Organization

[Note: Originally written August 23, 2007]

Getting organized is a feat in itself. It can make me wacky if I think about it too much. I'm one of these old fashioned types (or maybe it's just weirdom) that when I'm writing, I prefer to write longhand at first. I guess the reason I prefer a pad and pen is because I feel too much of an urge to hit the delete key when I'm brainstorming on my laptop. Plus, I like physically seeing my ideas. It helps weed out the good from the bad. It's like, I may have this really great idea in my head, but if I can't convey it in writing well enough to still love it once it's in ink, then I just forget about it for the time being and move on. Sometimes simply seeing it in ink is enough to know the idea sucks all kinds of awful.

So, with a lot of physical writing, you can imagine the difficulty of keeping up with all that info. What do I do? Well, I've started a method that so far is working for me. I've got this 3-subject notebook that I carry everywhere. One section is for production and post-production ideas - actual thoughts on these two aspects. It contains everything from potential actors to bonuses I want included on the final dvd. The second section is where I brainstorm "death and gore scenes." Hey, no horror writer worth her salt doesn't have one of these! The third section is dedicated to writing the scripts, inventing characters, brainstorming ideas, writing scenes, etc. and every page is named according to its respective project and dated.

Once I see that a particular project is growing to the point of becoming an actual work, I start typing everything into this great screenwriting program called "Montage" for Mac. And once it does grow in size, all of those sheets get moved to a dedicated binder/folder for that project alone.

Once I run out of paper in the 3-subject notebook, it's time to buy another one. And that's what I'll soon be facing. But the dilemma is that I don't want to lose my unfinished ideas but I don't have the room to carry multiple books with me. And I'm certainly not going to transpose everything from one notebook to the next. So, I've decided to go with a smaller notebook. A 1-subject. And put all the pages from my previous notebook into a binder that can be updated easily. I don't worry so much about different "sections". If I have an idea, I jot it down.

For poetry and songwriting, the 3-subject notebook actually works quite well. Those two don't outgrow the notebook as quickly as screenwriting does.

I'm always looking for better ways to be organized.

Update: 1-26-11
I'm finally adding this entry to my blog. A few things have changed since I wrote it way back in '07. First, now when I fill up a 1-subject notebook I tear out those sheets and put them in a 3-ring binder for later reference. And I no longer use Montage much, as Celtx has become my go-to screenwriting software. It's nice because I can install the free software on multiple computers so I'm never without my script.

Another Update: 2-13-12
I've all but ditched the notebook thing. I still use paper when I'm starting a project, but once there's enough meat, I convert everything to plain text and sync with Dropbox so that I can access my files from all my devices. I do a lot of typing on my iPad. Here's a blog I wrote about moving to plain text.