Help Me!!!

[sexyspiders]

iv got so many ideas but dont know what to do with them all.

One day i will be sitting creating a story then another idea will pop into my head, so i involve it in the story. but generally i get loads of ideas, and its unrealistic to put everything in , the story would become overloaded and complicated.

as anyone who has read any of my stories will know, the endings tend to be rushed. this is because i have so many half stories lying about. so if im writting a story i really enjoy, i try to get it finished before its set aside and forgotten about. unfortunately, the quality of the story suffers.

please help me organise my writing...........

spiders >( ' . ' )<

http://www.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=106323
http://www.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=140762

 

[Guest]

Far from an authority on this one, but i know what you mean.
When i am writing a story and an idea pops up that doesnt quite match the theme of the one i'm currently working on, i open a file named simply, "Ideas" and pop it in there for future reference.
Everyone works differently but this seems to work for me.


One thing to avoid:
making file names that mean nothing to you. i did this for a whle and have yet to rectify the situation.. there are files in my documents named.. Try, Again, Try again, Do over, Just a thought, Maybe.
Not a good idea, i promise.

 

[CharleyH]

iv got so many ideas but dont know what to do with them all.

please help me organise my writing...........

I would take this same query over to story discussion. Pick one story that you want to improve or do something with, be precise with what you need help with, and those in story discussion are generally quite helpful.

Aside from that, only you can organize your thoughts unless you find someone, an editor who can and would want to do that for you. There are some famous authors who have written this way.

 

[CharleyH]

One thing to avoid:
making file names that mean nothing to you. i did this for a whle and have yet to rectify the situation.. there are files in my documents named.. Try, Again, Try again, Do over, Just a thought, Maybe.
Not a good idea, i promise.

LOL - multiple files named try again? Thats hilarious!

 

[Guest]

LOL - multiple files named try again? Thats hilarious!

hell its gotten better..

when i was programming, i would name files

that sucked
that sucked worse
broken
way broken
dont work
might work

yeah.. even now i go back to find a program and im totally confused. clearly i wasnt thinking.. or maybe i was just lost in a blond haze.

 

[sexyspiders]

... or maybe i was just lost in a blond haze.

i used to get away with alot of silly things because i was blond, but as i got older my hair got darker, so now iv dyed it a reddish colour, i no longer have the "blond excuse" hold unto it for as long as you can!!!!

spiders >__< (squished spider)

 

[Guest]

i used to get away with alot of silly things because i was blond, but as i got older my hair got darker, so now iv dyed it a reddish colour, i no longer have the "blond excuse" hold unto it for as long as you can!!!!

spiders >__< (squished spider)

LOL
at this juncture, i dont forsee any hair color changes. been blond all my life from tow headed in my youth to dark blond to light blond with help of ms. clairol now.. its just me.

 

[oggbashan]

I have part-completed stories on three computers because I write in three places.

I try to stay organised with folders marked 'old'; 'old drafts'; 'completed'; 'current drafts'; 'posted' (on Lit) etc.

I still have to use the Windows search function to find some of my files. It doesn't help that I sometimes rename stories in mid-draft so that version 4 of 'unatit' is followed by version 1 of 'Fag-Ash Lil'.

I use floppies to transfer files between computers. I have several hundred of them inadequately labelled including back ups. Searching those is a chore.

I have a folder 'ideas' but many of the notes in there I have used as stories and not deleted so some sound familiar.

Og

 

[sexyspiders]

reading all your suggestions, i can now clearly see one problem i have- i dont use my computer enough.

generally i make a layout on a piece of paper, character names etc, then on another ill start to write the story, then ill find out my mother-in-law is coming around, so i grab any suspicious looking scraps and bundle them under the bed or somewer equally stupid......then wen my story is finished, i type it up.


solution: do it on pc and put passwords on all my files, so mother-in0law doesnt stumble across them wen doin her own work....

ok, here goes, im gonna transfer each scrap of paper unto computer, starting now.....this could take a while, especially as i dont know wher half of them are!!!


spiders >('.')<

 

[destinie21]

Far from an authority on this one, but i know what you mean.
When i am writing a story and an idea pops up that doesnt quite match the theme of the one i'm currently working on, i open a file named simply, "Ideas" and pop it in there for future reference.
Everyone works differently but this seems to work for me.


One thing to avoid:
making file names that mean nothing to you. i did this for a whle and have yet to rectify the situation.. there are files in my documents named.. Try, Again, Try again, Do over, Just a thought, Maybe.
Not a good idea, i promise.

Lol it sure isn't I have all 67 of my lit stories/poems on my computer plus all my works in progress all named with nonsensical names and or numbers that at the time must've had some meaning to me.

 

[Lisa Denton]

Far from an authority on this one, but i know what you mean.
When i am writing a story and an idea pops up that doesnt quite match the theme of the one i'm currently working on, i open a file named simply, "Ideas" and pop it in there for future reference.
Everyone works differently but this seems to work for me.


One thing to avoid:
making file names that mean nothing to you. i did this for a whle and have yet to rectify the situation.. there are files in my documents named.. Try, Again, Try again, Do over, Just a thought, Maybe.
Not a good idea, i promise.

Oh yes, I agree. I spent hours making a new improved filing system. Years later all my cute lil folders are still empty and the one marked M for miscellaneous keeps getting bigger.
I know there is some good stuff in there but there is no way in hell I'm goin into that folder.
Of course this doesn't help other than to show you that I am worse than you so "Feel Good."

 

[Guest]

hell its gotten better..

when i was programming, i would name files

that sucked
that sucked worse
broken
way broken
dont work
might work

yeah.. even now i go back to find a program and im totally confused. clearly i wasnt thinking.. or maybe i was just lost in a blond haze.

Great minds, eh?

I have folders on my main computer named:

Stuff (programs)

Things (driver updates)

Shit (e-mail archive)

and Birdcage Liner (all my stories)

Back when I was in high school(DOS days), I had copied some "risque" programs like Simusex. In order to keep my father from finding them, I put them in sested folders 10 deep. But each folder had two other folders which contained a batch file that I renamed for each folder. The batch file would play a .wav file of George Carlin saying "Boy! Some people are really fuckin' stupid" then reboot the computer. Each folder was named with a word and in the proper order formed a sentance. Except for the path to my secret programs. It's path was
C:\Thou\Underwear\Shallt\Socks\Not\Apples\Pry\Kittens\Here\Boobies

 

[sexyspiders]

now that is truely sad for you to have had so much time on your hands to create such a system.

my problem is, i cant type straight unto computer, unless a short message like this. in any other case i end up writing notes, so i mit as well leave the whole story lying around for everybody to see. like the one on my bed right now!

spiders >( '.')<

 

[Weird Harold]

reading all your suggestions, i can now clearly see one problem i have- i dont use my computer enough.

generally i make a layout on a piece of paper, character names etc, then on another ill start to write the story, then ill find out my mother-in-law is coming around, so i grab any suspicious looking scraps and bundle them under the bed or somewer equally stupid......then wen my story is finished, i type it up.

Two words for you -- "Steno Pads."

I'm not sure if that's the term you know for a five by eight inch top-bound spiral notepad, but that's the solution to much of your dis-organization.

The reason it's the solution is that there is no real front or back to that type of notepad, so you can start writing your story from one end and just turn it over and write notes for new stories from the other end. At least it will keep most of your work in one place that's easy to hide when the MIL comes over and be fairly easy to transcribe from when you're ready to tape it into the computer -- The top-bound spiral binding is used so that the notepad can becomes it's own easel for easy transcription from notes to typed page.

I used this type of notepad extensively when was programming -- I'd buy them by the dozen so I'd always have one available when the one I was using filled up or when I needed to start a new program.

Of course, transcribing the contents into computer files is going to be necessary eventually, but having everything in one double sided notepad mkes keeping track of things easier.

 

[Weird Harold]

my problem is, i cant type straight unto computer, unless a short message like this. in any other case i end up writing notes, so i mit as well leave the whole story lying around for everybody to see. like the one on my bed right now!

A good, full featured, word-processing program like MS Word or Wordperfect has a comments or notes function that you can use to make those little side comments and notes without actually incuding them in your story. You can cut and paste the comments into their own files later when you're not in the grip of your creative muse.

 

[matriarch]

Re: Re: Help Me!!!

I completely understand where you're coming from. I have tons of text files with half written stories, but I keep them fairly organized. If I'm in the middle of one story, but think of a new idea, I usually will write a short synopsis of what I'm thinking. This might include the story category, the situation the characters are involved in, or a quick overview of the plot. Then I save it file for later, or keep writing if I'm in a groove. I keep my stories filed in different directories organized by priority. I usually use a filename that includes the category and the situation, for example, 11-vacation.txt, an erotic coupling involving a vacation scenario.

Anyway...

What she said.
I have folders where I keep 'ideas' - scenarios, plots, specific moment.....another folder where I keep started but incomplete stories........another where I keep completed, but unedited stories......and the final where I keep the final posted versions.

Plus poetry.....again...complete, snippets....ideas.....odd lines that have come into my head at the wierdest times.

I have plenty of ideas.....what I'm lacking is enough dynamite and impetus to keep me on track and finish the damn things! Hopefully, when I have finally completed this interminable house move and settled, I'll be able to concentrate.

 

[gauchecritic]

Whereas I'm the opposite. If I'm writing and I get a new idea I tend to incorporate it in flashback or just a whole new tack and eventually find myself back in the original story at some point.

This usually occurs when I need to explain something about a character and a short, short story fills the void nicely.

Sub-plots are a good place for 'new ideas' too.

Gauche