Another thing: I'm extremely visual. (Probably explains why I'm practically addicted to Pinterest *blush*!) I like being able to see everything. Sure, I have my ideas in my head, but when I can see them on my computer either in the form of lists, or photos, or random scenes written in Word docs, it helps me so much in getting the final story put together!
So, I created a system just with simple folders on my desktop for my current work in progress, and I thought I'd share it with you all!
I started by just creating one whole folder to hold my whole WIP:
(This name is tentative, btw...so ignore it, lol!)
Then, within the main folder, I created separate folders for
each of my most prominent Characters (I have about 4 right now: Lylia, Ayden, the Queen, the Dragon),
Drafts (so that I have all multiple copies of the different stages of drafts in one place),
Inspirations (where I put random visuals or scenes that inspire the writing process),
my B-Plot (in this case, the relationship between Lylia and Ayden),
my Outline/Ramblings (random scenes, scribblings about plot ideas, etc),
Random (for things I'm not sure where else to put...or ideas for new characters that I'm not sure that I want to actually use),
Settings (visuals or descriptions of my storyworld).
Got all that? And I know that it's not totally exhaustive for some, and it may be too exhaustive for some, but I found that these main folders work for me.
Okay, now time for things to get more complicated, haha!
Within each of the main Character folders, I listed 3 sub-folders: Histories, Visual, and Words.
Then, within each of the folders, I place the appropriate visuals--photos, Word docs with descriptions, scenes, etc.
You can see within the Visuals folder, I have pretty much all photos. But I could also write up a description of exactly what I want him to look like and stick it in a Word doc in this folder too.
Here in the Histories folder, you see that I have a few photos that give me inspiration for Ayden's history--but I also have a Word doc in which I have actually written some scenes and a synopsis of vital things that happened in his early life.
Here in the Words folder, I have quotes that either I want my character to actually say, think, or have said to him. I also have things about his personality...
Anything extra that doesn't fit into these three folder categories, I usually just stick in the main Character folder, or I create another folder and label it Random. (I love that word...!)
Check out Lylia's folders, in a different format:
And that's pretty much the gist of it! The other main folders didn't need sub-folders as much as the main Characters' however, I usually end up adding some as I come upon ideas that I want to store. For example, in my Random folder, I ended up adding a Characters sub-folder for new character inspiration--characters that I'm not sure whether I'll use or not, but when I want to add someone new, I know where to look! :-)
My next area to organize will probably be the Settings folder. I'm just about to jump into creating my storyworld, collecting images and ideas for my various scene settings. I will probably divide the folder into sub-folders with the titles of the country/city/region. I'm character driven, so I have more fun creating my people rather than my places--thus why I haven't gotten to it yet! :P
How do you organize your writing projects?
Do you use a system like mine, or do you use something else?
Or do you do better when everything is all in one place, like Melody?
I'd love to hear, please feel free to share in the comments! :)
~Amy
