How do you keep your notes?

Discussion in 'General Writing' started by Lemex, Jan 22, 2008.

  1. bluebell80

    bluebell80 New Member

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    I probably don't take enough notes. I keep a lot of things in my head, observations, ideas, plots, you name it I stored it in a file in my head.

    The problem I have, is the older I get the harder it is to find these files since my office management skills seem to be lacking a little in my head.

    So I have to make little notes. Sometimes I keep a blank open doc on my laptop while I am writing, to jot down character details (usually ages, full names, married to, children, who might play them if it were a movie (an actor or actress inspiration) their imaginary address, and any plot lines that may develop while I am writing it.

    I don't write a lot down, I tend to work on the story in my head while I am doing the mundane routine of everyday Mom's life. I'll crack a problem I'm trying to work out while doing dishes and have to run to the computer to put it on paper. Sometimes I just have time to jot a sentence or two down, but I'll use my blank doc for that. Sometimes it's an amazing piece of dialog my character's were having in my head...yes I know I'm crazy...and I'll have to write it down, but I'll be in line at the grocery store. I must look like a lunatic pulling my note pad out and writing like a mad woman while waiting. I keep a note pad in the car, one in my purse, and one in the house that is only mine. Sometimes what I write is usable, sometimes not.

    Do you have to have detailed notes? It really depends on your style of learning and thinking. Some people need lots of notes, while other's work with just a page or two of scribbles.

    I do observe people a lot, but most of that is just kept in my head.
     
  2. Vapor

    Vapor New Member

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    Thanks for the replies everyone. I shall be experimenting with some of your ideas.
     
  3. SilverRam

    SilverRam New Member

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    Does conceptual sketches/paintings count? That is all I usually do, everything about the characters/plot/scenes is in my head. If a thought hits quickly I may jot it down at the moment, but the next day those are sadly lost.
     
  4. Cheeno

    Cheeno Member

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    I keep a notebook close to hand wherever I go. I'm not one for writing long diatribes or complex plotpoints, preferring instead to jot a brief note when it comes to me which I can refer back to later on. It means I'm never in a position where I can't remember something 'brilliant' that popped into my head in the middle of shopping, or even socialising. Cuts out that horrible torment of 'knowing' I was onto something good, but which got lost in the murk of 'Thoughtsville'.
     
  5. Tesoro

    Tesoro Contributor Contributor

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    Hi everyone, I have recently come across a little problem. When I start a new story I assign a notebook just for that one, where I can scribble down all the things that comes to mind during the process. The problem is that then I also have to keep a notebook in my purse where I write random things that comes to mind regarding ANY of my stories while I'm away from home. And sometimes when I am about to fall asleep I get these great ideas for one of my stories and just grab the nearest notebook available, which doesn't always happen to be the right one, so Now I have my notes literally everywhere, totally mixed up, and in the notebook that was supposed to keep ideas for one particular story you might just as well find some ideas for other novels as well. It's a mess, actually and I don't know how to stay organized with all these notebooks lying around everywhere. I think I have like 10 or more notebooks right now (for the four or five stories in total) plus the one in my bag and I never find the things I was looking for when I need them for reference anymore. Arrgghh. Does anyone have a good advice on how to organize them? I like to keep the notebooks because I really like handwriting, it feels so creative, plus I can't get up and turn on the computer everytime I get an idea in that state when I'm half asleep...
    Help!
     
  6. Jamez

    Jamez New Member

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    How about: keep one in your purse, another next to your bed. Transfer any useful notes you make there to the other note books, which are strictly dedicated to a particular story idea.

    That's what I would do, if I were a note taker.
     
  7. Nakhti

    Nakhti Banned

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    Oh, um... organise notes? er... don't know much about that. I tend to write ideas on anything to hand, like post its or whatever bits of printed material are in my handbag, and then I just shove them in my writing folder at home. Most of the time I forget I've even got them, but I think the act of writing them down just helps me remember, so I don't really need them.

    Maybe you could use colour coding - get some little sticky tabs (don't know what they're called) and every time you write a random story idea in your 'everything' note book, put a coloured tab sticking out of the page. If you have enough colours you could assign each story it's own colour, otherwise you could write the story name (or keyword) on the tab to help you find it?
     
  8. Tesoro

    Tesoro Contributor Contributor

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    Thanks for the tips, they were both interesting. Jamez, I can't believe I didn't think of it. :rolleyes: I think I'll take your advice. One purse notebook and one bedside table one, then I transfer what I've written in them to the other ones. Simple yet effective. :)
     
  9. 1000screams

    1000screams New Member

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    I don't write notes. I tend to lose notebooks and pieces of paper. I either keep the information in my head, like I've played a scene over and over in my head and it doesn't take me much to recount where I was going with it when I sit down to actually write it. Or, I keep my MP3 player with me at all times (it's a little not fancy one) that has the ability to voice record. I'll record notes to myself and then load them onto my computer for later use. Sometimes I act out dialog that way too...which is always amusing to listen to later. Just have to make sure your MP3 player takes SD cards, so you'll have enough space to record and have your music. Organizing audio notes I toss them into the file my story is in, and just label them with a date.
     
  10. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

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    I carry a little Moleskine notebook with me at all times. Anything I think of for any story I'm working on gets written in there. It even contains the better part of the first draft of a short story I wrote a while ago.

    Often, when I'm at my desk writing, I write by hand in a school notebook. I write the text of the story only on the right-hand pages. I write notes and revisions on the left-hand pages. John Steinbeck used to use a variant of that method, and it works. I also use pens of different colors to differentiate between notes, revisions, and whatever else I'm doing. When I've filled a notebook, it looks wonderful, full of color and random BS like a piece of modern art. Fun!
     
  11. Papillon

    Papillon New Member

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    I use the note function on my phone to remember my ideas, and then I write them down on a word document afterwards.

    But sometimes I just like the feel of writing notes on paper, which has lead to an enormous amount of papers on my desk.
    Eventually, I put some notes on my blackboard as a mind-map, it helps to keep my thoughts focused
     
  12. Mallory

    Mallory Contributor Contributor

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    Microsoft Word and desktop folders. :)

    I don't really have "notes" or "outlines" in the official sense, but I do a lot of long statements and explanations that help me solidify my ideas. Normally I'll do one such write-up for the overall plot progression, then one each for the main driving characters. For the character ones, I include things like their motivations and key events and turning points, not personality styles and quirks (those come into play on their own as I write).
     
  13. Lily J.

    Lily J. New Member

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    I don't really have a structure on how to organize my notes. There are notebooks everywhere around the house and in my bag, so I can write down whatever comes to mind. Afterwards I just type it over in to Word. :)
     
  14. shadowwalker

    shadowwalker Contributor Contributor

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    Organize? New word for the day... :D
     
  15. Tesoro

    Tesoro Contributor Contributor

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    Hehehe. :) I know! Actually that sparked a new question:
    Does the seat of the pants-writers even take notes? When I think of it, that would be almost as bad as planning, right? :rolleyes:
     
  16. Youniquee

    Youniquee (◡‿◡✿) Contributor

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    I take notes/ideas if I have paper with me. If I don't, I just keep in my head somehow. Like today for example, I wrote some 'ideas', not really notes, about a short story on my English homework lol. When I'm making notes/ideas, I usually have them on a Word document where I do all my loose planning. Planning a little bit isn't so bad :D
     
  17. shadowwalker

    shadowwalker Contributor Contributor

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    I'll jot down notes about ideas that come as I'm writing, and plaster on the pc screen or wall. But most notes are about what I'm actually working on at the time, so they either go or stay within an hour or so. Ideas for new stories get shoved into a pc file - which I may or may not be able to make sense of later. :p
     
  18. Saul-hudson

    Saul-hudson New Member

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    I think I have only ever made notes for two specific stories through the whole time I've been writing. For me notes don't work, and I only actually plan 3 major events in my stories because I like the organic process of writing. I tend to find plotting puts you in a box you feel you need to stick to ... but the way I write allows my characters to lead me in and out of situations.

    That may not be the way everyone does it, but it works for me. :)
     
  19. spklvr

    spklvr Contributor Contributor

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    I have one of those huge pens that can write with different colors, and I use a different colors for each story. I keep all my notes in the same notebook, so I had to make up some kind of system.
     
  20. jo spumoni

    jo spumoni Active Member

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    To be honest, I've never worried much about organizing my notes. However, maybe for the notebook in your purse, you should buy a book where you can tear the pages out easily. If you have an additional notebook for each story, you can then paperclip or staple these additional pages to the inside cover of it. If you take notes in the purse notebook, I would label what story the notes pertained to in the margins so that if I was just flipping through it one day, I'd see where it was supposed to go.
     
  21. Daydream

    Daydream Contributor Contributor

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    My notes are the least organised notes...I tend to write down any ideas I get on whatever I have at hand. That includes my hand, mobile, sticky notes, uni books, etc, etc :p It's pretty horrid actually...
     
  22. Mark_Archibald

    Mark_Archibald Active Member

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    That's why its great to leave your notes in a random mess. You'll read them one day and find good and horrible ideas that you had years ago.
     
  23. Felipe

    Felipe Active Member

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    Notes?
     
  24. VM80

    VM80 Contributor Contributor

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    Rarely. ;)

    I guess it depends what I'm working on though.
     
  25. aimi_aiko

    aimi_aiko New Member

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    Keep a handy amount of sticky notes nearby. If you feel like your about to grab the wrong notebook, jot your ideas down on the sticky note first, place it in the notebook then later check and see if that was the right notebook... this would make it more convienient in your situation that way you are able to remove your notes from one notebook to the correct one. Am I making sense here? I mean, that's what I would do. But your idea of assigning a notebook to each story is a really good idea... I haven't thought of that one... I've just been jotting all my ideas in the same book.
     

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