Note taking necessary?

[ZannaPerry]

Now...come on and tell me just how many sheets of paper or plain 'ol notebooks have you used to make one story work?

I ask this because I write everything down first before I put it on the computer. Yeah, that's going to hurt me in the end as I get older with my fingers, but I don't care. I write everything down. Everything! But then this can also really hurt me because as I write I come up with a good idea to add to a character trait, and then that gets mixed up with what else I am writing. I could be a little bit more organized, but once an idea hits my head, it's all over.....I have to write it down right then or I will forget if I reach across the desk for a clean sheet of paper, or notebook.

So, I am curious....how do you prepare yourself to write, and do you take notes?????

[Wolvel]

I handwrite my whole story out in notebooks before I put it on the pc. If I think of anything else I make notes in the blank areas at the top of the paper to sort out later.

[ishtar'sgate]

I have a nice little ritual I go through. I sharpen enough pencils to fill my softsided pencil holder that says, "I'm not insensitive, I just don't care". Then I get out a pile of blank lined paper, pile it to one side and take out a fresh sheet. I read over what I wrote yesterday then begin - in pencil. I'll write a chapter before putting it on the computer. I create better in longhand, and with pencils. Not sure why.
Linnea

[nevada]

i dont write anything down. no notes, no nothing. I have notebooks because I love buying them but i would never write in them. It's all in my head and it all comes out when I write. Nope, don't outline either. no character notes, no plot notes, no snippets of dialogue. Nothing. Just open a document in Word and away I go.

[JohnDavidPaxton]

I am not the proper model for how hard, or how much work, it should take to make a story function.

However, if you wanted to include all outlines, notes and final draft, it would take approximately 1700 pages for me to finish my first 375 page novel. That includes everything. I know that only because I have a codex file that includes everything based on date (not importance) to the work. I'm probably a poor model, though, because I write everything down and try to get everything to work before I even write a line.

I will take notes for a very, very long time. If I can improve on the next novel based on what I did wrong on this one, I sure as hell will try.

[Ravenlocks]

I don't make notes or write anything down except the story itself, with the exception of an occasional sticky on my desktop with something I need to remember as I'm writing (I have one of those onscreen sticky notes programs, love it). I tried the outlining route and have concluded that it will never work for me. Now I keep the outline in my head where it's much more fluid and accessible, and I think the result is more organic (for me). If I forget something I wanted to include, I guess it just wasn't meant to be included.

[Cassiopeia]

I never used to do anything but write from on the fly but I found I lost track of things and worried that I repeated scenes or similar things and sure enough I did. So now I have a basic outline and then a fold with background info on my characters and locations.

It is working better for me that way.

[job]

I'm a computer person. Everything's in electrons.
All notes, all planning, all background.

The only handwriting I do is notes of stuff that comes to me when I'm falling asleep ...
and the storyboard,
and the extensive hand-written corrections to the hard copy last draft.

[Ava Jarvis]

Index cards and little boxes with dividers to keep them in.

Orson Scott Card keeps notes about the choices he's made for each character as he writes.

J.K. Rowling and Tolkien both took many many many many many notes and drawings and etc.

Tolkien's notes fill up 12 volumes of his son's _History of Middle Earth_ series, was edited into what is now known as _The Silmarillion_, _Lost Tales of Middle Earth_ volumes 1 and 2, and the new book _Children of Hurin_. And there's more where that came from, not counting the generous appendices for _Lord of the Rings_ itself.

So... whatever works. Nothing to a little to moderation to *years of notes*.

[Ravenlocks]

I forgot to say that I do write everything down when I'm world-building (and I also draw maps and stuff). I have to keep the world consistent. But I don't write down story-related stuff.

[JoNightshade]

I write the novel on my computer, but I prefer to make my notes on the backs of envelopes, scraps of printer paper, bills, grocery lists, and magazines. All of which form nice little piles all around my computer desk until I'm completely buried in clutter.

Hey, it's a system.

[TurkeyLurkey]

It's all in my noggin. I just sit at the keyboard and type one word at a time. The only time I use a note book is when I have a story idea. I just write something like... "Bill and Bob's Space Rodeo", draw a little picture of the image I had in my head, then continue on my current WIP.

I do use a sketch book to draw out pictures of stuff. Right now I am working on a MG Sci-fi steampunk story, and I need to actually see what the wacky objects or weapons look like so I can do a brief description. I will also look up images on-line and keep them in my sketch pad too. (so, I guess it is technically a notebook of imagery.)

However... all my words go into the WIP.

(Does anyone here use a WACOM tablet? If so, how handy is it?)

[amber_grosjean]

I do take some notes. I have to in order to keep people straight sometimes, especially in Mysteries of the Peterson Estate. I have so many characters, I can't remember who's who, except the MCs. A lot of my characters may only have one scene but sometimes I refer back to them later in the story so keeping notes help. I type them up and keep them in a binder along with research notes about the state where the story takes place. Even though that story has fantasy in it, I wanted it to appear as real as I could.

Of course, if you have a three month old baby who can walk, talk like an adult, and do other things, then it isn't going to appear real lol but I like throwing in twists. I want to be known for those twists lol.

But anyway, I type the story as it comes to me and every once in a while, I stop to write down something. Later, I will add that bit of info into the computer and print a new sheet out for the binder. I like keeping some parts of my life organized even if my thinking isn't lol.

Amber

[DocBrown]

I keep an Open Office text file for:

1- Each chapter.
2- A file for stuff I've written, decided I didn't want it where it was, so cut it out to be used for later.
3- A file for character sheets, theories, highlights of the plot.

Also, since I have separate MC's that I am writing in different sub-books that have overlapping time lines, I keep an Open Office spreadsheet with a Main time line that covers all of the events that happen to each character in chronological order as well as many events that are merely mentioned by the characters.

Nothing handwritten, though sometimes, I'll jot down some highlights and thoughts for the next chapter on a piece of paper, but I toss it as soon as I am done with it.

[aadams73]

For my current WIP:

About 50 notes cards.
And 36 pages in a word document.
And twenty pages of a note pad.

[ChimeraCreative]

I handwrite my whole story out in notebooks before I put it on the pc. If I think of anything else I make notes in the blank areas at the top of the paper to sort out later.

^ I do what he said. ^

I can't transfer my genius into anything but a notebook. It's a bitch to have to type it all out afterwards, however, it's an opportunity to make minor changes as I go along. Takes some of the stress out of the first big ol' edit. >.<

-An

[girlyswot]

Earlier this summer I was away from my laptop for six weeks. I had lots of time and a big notebook which I had planned to fill with my writing. Only to discover that I really, really can't write longhand any more. I'm too used to the flexibility of the screen and the freedom to move stuff around and play with it. Also I found that writing longhand felt like more of a commitment (because more time-consuming) so it was harder to even want to put pen to paper.

For planning (which I'm very bad at) I like to use paper so that I can see it all at once.

[ChaosTitan]

I keep an open notebook on my desk at all times, right in front of the monitor and above the keyboard. Because I write urban fantasy, much of my world-building happens as I write. I like to keep written track of my "rules" and descriptions as I go, so I don't have to scroll back through the document to check something later. I look at it as a time-saver.

[Leigh Walker]

I start with a notebook, I have one designated for each story idea i have going. inside each is a hodgpodge of free writing, character descriptions, family trees, sketches, outlines, summaries, ect. anything that comes to me about the story. by the time the book is about half way full, I am usually ready to start writing.

the actual story, always gets typed. I never handwrite anything other than notes. I find that if i start typing, i can keep going for hours and hours. but with handwriting my thoughts go too fast for my hand to keep up and stuff gets lost.

[maestrowork]

I have two pages of notes. I keep everything else in my head.

[Leigh Walker]

does anyone dictate? I use to dictate for my (paying) job and have been wondering if I could transition easily to dictating my writing. old habits die hard though so i havent tried yet.

[victoria.goddard]

I'm writing the New Story out by hand before typing it, which will be the first major edit. I find my wrists and shoulders hurt much more typing for hours than writing--but then I also like using the pen. Far from going too slowly, I occasional fetch out my dipping-pen and ink and write that way. Somehow it makes me write less but get more story into it. (Or so I like to think.)

As far as note-taking goes--I have several notebooks where I do my outlining. I like writing out paragraphs about the tone or the point of the story or something like that, which often change as I go. It helps me keep on track with the story. But then I haven't outlined for plot--I'm experimenting with form, so I have very detailed outlines with respect to the shape of the story, although the actual plot as it stands is: MC starts here and ends up here, meeting at least these people along the way. Why he's doing it is currently a mystery to me, but then it's supposed to be for the audience of the narration (it's a letter by the MC to certain of his friends). So I have a lot of handwitten notes. Also some typed ones. My last novel I wrote notes out by hand but composed on the computer. So it changes.

I don't think there's any right or wrong, though, it all depends what you like to do and what works best for you. Changing it up may make a difference, though which way entirely depends . . .

[Scrawler]

Notebooks. And scraps of paper, backs of envelopes, wrappers, index cards, the margin of the newspaper (in a pinch), Post-Its--you name it, I've written my flashes of brilliance on it.

[ZannaPerry]

I have notebooks coming out from under my bed, in case that special dialogue sequence come out of me right before I fall asleep, and then I have some stuffed in a box completely under my bed, tons scattered all over my desk, and then some. And I buy notebooks all the time because I love them. :)

[preyer]

depends. lately it's on the computer, but ideally i hand write what i can, not because studies show a higher quality when you do things by hand, rather because in my case it's true. transcribing what i can read of my own scrawl gets a minour filtering as it gets on the screen.

i do take notes. because i don't work from an outline, scenes occur to me that i want to use for later. specific details, particular bits of dialogue, etc., needs to be jotted down lest i forget.

in the end, about half is hand-written with lots of notes, and the other half gets done on the computer.

for me, note-taking is necessary.

[KTC]

I don't take notes. I put one word down after another until I get to the end, on computer.

[Shadow_Ferret]

Now...come on and tell me just how many sheets of paper or plain 'ol notebooks have you used to make one story work?


Hardly any. No notebooks for sure. On occasion I'll scribble something on a loose piece of paper, but that's about it.

[wayndom]

When I'm working out a story, I write down lots of little notes to myself, mostly in my computer. When I get an idea, I write it down because I'm afraid I'll forget it or leave it out of the book.

But once I start actually writing the story, I never look at any of the notes I've written to myself. When the story gets rolling, it takes on a life of its own, and whatever I come up with is what the story demands. So it wouldn't make any sense to refer back to a bunch of notes, most of which wouldn't be appropriate for the novel-in-progress (as opposed to the imaginary novel-in-progress they were written for).

I can't remember who it was, but I read an interview with some famous novelist who said he does the exact same thing, which made me feel better about it (since, regardless of how familiar I am with the process, I still go through the same ridiculous exercise each time).

I recently finished a novel, and only when it was done did I delete the six or seven files that kept it company in its folder. Files with names like "story ideas," "end notes," "new ending ideas," etc. They all sat there, unopened and unread, while I wrote.

[wayndom]

I have a nice little ritual I go through. I sharpen enough pencils to fill my softsided pencil holder that says, "I'm not insensitive, I just don't care". Then I get out a pile of blank lined paper, pile it to one side and take out a fresh sheet. I read over what I wrote yesterday then begin - in pencil. I'll write a chapter before putting it on the computer. I create better in longhand, and with pencils. Not sure why.
Linnea
Maybe this will explain it. Shelby Foote was the "good" historian in Ken Burns' Civil War documentary, and got quite popular as a result. In addition to being a historian, he was also a novelist. In an interview, he revealed that he writes in longhand, precisely because it's harder and slower, and as such, forces him to think more and choose his words and phrases more carefully.

One benefit, according to Foote, was that he didn't have to do very much rewriting.