I’m a panster when it comes to writing, but I like to stay organized. For those of you that don’t know what that means, a pantser is someone that doesn’t plan out the story before writing. I write and the characters drive what happens. Now, just because I don’t plan out my story beforehand, doesn’t mean that I don’t need any organization for my story. In fact, I find that organization is the most important part of being a writer. Hence why I’ve written two organization posts on keeping your writing life organized. 

Don’t get me wrong, I do end up planning a little bit of my stories, but usually not until much later in the writing process. I need to get to know my characters by writing before I can start to decide the rest of the story.

Today’s resource post is on: Organizing Your Story

In today’s writing resources post, I am going to discuss the tools that I use to organize my stories for ease of finding information for later use. It makes the editing process that much easier. And we all know how hard it is to get into an editing mindset. So get ready to take some notes and at the end, I have a FREEBIE for you! 

via GIPHY

This page may contain affiliate links. Click to read full disclaimer. I only promote products I support.

Ways to Organize Your Story:

Outlining

For those of you that like to plan your story, outlining is a great start. Outlining can start by using a piece of paper or a napkin and writing a simple idea down. Then take the time and flesh out other details about your idea. This includes: character details, plot details, and setting details.

I suggest using a notebook or a journal. Something that you can keep everything together in one place. If you prefer a more digital approach, then using your phone’s notepad, Google Docs or Microsoft Word might be the better option.

Notes

Keeping notes is another good way to organize your story. Notes help you keep track of ideas you have when you are in different parts of your story.

One good way to keep good notes is to write down your idea and mark where you want to put the idea. Whether it be in the margins of your WIP or on a separate piece of paper. Notes are a good way to keep track of ideas for your story.

Character List

Knowing the characters big or small in your story is very important. You don’t want to be halfway through the book and you can’t remember that one side characters hair color. Or worst of all, their name!

A character list can be as detailed or as simple as you want it to be. If you’re still around to the end, I’m going to provide a FREE download to the lists I use to organize my stories.

Setting List

Similar to a character list, a setting list tells the various settings in your story. It makes going back to the settings simple when you don’t have to flip through 100+ pages to find your first mention of that setting.

Again, a setting list can be as detailed or as basic as you need it to be. My setting list is very basic, as I don’t need too much information to be reminded of a particular setting. My setting list will also be included in the FREE download at the end of this post.

Chapter List

I recently started using a chapter list for my stories. It not only helped my organization, but I found that it made me a lot more productive during the editing process. A chapter list, for me, pulls together bits of information from each of the chapters.

The characters, the settings, and the important details of the chapter are conveniently in one place. Making it easier to filter through the information when looking for a particular scene or trying to edit. My chapter list is also included in the FREE download at the end of this post.

Separate Chapter Files

Finally, separate chapter files could be all you need to organize your story. By keeping the chapters in separate files, you are working on a smaller basis and everything is contained to that one document. It allows you to really focus in on what you want to work on without being overwhelmed by your entire story.

I hope you are now able to be a more organized writer. I know by following using these resources, I have become a lot more productive in my writing and editing.

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Freebie Time!

Ready for your FREEBIE?! Use your email to sign-up to Bound to Writing right in the sidebar or on the Subscribe page and select the Writing Post Subscriber and you will receive all of the sheets and more that I use to organize my stories. You can unsubscribe at any time and your information will be removed.

Do you use any other methods to organize your story? Did you find these resources useful? Talk writing to me in the comments below!

 

Need more organization tips? Check out Organization Part One and Organization Part Two

Looking for some more writing resources? Check out my Writing Resources and Tools Page

 

This page may contain affiliate links. Click to read full disclaimer. I only promote products I support.

 

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