Organized Writers?

With the vast knowledge stored inside a writer's head it's hard to understand why they are so disorganized. I understand it because I am a writer. When a writer opens their eyes in the morning they suck in all the tiny details of the day. Every person we meet could be a potential character. We could express every color we see and every sound we hear. You will often see a writer with a hundred tiny notebooks scribbling away at any given moment. What's in these notebooks you ask? Thoughts for a new story line, characteristics of a person they saw, the feel of the day, or a detailed description of the bark on a tree. How does one keep all these thoughts organized?

Before we can go into organizing your thoughts we need to talk about organizing your space. Whether writing is a full time or part time job for you, it's still a job and should be treated in such a way. Are you the type of writer who gets up in the morning and sits at a desk and writes or the type that leaves the house and writes wherever you want too? Either way, you need an area to keep all your supplies. If you don’t have a workspace all to yourself then you need a mobile space, like a gym bag. Nothing’s worse than searching around your whole house to locate one small thing like your flash drive or a special notebook. Writing is more than a job or a hobby it's a passion. So stop treating it like it isn’t as important as other things in your life. If you have room for a collection of knick knacks then you have room for your writing. Whether you’re using a laptop or pencil and paper here’s how to stay organized.

I’m a notebook type of girl. I type my actual book on a laptop but I keep everything else in notebooks. I personally find it easier this way, but it’s the same as keeping separate files on a computer. Using Microsoft notebook is a good alternative to keeping notebooks because you can label each subject individually and have separate folders. I keep composition books. I have one for descriptions of people(characters), one for descriptions of animals, one for descriptions of weather, one for descriptions of nature, one for each book I create. At the end of the day if I have any scraps of paper or written on napkins, I write it down inside the corresponding book. This helps me find things I need quickly when writing a book. When starting a book I always write an outline of the entire story first. This turns an idea into a full story. You already know there is a beginning, middle, and end. I’m not saying the story doesn’t change from time to time just that it always has an end. After this step, you shouldn’t have to worry about writer's block ever again. In the same notebook I make character charts. This is for any character that will be a repeat in your book. I start by putting my character in the middle of the page in a bubble. This bubble has their full name and nicknames. I then make bubbles coming from the center where I include what they look like, how they act(shy, bubbly,ect.), their tick(bite lip when nerves, etc.), who their family is, if they have any magic powers, ect. This allows my story to have consistency through the whole book. I also do more charts for the setting. If there's a specific house the story takes place in, we wouldn’t want the walls to be blue one day and yellow the next day.

As if all these notebooks or files weren’t already enough, you need more for the business end. You should have a book where you keep track of what agency’s you’re sending your query letters to with a spot about why they were accepted or rejected. If you’re working with an agent or a publisher there contact information should always be handy along with your contracts.

The next thing needed to be organized is your time. Sit down and figure out how much time a day you have to devote to writing. It doesn’t matter if it’s 8hrs or half an hour as long as you commit to your time. This means no interruptions. I know that's hard when the world doesn’t revolve around you, but this is a job and your children, partner, friends, and family need to accept it. If you write and publish one book at a time you shouldn’t have any trouble managing your time. However, when most writers who aren’t self publishing are trying to find an agent or a publisher they start writing another book. Or if you are already published you will need time to promote your book. If this is the case, managing your time becomes more difficult. You should dedicate certain days in the week to specific jobs and stick to it. On Monday and Tuesday you could write your book. Wednesday and Saturdays you can promote your book. Thursday and Friday you can work on sending out query’s or dealing with agents/publishers. This means the first part of the week you have time to write or edit your story. The middle of the week and Saturday you would be available for school programs or book signings, and staying up to date on any promotional materials you will need. This leaves the end of the week open for you to send out your queries and deal with your agent or publisher. I know it’s hard to adhere to a set structure but once you do you will be thankful for the results you see.