I scribble, put down rough ideas for a plot line, and even have drawn the main characters house. I had such a clear vision of what I wanted it to look like, I just drew it out. I think jotting down, even with no clear plan really helps clear the mind and give you focus. After writing out what I call "plot points" (which I havent really learned I just figured making a list of how I want the story to go in order would be helpful) I have a clear and driect view of exactly what I need to write and where it needs to go. This is helpful to me, since I write out of order. I can put the number of the point in front of what I'm writing and then go place it in order when I'm done. OR maybe I'm just crazy and the only one this works for. haha
I mostly only take notes on research items - facts, statistics, calculations. I never have any problems remembering storyline ideas or character attributes, and I change things as I go along. Any notes on those would quickly become obsolete.
My notes are longer than the story I'm writing. But they're not about my characters or plot. I had to do a lot of research to get the historical accuracy I wanted, and I don't mean buying books from the library and looking things up on Wikipedia, either. I was dealing with information from a culture that has largely been destroyed on purpose. I had to find a lot of people across the world who could help me - there are a hundred and ten million ethnic Gaels in the world, and odds are what I wanted to find out was no longer known in Scotland or Ireland, but was in America, Canada, or Australia. I noted the oral tales I was told, and checked them for anything that was similar with another oral tale, and then accepted that as historical fact. Then I wrote how I could use that in my story. So I have a lot of notes. I have the greater part of medieval Gaelic history written across over a thousand pages.
I'm writing a book set in the past (WWII to be exact). I don't know if I'd go as far a GG did, but notes are important. It's more history than anything.
I use notes to help me define chracters and to keep track of ideas that I have but am too busy to work on. I have a small note book with dozens of story ideas and I go back and add a little more detail about the world sometimes. It helps since there is soo much time inbetween chances for me to visit a world as a writer because of my schedule I can see the world and imagine a history for it and the things that go on there. When I am writing I also keep notes about what has happened before in the story so that I know where I am picking up at a few days later.
I'm in the same boat as Cogito on this one (amazing, isn't it?). I rarely make notes. Honestly, stories change and ferment in my head so quickly that notes are frequently obsolete almost before I finish writing them out. Even my "final ideas," ideas that I'm absolutely certain are what I want the story to consist of, may be subject to rapid change if they don't work out the first time or two. Plus, whenever I do make too many notes, I start getting overexcited and want to skip right to the "good stuff." That never works out well for me.
I take notes on certain facts and other supporting things for the story. If I took notes of ideas, I'd have a mountain of them. Although I still rarely take notes. I only write things I can't remember down.
I take a lot of notes. I do a lot of research for everything that I write, and it's just easier to compile notes than have tons of sources on hand. I also take notes about what my characters are like and rough outlines of where I need to go with my works. Probably the most frequent notes I make are ones about problems that I need to figure out. I typically write memos to myself such as "Figure out what this character needs to do in this situation. It cannot be this, because of this... etc." I also take notes of things that inspire me. If I see or here a phrase or a couple of words that I find particularly interesting I jot them down and plan to come back to them for a future story or poem. It's really about what works the best for you, though.
