Novel organisation tips for writers

5 things you can write in a notebook

So, you’ve finally done it. You have bought a notebook that you are actually going to write in and not keep just to admire. Maybe you’ve even gone as far as to take one of your prized notebooks off of that dusty shelf. You are making the commitment to open it up, take a pen and neatly write your first word. But what should that word be? What are you going to fill this precious notebook with? To be honest, write anything. There is no one controlling what you write or how you write it. Heck, it doesn’t even need to be neat! (That’s hard to hear, I know. I’m struggling to get over it too…) Just write whatever your heart desires. That notebook is yours to use however you like. But if you are stuck, here are 5 things you could write in a notebook (writer edition).

1. Trackers

Whether you are a planster or a panster, writing trackers are always useful. They can help you keep track of how many words you have written and compare it to how many you want to write. They can help you keep track of how many chapters you are on, how many you want and how many you have to go. And, they can even help you keep track of what editing you have done. Having all these trackers in one place, like your lovely notebook, will help keep your writing organised as well as help you keep on top of the progress of your novel. (We all get caught up in the process of writing that we forget what’s going on. Or is that just me?)

2. World building

Have you ever had a really cool idea for a town name or culture and written it down somewhere, forgotten about it and then found it years later? (I know I have and I get very annoyed when I do this!) Well if you use your notebook to track information about your world, you have a quick reference you can refer to anytime you need it. This also helps to keep your writing consistent when it come to the universe you have created. It is very easy to change the biome of an important city or a major aw without even realising it, so it is best to keep all those small, but very important details, in a place that is easy to find.

3. Characters

Every main character should have some kind of character profile. You an idea of how the character acts in certain situations, what they are good at, and all their flaws. (Yes, collecting notebooks and not writing in them can be considered a flaw…) Writing your character profiles in one place will help you track information about your characters and ensure you have a place to quickly add any information that may change the character throughout your book. (Maybe they lose a limb somewhere, I don’t know.) But just like your world, it is important to keep track of the little bits of information about your characters that you may skim over, but readers will definitely pick up. (We don’t want to change the main character’s car from a blue Ford to a red Audi halfway through the book.)

4. Chapter Summaries

Now, most of us are not Brandon Sanderson and there is no way in all the nine hells we can get out more than one, maybe two books a year. (If you can, teach me your secrets please!) Often we don’t even write one chapter a week (no matter how hard we try) and sometimes, after writing for a while, all the chapters seem to blend together. Having a chapter summary will give you a quick reference to use to see what main events or main points have happened in your book so far, without you having to reread the entire book. This will also make sure that you have included all the important events that need to happen for your plot to make sense. Even if you are a panster, having a chapter summary somewhere can help you keep track of your ever-developing plot.

5. Possible plot holes or notes for the future

Often, we have really cool foreshadowing that we write into the beginning of a book, forget and then never resolve! Keeping a list of things like that will help make sure you have no plot holes in your book or your series. This may be one of the major things that writers overlook, especially when writing a series of books where the ending may not be planned yet. We have a really cool idea or something that is going to happen in the future, set it up in the beginning chapters, forget about it, and then leave it as an unresolved hole. We don’t want holes in our books.

Whatever you fill your notebook with is up to you, but notebooks, as pretty and precious as they are, can be an essential tool in the life of a writer. (When they are actually used as intended.) In my opinion, notebooks are an author’s best friend. (I mean they really are so useful, even though they are hard to write in.)