If
you're like me, you need an intervention. No, not with drugs, alcohol
or gambling, organization! My desk and files are an organizational
nightmare! I'm not the most disorganized person I know, but I'm
close. Being an author with O.D.D., (Organization Disability
Disorder), I've come up with a couple very simple tricks.
Since
I work on more than one story at a time, I'm juggling characters and
story lines. To keep myself straight, especially with minor
characters, I keep a three ring binder with sections and tabs for
each story. Using the file name from the computer file, I write it on
the tab. On one page, I keep a list of characters, all of them, no
matter how small a role they play. On another, I keep a list of
chapters and their page numbers. It's very easy to continue writing
until a story is complete, but it's good to give the story some
natural stopping or slowing places.
Every
author has to do research at some point. Although I bookmark pages on
my browser, it's a horrible mess. Despite my best efforts to do
better, it's still a mile long and a disaster. To combat that, I
print out the pages of research that I need, complete with the web
address, in case I have to go back. These, I punch and put in another
three ring binder. I keep it within reach so that I can find what I
need.
I
have in mind to tag the pages per story or at least per subject, but
I haven't gotten that far. That's my goal – though it may be next
year before I get it done. These are very easy things for any writer
to accomplish. Even for the clinically O.D.D., there is hope!
©
Dellani Oakes 2015
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