Tabulating story ideas and details

[DrHappy]

How does everyone else keep track of story ideas and little details when developing a story? I thought that I’d share what I do and ask you for your ideas. Maybe there is room for improvement in my process.

I’ve been using a free Microsoft app on my phone called One Note to store ideas as they come into my head. I’m not talking about just plot ideas, but details that can be used in character development for whatever story that I’m already developing in my head. The last few of my stories have been almost 30k words, so I have a lot of details to work out and keep track of. One bullet point might be “Maybe she slaps him the next time she see him, which starts a heated conversation into the uncomfortable topic”. With this app on my phone, I can add items whenever they come into my head, whether I’m at the grocery store or at work. I have also One Note on my PC, and it’s easy to transfer text between my phone and my PC. I used to do all of this with paper, but this is much more convenient.

How do other people people keep track of their story details? Do you just keep it all in your head then start writing? My stories tend to me significantly longer than most stories here, so maybe this isn’t needed for most shorter stories.

I’m long overdue to getting some of my stories published here.

 

[PoisonPen33]

I have a little notebook I carry with me and when I get an idea I'll mull it over for a few minutes and if I like it I'll write it down. I can't guarantee I'll ever come back to it, but at least it's on paper, right?

Edit - That's BRILLIANT MelissaBaby. Technique stolen.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I text myself.

 

[Hypoxia]

How do other people people keep track of their story details?

The voices in my head tell me what to do. They've been quiet lately. Darn.

 

[SimonDoom]

I am usually close to a computer, so I do everything on computer. I don't carry a notebook. When I get a story idea, I create a new folder with the name of the prospective story in my story folder on my computer. I create 2 word documents -- the story, and story notes and outline. My notes/outline will include ideas I suddenly think of, character names and traits, themes, other aspects of the story that come to mind about the setting, plot, etc., my working draft tagline, and a numbered outline of the plot of the story. Recently I've begun dispensing with the outline for shorter stories.

I add to the notes as I go.

As I get deeper into the writing of the story and I think of an idea about something to come later in the story, I'll add a word or a statement in brackets in the draft wherever the point needs to get made to remind me when I come to it in my writing.

 

[CuteSlaveLisa]

The voices in my head tell me what to do. They've been quiet lately. Darn.

Just don't listen to dogs named Sam...

Love and Kisses

Lisa Ann

 

[Hypoxia]

Just don't listen to dogs named Sam...

Cats speak more succinctly. I blame the viruses.

 

[Voboy]

My phone came with a notes app. I just jot them down in there, then once I get home I transfer them into the document I'm using to keep my current story straight.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Nothing. It's all in my head, or being written.

 

[KeithD]

I have a "Project Status" revolving list kept as a Word file (in two different computers), but a story doesn't make the list until it's being written or very soon to be written (or worked on if it's a book). I have another (New Story) list where I list every story, book, chapter that's been published anywhere, with color coding on where. It includes a marketplace publishing date and the additional Web sites it's been posted to as well as the pen name it's been posted under. I have nearly 200 marketplace-published books and well over a 1,000 stories listed.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

While I do take notes and such on an iPad, almost all of my serious writing is done on a PC in Word. That allows me to use different fonts and colours. I might, for instance, have an idea for a scene well ahead of where I am working. That might be written in red or green or blue vice black. The colours keep me from getting confused and, eventually, I catch up with myself.

 

[SamScribble]

I tend to start a story at the beginning and keep on going until I get to the end. If a thought comes to me before it's needed, I just put it at the bottom of the page and keep going. Sooner or later, it gets absorbed into the story or it gets discarded.

 

[DrHappy]

Thank you for sharing your procedures. My stories tend to be long and complex, and the idea collection usually takes several months before I begin any serious writing. The story that I’m currently working on is still just several pages of idea items and a basic outline. I figured out the basic premise of the story many months ago. I know specific scenes that need to happen, including a very specific opening and a general ending. I’m still connection ideas that display character development. I’m also collecting ideas for how to gracefully connect various events together. The collection and tabulation of these ideas ends of being a big part of my story creation process.

 

[Voboy]

“Gracefully connect various events together.”

I like that phrase.

 

[Rustyoznail]

I’m using Google Drive. I’m developing a range of stories based around a few characters so I use the spreadsheet to keep track of their names (and spelling), age at the time of the story, dates, etc. I use it for work, and it works for me. I can also pick up any device and work on either a story, make notes in a separate document, or track history.

Russ

 

[kittybeaver]

I love spreadsheets. Give me half a reason to start one and I will jump on it. So I have some spreadsheets set up for different series and genres.

 

[John988]

[This content has been removed due to a copyright violation.]

 

[eroticstoryspinner]

I use a combination of Evernote and Goggle Docs

 

[Hypoxia]

The usual caveat: It depends on the story and my situation. If away from my laptop, I may enter notes on my Android tablet to be emailed to myself, or I may dictate notes into a voice recorder for later transcription. When on the laptop, I may put a character list and/or rough outline at the back of a story file -- new ideas embed there. Long, complex arcs demand that. But mostly they stay filed in my memory. Yow.

 

[GuessImJamie]

I love spreadsheets. Give me half a reason to start one and I will jump on it. So I have some spreadsheets set up for different series and genres.

I love spread sheets too, but everybody at work looks at me funny when I take my clothes off and climb on top of those spread sheets. <<<rimshot>>>

 

[ThisNameIsntTakenYet]

As I'm studying at an online college from home, I tend to be around my laptop a lot. I recently transitioned to Scrivener for my writing and I love it, it works great for my general workflow. For the ones unfamiliar with the program, it has basically multiple views of your story, all interconnected so if you change something in one it'll change everywhere. I tend to just create a new note card on the corkboard for a new idea/scene and then drag them around until the order makes sense. Sometimes this involves editing the scenes before and after the new one if they're already written so it transitions smoothly, but that's often a minimal amount of work. If I get a smaller idea like a line of dialogue or a certain action for a character, I add it to the notes for that particular scene instead.

Occasionally I do get ideas when I'm away from my laptop, mostly during walks. In that case I'll just develop them in my head and add them as described above once I get home. Should I be away for longer periods of time or be afraid I'd forget details, I add them to the standard notes app on my phone and then transfer later.

 

[C_Rion]

I keep a file titled The Eggplant Farm for sex scenes-- those are the ones that come to me most frequently. Ha! Anyway, I categorize them and and use a system of different colored highligts. Often I develop a story around one scene.
For more developed stories and I just have an electronic file that updates on all my devices so I can open it anywhere.

Most of what I have written lives in bits in pieces. At least enough for two novellas. I'm much better at finishing illustratios, and even that's a struggle for me at times. I need deadlines.

 

[NoJo]

For longer stories (where I can't keep the whole thing in my head reliably), I

1. Keep, and update character bios, back story, at the top of the doc
2. Have 5-10 item outline at top of doc
3. Write the "forward story" in brief form if it differs from the narrative timeline
4. Use the outlining feature in word, mark sections with headings (sometimes two levels, but usually just one), and show outlining in the left pane of MS Word, for jumping around
5. Never delete extraneous paragraphs until close to final draft. I change the text colour to light grey and apply strikethrough style instead.

 

[HeyAll]

In the past few months I made a Google Doc with my story ideas.

I recently organized it by catagory, but I have the title of the story in bold, followed by bullet points of what happens. I also have links to articles or pictures below it, if i used it for inspiration.

 

[Blind_Justice]

In addition to the main story file, I have full character sheets for every major character, another file for minor characters, a file for outtakes/false starts which may or may not turn into new plot bunnies. I usually have a tight outline on hand which details the story on a scene-by-scene basis and finally my setting file which has the location info. 40 stories in, my three main "settings" (fantasy, sci-fi and cyberpunk) have taken on a life of their own and I need to make sure I don't trip over all the story threads I have laid out.