Novel How do you organise your notes/written paper pages/scriblings etc.

Before, as an unexperienced writer, I kept most of my notes on computer on the computer, under a document [Story Name] Backriver. I don't know why exactly I chose 'Backriver' as a name, but it stuck and I used that titling for a while. In it, I wrote random thoughts, my brainstorming when I was stuck at a plot point (I didn't plan anything out beforehand), the pathetic little bits I knew about my characters and world, and thoughts relating to the story itself. Other than by chronological order (and I didn't even write the date before writing each 'post'), there was no visible order to it. It was pretty chaotic - but I managed to find my way by memorizing special wordings present in paragraphs of interest and then using the 'Search' function to have Word bring me there. Saved right under it was the actual document.

Now, as a still-unexperienced writer, I've moved away from the computer to the old-fashioned pen-and-paper. I have a binder, stuffed full of sheets, where I've copied down everything that was in the old Backriver. I've divided the binder into five different sections (which I will likely have to change once I get out of the 'planning' stage and into the 'writing' one): 'Proper Writing' - that should be relatively obvious. It's actual writing for the story and is, at the moment, completely empty; 'Plot Analysis' - simply working out every single detail of my plot before starting my writing. It's also empty, although there are a few sheets of paper that should, in theory, be placed under that heading; 'World and Character Development' - because I'm working in an epic fantasy setting, I've placed the map there, as well as my brainstorming and temporary moldings of the characters; 'Discarded Manuscripts' - for the moment, this only holds the different drawings that led to the current map and sketches of the character, though once I get far enough in my project to have a proper 'first draft', this will likely hold it as well. Last but not least is simply spare paper, to insure I don't run out in the middle of a jet of inspiration.

I still haven't adopted the dating process, which I seriously should, but my notes are all placed in chronological order (within their respective classifications, of course).

 

you seem to be here only to tout your book... this is not allowed... your posts have been reported...

 

Digital, all the way.

I carry my ultrabook everywhere. Weighs a kilo, good battery -- happy days.

I use a free program called Treepad to organise my notes and outline, then Open Office to draft.

 

I am just now returning to writing, but I have a good memory of how unorganized I always found myself, so ... I purchased Scrivener a few days ago to help me keep organized.

 

I just categorise everything - places, characters, new ideas etc. Then it's just a matter of copy and paste for me as everything is on my laptop.

 

I have everything saved as word documents on my laptop since I do all my writing on my laptop

 

I also use Scrivener, it's such an amazing program and I don't know how I'd be able to work on a novel if it weren't for its organising tools. It's so easy to move chapters around and create scenes and get an overall perspective of where your story is and where it's going. For short stories I use Mac Pages and I save them in a folder on my computer. I also have an app called iA Writer on my iPhone that I often write on whenever I have a break at work or something. I'll either start a short story from scratch in the 5 or 10 minutes I have, or continue on from where I left off on another story. When the break's over I'll email it to myself and continue to work on it at home. The only time I use pen and paper is when I'm travelling, as I don't bring my phone and rarely carry my laptop around. In those cases I have a small moleskin notepad that I keep in my backpack. While I like the idea of writing on paper, my handwriting hasn't improved at all since I was like 10, despite having written plenty, and that distracts me a lot. I also find that I am less productive than when on a computer. Lastly I hate the idea of having to transcribe my own writing onto a computer after I'm done (no publisher will accept hand written scribbles that not even you can read) as that turns the process of writing into a chore.

 

5 BY 8 Pads of paper and then I put them in a file cabinet, then when I am ready to write a specific project I pull the specific pad of paper out of the file cabinet and I write the project.

 

When I come up with the piece of my story I need, and I don't have time to write it, I scratch out an outline of the ideas in the same story file, then go back to it and write the chapter. My book is midway through turning the full draft (done) into what I want it to be. So I come up against things that don't exactly fit the way I want them to, I think the section through, walking the dogs or playing with them in the backyard. An idea comes to me, how to work the chapter. But If I can't go straight to the final draft writing, I get the ideas out in an outline before I forget the solution.