How do you keep track of your ideas?

[Zelenka]

Just interested to know what people's 'habits' are. I carry a notebook around with me and keep one by my bedside, but usually I tend to keep notes on my laptop whenever an idea hits me. I have a load of MS Word files in a folder called 'Writing Notes' but to be honest I'm not happy with that method, not that I can think of another at the moment. It's quite hard to find things again and I need to think of something descriptive to name the file, if I can't think of a title.

I did try to collate all the ideas into one searchable document but I can't find anything in that either, and through habit ended up going back to making individual files for each idea.

I suppose a card index thing might be a better idea, or something like that.

So how do you guys keep track of all the ideas?

[inkkognito]

When you come up with your ideas, do you typically have some specific markets in mind too? I put my ideas into a spreadsheet with a list of two or three (or more if I'm lucky) potential markets. They are in no particular order, just by date of entry. Then, when I complete an article on one of those topics and start submitting it, I can just transplant that info. over to my submissions spreadsheet and be ready for a fast turnaround in case of rejection by the first market.

[Danger Jane]

The important ones, I just remember. The less important ones, maybe ideas for short stories or novels way down the road, I type out a sentence of the idea and save it in a Word document in a certain folder. I'm really anal about my word documents.

[SpookyWriter]

My ideas are disposable, so there is no sense in compilation of any one idea. I will have another idea today, and hopefully tomorrow. I can't speculate on the next fortnight since I have no idea which week this will occur.

[triceretops]

I've run my ideas on my blog, which invites comments. The most popular ones are the ones that inspire me to give them a whirl.

Tri

[jessicaorr]

I use scrivener to keep a writer's notebook on my iBook and I also carry around a small (3x2") composition notebook and pen. I like scrivener because it lets me keep everything together (little ideas, photo inspiration, sketches, tips, neat quotes etc.) and I can organize the bits into some meaningful system with tags so I can actually find bits later. I have it on my mac anyway for world building and writing, so it's nice to co-opt it for another use.

[rugcat]

It's easy. I seldom have more than one idea each month.

[dpaterso]

100s and 100s of story starts, info files, character sketches, in yearly subdirectories (2008 has 15 files). I'm an anal Virgo.

-Derek

[SpookyWriter]

It's easy. I seldom have more than one idea each month.I have the same issue with sex, but I'm not keeping track.

[Linda Adams]

So how do you guys keep track of all the ideas?


I actually don't. I used to keep pocket-sized notebooks and write the ideas in them. But as I've cleaned up and organized, I looked through them and realized that I hadn't used a single idea from them. It made me realize that if the idea is worth something, I don't need to write it down to remember it--it'll stick with me.

[Moon Wolf]

If I ever do write my ideas down, I usually just write it all in an unorganized Microsoft Word document. If I even try to organize it, it growls and bites me and goes back to what it was doing.

So, I usually just let it be. ^^

[hammerklavier]

I email them to myself and store them in a folder in email, or on yahoo notebook. I eventually transfer them to files in a folder on my computer.

I typically have three kinds of writing ideas: ideas for new novels; little skits, humorous dialogue, and such that could go in any story (if it fits); and ideas for my current projects.

[DWSTXS]

I have ideas all the time at work, so I e-mail them to myself on my Yahoo e-mail acct.

I have folders in my yahoo e-mail that correspond to different WIP's and I have one named 'Misc'.

That way all my ideas are in one place, but organized too, and they're right there on the laptop where I do my writing anyway. So, it works perfectly.

[lisamarie]

I am incredibly (nerdly) organinzed when it comes to ideas. I went through a long period of not writing them down and thinking I'd remember, or writing them down in various notebooks then losing them. Now I use index cards and keep them in a photo box (http://www.pfile.com/cgi/cart.cgi?db=stuff.dat&search=Item+K-B1-S&method=phrase). On the index cards I've taped newspaper articles, written sentences I've heard, words I like, story ideas, character ideas, etc. When I need an idea I just leaf through the box and see if I can use anything. I'm constantly cutting articles out of magazines and newspapers.

[Zelenka]

I am incredibly (nerdly) organinzed when it comes to ideas. I went through a long period of not writing them down and thinking I'd remember, or writing them down in various notebooks then losing them. Now I use index cards and keep them in a photo box (http://www.pfile.com/cgi/cart.cgi?db=stuff.dat&search=Item+K-B1-S&method=phrase). On the index cards I've taped newspaper articles, written sentences I've heard, words I like, story ideas, character ideas, etc. When I need an idea I just leaf through the box and see if I can use anything. I'm constantly cutting articles out of magazines and newspapers.

This is an idea I'm playing around with - I used card indexes for the research for a historical novel ages ago and actually still use those cards for reference today, so I'm thinking that might be a good way to get everything sorted out. Plus, if I transfer all the ones from the laptop, I'll perhaps rediscover something I'd forgotten in there!

(I used to try the idea of 'if it's a good idea, I'll remember' but my memory isn't all that great at the best of times. I can forget anything, even very important information, so I'm pretty sure I can manage to forget a story idea.)

[lisamarie]

(I used to try the idea of 'if it's a good idea, I'll remember' but my memory isn't all that great at the best of times. I can forget anything, even very important information, so I'm pretty sure I can manage to forget a story idea.)

I have forgotten SO many ideas by thinking, I'll remember this one. I carry a little notebook in my back pocket with a pen. I write things down in that during the day, then transfer it to an index card and into my box later.

[Zelenka]

I have forgotten SO many ideas by thinking, I'll remember this one. I carry a little notebook in my back pocket with a pen. I write things down in that during the day, then transfer it to an index card and into my box later.

I sometimes wonder if I have a hole at the back of my head where things just leak out. For instance I know last night as I was at work I had an idea for a little part of the scene I'm editing right now in my fantasy WIP. Because I was in the middle of something, I didn't write it down, and now I have no idea what it was. Most annoying.

[lisamarie]

I sometimes wonder if I have a hole at the back of my head where things just leak out. For instance I know last night as I was at work I had an idea for a little part of the scene I'm editing right now in my fantasy WIP. Because I was in the middle of something, I didn't write it down, and now I have no idea what it was. Most annoying.
I do the same thing. Sometimes if I can think back to what I was doing when I had the idea, I can piece it together and remember it. I had an idea in the car last week and didn't write it down. When I got home I kept thinking about where exactly I was when I came up with the idea (where on the road) and if I had passed something that triggered an idea. Finally I remembered.

[DamaNegra]

I sometimes wonder if I have a hole at the back of my head where things just leak out. For instance I know last night as I was at work I had an idea for a little part of the scene I'm editing right now in my fantasy WIP. Because I was in the middle of something, I didn't write it down, and now I have no idea what it was. Most annoying.

Ha! That happens to me all the time! When I'm studying with someone else for school, I'll be all like: "I swear this is important, I perfectly remember the teacher saying something about this is important. I just can't remember what, or even remember what this is supposed to be."

No advice from me here, I've tried virtually every method suggested in this thread and I still keep losing and forgetting my ideas. Sometimes, the method works until I forget what the method is.

[Riley]

Just interested to know what people's 'habits' are. I carry a notebook around with me and keep one by my bedside, but usually I tend to keep notes on my laptop whenever an idea hits me. I have a load of MS Word files in a folder called 'Writing Notes' but to be honest I'm not happy with that method, not that I can think of another at the moment. It's quite hard to find things again and I need to think of something descriptive to name the file, if I can't think of a title.

I did try to collate all the ideas into one searchable document but I can't find anything in that either, and through habit ended up going back to making individual files for each idea.

I suppose a card index thing might be a better idea, or something like that.

So how do you guys keep track of all the ideas?


I have a file full of title ideas. Usually, when I get a title idea, I'll get a little idea for a plot, too, so I'll write down a few sentences under the corresponding title.

I also have an "idea" file. For some reason, I never fill it up. In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, I have no idea where any of my ideas come from or how many I've lost over the course of my writerly life. Huh, now I'll have to go dig up old notebooks, computer files, etc. looking.

One of my friends keeps everything in an accordion file. She has differet tabs labeled as so: fantasy, science fiction, mainstream, smut, miscellaneous. I think a card index would be a good idea, too, but only if you're hyper-organized. I know what would happen if I used the card index idea. At first, it would be neat and proper. But, over time, I'd forget to put cards in, or I'd write in pencil and the cards would get smudged. . . ugh, a disaster.

[Writer14]

I have a special book for all my story ideas. Some times I come up with the entire story layout & spread it through a few pages, other times I just jot small stuff down.

Either way, I use my journal for that.

[Keyboard Hound]

I like the Story Starts idea someone else says they use. I keep up with my notes in much the same way. I have sub headings for dozens of story start files. Files for kids, files for adults, files for troubled times, files for murders, files about weather, ghosts, folklore, pets, anything I hear and think I'll ever want to use. I make files for just about anything that strikes my fancy and I'm never without ideas when I have a project to do.

Organized into folders, things are easy to find when I need them. If an idea seems to be something I can use in different ways, I'll store it in several different files so if I need it, it'll be easy found.

When I first started this system, I had no idea how useful it would be. And how forgetful my mind is. Any time I go looking for story starts, I find things I don't even remember putting in, and inspiration hits brand new.

I learned a long time ago to reference where I get the ideas, because that thought often comes up. If it is something I need to check further, i know just where to go.

The story starts can be used to get ideas, and sometimes two or three made at entirely different times are all I need for a complete story. I would advise any writer to figure out some kind of suggestion like ths.

[SpookyWriter]

http://www.platinumservices.ca/images/stickies.jpg

[L M Ashton]

PlotCraft. (http://www.farook.org/PlotCraft.htm)

[Zelenka]

PlotCraft. (http://www.farook.org/PlotCraft.htm)

Oh, thanks for that one! Looks interesting.

[L M Ashton]

:D

[Triangulos]

I have a mobile phone with a 'notes' function, so I type into that as if I was texting someone. It only takes a few words to ensure I'll remember what I was on about when I read it back.

Incidentally, I did hear Stephen King (sure it was him -- correct me if I'm wrong) say that he never writes ideas down because if it's likely to slip his memory then it obviously isn't a such good idea in the first place. Not sure I could do that -- the brain cells aren't quite that reliable and I just know I'd be losing some good ones.

T.

[HeronW]

I keep a separate folder for ideas, anything from a one-liner to several thousand words. I title them to keep them in order and do a word count on another sheet so I see at a glance what might be worth tackling next.

[timewaster]

I actually don't. I used to keep pocket-sized notebooks and write the ideas in them. But as I've cleaned up and organized, I looked through them and realized that I hadn't used a single idea from them. It made me realize that if the idea is worth something, I don't need to write it down to remember it--it'll stick with me.

I don't either. I have two or three first chapters which I haven't had chance to turn into novels which are on my pc and a couple of longer story fragments that I liked a lot but would take a lot of work.
Generally I don't get ideas. I construct them as necessary out of whatever is top of mind when I need to write something.

[Ervin]

My best ides are too good to forget. But if it's something small that I want to add within the next few chapters, then I have a notepad for that.

[WildScribe]

I have a notebook with a page of article ideas, a page of story ideas, a page of ideas for a client of mine, and a page of resources. I might have a couple more pages by now...

I jot things down on scratch paper and on my portable notebooks all the time, and everything goes on to the correct page of my notebook when I get home. The resources page has the names of the resources highlighted, and I have a special bookmarks folder for the accompanying web sites with the same names so that I can search back and forth. As far as snippets go, though, I'm not really organized.

[The Scip]

I have a file I keep little blurbs in to remind me of the ideas. Any time I have anew idea i add it to the file.

[Ziljon]

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-71326348041790_1991_4195082

[SpookyWriter]

Would help if you eventually unwrapped them. Yes?

[SpookyWriter]

I have a private secretary.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k272/SpookyWriter/lookie.jpg

[bluntforcetrauma]

I have a private secretary.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k272/SpookyWriter/lookie.jpg

Lula Mae! Git yer clothes on and git home right this instant!

[lucky8]

I was using a shoe box that I dumped notes in, was a real pain to find anything in. Now I'm trying out using a MS Word file, I will probably make a new one every few months so it doesn't get too big.

[dirtsider]

Right now, I'm using a small note book in my purse for when I get an idea away from my desk. I also have a larger notebook for organizing my notes but I haven't gotten around to transferring much over to it yet. I also have a couple of large (12"x12") folders for the picture "poster" boards that I've made up.

This may change as I get more experienced in writing and research.

[HourglassMemory]

I write them down anywhere.
Needless to say that I have a lot of organizing ahead of me.

When I have ideas I try to incorporate them into the stories I already have. Even if they don't seem to fit at first.
Only when it does not fit anywhere, do I create a new story that can grow from that.

[Norman D Gutter]

I do a very poor job of documenting ideas so that I can flesh them out later. Thomas Carlyle said something about this in a letter to Emerson:

Thanks for asking me to write you a word in the Dial. Had such a purpose struck me long ago, there have been many things passing through my head,--march-marching as they ever do, in long drawn, scandalous Falstaff-regiments...some one of which, snatched out of the ragged rank, and dressed and drilled a little, might perhaps fitly have been saved from Chaos, and sent to the Dial.

So even one of the best writers of near-antiquity had the problems.

Riley wrote:

I have a file full of title ideas. Usually, when I get a title idea, I'll get a little idea for a plot, too, so I'll write down a few sentences under the corresponding title.

Ideas tend to come to me also as titles, with a few thoughts of plot to go with that title. I'm sure that's backwards from how it should be, but that's how they come. If the idea sticks after a week or so, I write a few thoughts on paper. If when I find that paper in another week or month and it still seems like a good idea, I write it on the computer. In my Writing folder I have an Ideas subfolder, futher subdivided into novels, non-fiction books, essays, newspaper columns. I don't at this time do magazine articles, so don't have that. I have a newly started blog, and have added Blog to my Ideas subfolder.

Of course, while the folders exist, they are not heavily populated since I do a terrible job of tranferring them there. And hard copy back-ups should the hard drive ever decide to commit suicide are non-existant--unless I can find those original papers.

NDG

[DonnaDuck]

I write them down on anything and everything. I took a hit to the head when I was 18 and it scrambled my short-term memory. If I think it's good, I write it down immediately and when I come back to it, it'll jar what I was thinking about in relation to it. Should an idea slip by, it'll come back eventually but I have no idea when. I had a very short story idea that I wanted to write about, didn't write the idea down because I thought I'd remember it and I forgot it. Three days later I finally remembered what it was. I use spiral notebooks mainly and I have on specifically for random ideas for blogs or just random story ideas. My WIP notes are with the work itself, both handwritten and in Word. But I write down everything. I don't have a choice.

[Keyboard Hound]

I write them down on anything and everything. I took a hit to the head when I was 18 and it scrambled my short-term memory. If I think it's good, I write it down immediately and when I come back to it, it'll jar what I was thinking about in relation to it. Should an idea slip by, it'll come back eventually but I have no idea when. I had a very short story idea that I wanted to write about, didn't write the idea down because I thought I'd remember it and I forgot it. Three days later I finally remembered what it was. I use spiral notebooks mainly and I have on specifically for random ideas for blogs or just random story ideas. My WIP notes are with the work itself, both handwritten and in Word. But I write down everything. I don't have a choice.

I have much the same problem, but I'd never figured out why until now. Sometimes I'll write things and don't even remember writing them. I have a very extensive filing system broken down into many, many folders and it's amazing how it helps.

If I lose an idea and don't ever remember I had it or that I lost it, how will I ever know if it doesn't come back?

That's why I keep close records and notes of everything, along with sources if it's another's spoken words or an article that gives me an idea.

[onlyhere]

I keep them in my head until I'm ready to write.

[writin52]

Notebooks of all shapes and sizes are my slightly messy method. I'm toying with the idea of getting a small taperecorder, one of the ones that have a memory chip since most of my ideas come to me when I'm walking somewhere and in this weather its too cold to whip out a notebook and pen and get it down before it escapes to freedom in the frozen wastes of Lake Nip.

[writin52]

Oh, I forgot the many times I wrote ideas (once even a whole story) on the paper napkins in a coffee shop (think I drink too much coffee :]) Needless to say, not the best idea as I couldn't read half of it when I tried to later, too many rips in the paper. Anyway, it got attention, the waitress asked me what I was doing when I had to ask for more napkins.

[DonnaDuck]

I don't always have a notebook handy, but I do always have a pen handy. If I forget the notebook, I write on whatever else is handy. I always have a pocket full of receipts and Post It notes and torn envelopes with scrawls on them.

Do you crunch when you walk? I just got this image of someone with ridiculously puffed up pockets sounding like they're walking on styrofoam. My mom keeps all of her receipts too. I tell her there's no need for the ones from 1994 but she thinks otherwise.

Well, those are pretty. Here I am using these ugly old things

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31ZuZrSQOLL._AA240_.jpg

Oh bane is the wide ruled paper! Ack! I'm a college ruled type of girl myself.

[Birol]

Moved from Roundtable because I'm told BWQ needs a few threads. ;)

[Dale Emery]

Jerry Weinberg (http://weinbergonwriting.blogspot.com/), my writing mentor, burned his "5-second rule" into me: "Always be prepared to write within 5 seconds of having an idea."

So I carry a small Moleskine with me everywhere. I wear what I call "writer's pants," which have extra pockets that are just the right size for my notebooks.

I have a digital recorder in the car.

On my computer I use the wonderful EverNote (http://www.evernote.com/) software. The free version (the version that continues to run if you never purchase a key) does everything I need. Simple, with great features for searching and categorizing notes.

To categorize my ideas I use the CLOSAT scheme I learned from Michael Rabiger's book Developing Story Ideas. CLOSAT stands for Character, Location, Object, Situation, Action, Theme. It turns out that most of my ideas, by far, are situations.

Dale

[Dale Emery]

I have a private secretary.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k272/SpookyWriter/lookie.jpg

Dammit, I just forgot six ideas...

[steveg144]

I keep little Moleskine cahier notebooks laying around everywhere, plus I have a digital microrecorder in my truck (can't really scribble in a notebook at 70MPH,dontcha know...). Once captured, I store those ideas on my hard drive. My directory structure looks like this:

Writing\
\Short Stories
\Essays
\Plays
\Non-Fiction Books
\Fiction Books

In each of these directories I store works-in-progress, and each also has a file called IDEAS. It's a Word doc and each has a table in it, that looks like this:



Title: Description:
Sputnik Night the night me and my dad watched Sputnik go over

At some point that will move from being a blue-sky idea to something I'm actively working on. At that point I create a doc called Sputnik Night.doc. And I go to work on it. When it's written and making the rounds looking for a home, I remove it from the IDEAS doc.