I love journals. Whenever I see a blank stack of paper, my fingers itch with the urge to find the nearest pen and fill each page with line after line of story. Add a stylish cover and the sale is practically made, whether I need a new journal or not. This minor compulsion is so strong that my elder son is prone to pushing me ever-so-subtly past the stationary aisle of whatever store we happen to be in at the time.
One lovely side-effect of my addiction is the benefit a new journal brings to my writing. As already mentioned, a new journal begs to be filled, so it can be a great means of inspiration for me on those days when it’s oh-so-hard to write. Not only is a journal a great place to sketch out scenes for my current work in progress, it’s also a fabulous place to keep notes and ideas.
At least, until I need to find those ideas.
Because of my love of journals, I have a whole collection of them. Flipping through them to find a half-remembered story idea or a tidbit of inspiration is time consuming and, often, quite frustrating in spite of the elaborate indexing and coding system I’ve developed to prevent such frustration-inducing experiences. I had given up on finding any batter system, ascribing the time lost while questing through journals as part of a writer’s lot until I learned of a revolutionary new idea: note cards.
Last year, I discovered the phenomenon that is podcasting. (You can read about that discovery here.) A short while later, I drove through a suburb of Houston listening to podcasts randomly shuffled from the list on my phone. (My vehicle’s audio system syncs to my phone. How cool is that?) As I sat in rush-hour traffic waiting for my turn to be cut off by a light that changed color much too quickly, my phone landed on a show called the Hope Writers podcast. On episode 03-07, titled “How to Capture and Organize all of Your Writing Ideas,” the hosts of the blog discuss a way of using note cards to organize writing ideas and inspirations. (You can link to the podcast here. Note: This is not an affiliate link.) The system is so much like the one that I teach to my student as they compile information for research papers that I felt as if a 2×4 had struck my head. I swear I heard the timber plank crack as it figuratively crashed upside my skull.
The basic idea is this: instead of carrying a journal in which to scribble whatever piques your fancy, carry a deck of note cards. Jot one idea per card then, when you’re ready to begin new project, organize those cards by topic and viola! Another application is to organize those cards by idea (setting, character, conflict…) and file them in a box according to whatever system works best for you. It sounds so simple, but I cannot tell you how much this idea
has revolutionized my writing life. I found a durable but light-weight note card pocket at my local office supply store, so I can keep my note cards in my purse on bag without worrying that they will become tattered. This has allowed me to downsize my Mary Poppins-style purse to a cute bag and reduce the weight I consistently carry on my shoulder because of said bag. I don’t leave tons of unused pages in a journal because I left them blank in case I needed to add to the idea already begun there. It is easy to punch a hole in the note cards and add them to whatever upcoming story binder they belong to. (You know: those stories you can’t write yet but know you will soon. I collect those ideas most likely to be developed into full stories in three-ring binders of their own and add scene, conflict, and character details as I find them.) It’s also a great way to inspire creativity: find a few cards that connect in an intriguing way and you’ve got a new story idea or novel.
The possibilities are truly endless. Not only that, this system allows me to actually finish a journal to the point where I can pack it away and actually justify my next foray into the stationary aisle or—even better—stationary supply store.
While I’m not a fan of reinventing the wheel, I do appreciate discovering ways to make it run more smoothly. If you have any organizational tips or tricks you can’t live without, I would love to hear them in the comments below.
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So I am slowly abandoning my beloved stationary for digital ways to store things and keep them organized. I use OneNote and Scrivener to store ideas currently. It is more necessity than desire driving it. I write on the go as much as at home, and at home, I have such a limited space that I can barely set a single page at my desk let alone a binder or notebook. I love the idea of the notecards though. I remember organizing cards for research papers. I think I might have a couple of those bundles stored somewhere, too. I wonder if I can manage a digital replacement for them as well? Definitely something to think about.
(P.S. While doing my post I noticed this is the only Author Toolbox Hop post that you don’t have categorized/ tagged as part of the hop)
I love it! I used sticky notes in my first few story notebooks, but it isn’t a foolproof system. For this current book, I have two notebooks going, and nothing is organized, and I know I’m at the point where I need to re-read through it, and I’m kind of dreading it. 🙂 I’ll schedule this for a Facebook post (now, because if I wrote a note in a notebook, I won’t see it again for six months.)
Having note cards would definitely require organization. I imagine writers with note cards everywhere if they just leave them here and there and don’t store them somewhere immediately. I love the node card pocket, though. And punching holes into them and putting them in a binder sounds like my kind of thing. 🙂
Entertaining and informative post! I’m not into journals, but should be. I’m constantly jotting down ideas for my current or future works in progress onto whatever’s handy. I’ve started using voice memos on my smartphone as a way to quickly capture my thoughts since I have it with me 90% of the time.
I’ve used index cards when taking courses. They help me focus on test matter, but I never thought to use them as a way to organize my journals. I haven’t journaled in a long time because I could never find what I was looking for. Great advice. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
It’s also good to look back over old notebooks and journals – and see how your thinking has developed 🙂
My journals are precious to me. I’ve kept every one that I’ve used for writing. I have to say, I’m not an index card user. I write on my computer wherever I happen to be, and don’t have a place decimated to writing, so index cards don’t work for me. Thanks for the post today.
I also love journals, but usually use them when I’m beta reading or editing for other people rather than for my own work. My own notes either go on sticky notes (to lose later), or I put them straight into the computer. I have a cool little programme called Write! that syncs from my glorified tablet to my actual PC. I’ve got into the habit of using that to draft all my blog posts. It works for me, even if it’s not as much fun as pretty journals and pens 🙂
What a cool idea! I love journals too and have so many! I’ll have to start keeping index cards with me now too. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
The other day I wondered how many notebooks I had on hand without leaving my chair. 9. A daily journal, a to-do notebook, random notes book, goal notebook, current WIP notebook, a marketing book, past WIP book and two random notebooks. And still I felt like I was a hamster on a wheel. Since then I’ve moved most of these to-dos onto index card and pin them to a corkboard. I function better when I have visual reminders.