Writing Information |
Call Yourself a Writer? Where Are Your Notes?
Writers are notorious collectors of slips of paper. They tear articles from magazines in the doctor's waiting room; they rip corners off newspapers in friend's houses because they need to write down something witty; and they stuff their bags and pockets with serviettes, cigarette packs, and discarded train tickets just because note making's second nature to them. More often than not, when they eventually find a note, they haven't a clue what it was related to. Just yesterday, I found this one lurking at the bottom of bag I hadn't used for months. "House - blue window frames. Why wisteria?" Why, indeed! I hadn't the foggiest. I'd made the one mistake a writer should never make. While I'd obviously found a handy supermarket cash-out slip for my note making, I hadn't dealt with my note within 24 hours. I certainly hadn't used any form of filing system - unless that's what you'd call the bottom of an old handbag. Where A Writer's Notes Should Be Put When I've been out, I'll usually fire up my computer as soon as I get home. I have a folder for document archiving that I've called 'Ideas'. Under there are a number of documents that I use as a filing system for my notes. Each note is put into one or more of the documents, depending where it fits. Let's say I've made a note about Shahtoosh, and how the Tibetan Antelope is almost extinct thanks to our selfish desire for luxury. I'd transfer my writer's notes to a document called 'Environment', another called 'Wildlife' and a third named 'Fashion'. I could also put it under 'Human Selfishness', but I don't have one. The point is that you should give your each file in your document archiving system a name that means something to you. If you mostly write about food and drink related subjects, you wouldn't need a filing system for 'Housing Issues'. If you did find something you'd like to write about housing, you could pop it in your 'Miscellaneous' file, a great place to rummage through when you fancy a break from your usual subjects. No, what you need is 'Eating Out', 'Recipes', 'Wine', 'Alcoholic Beverages', 'Cakes and Deserts' or something along those lines. Only you know what best suits your writing. Filing System Not Working? Don't Worry When you first start working on your filing system, you'll probably make a few mistakes and find yourself moving things around. Don't worry - you'll get there in the end. Finding a document archiving system that works properly on the first try probably never happens. It's never happened to me, anyway. Within each file-whether you've chosen to use an MS Word document or a plain text file-make sub-headings. Going back to the food and drink note making, sub-headings in the 'Eating Out' document could be 'Fast Food', 'Chinese Restaurants', 'Pub Meals', and 'Dinner Parties'. You could add more, obviously. Do you see how a useful filing system is being built up? If you think you'll have a lot under one heading, there's a second way of designed a filing system for your note making. Under your folder called 'Ideas'-or whatever you've chosen to call yours-you could have a sub-folder for 'Food and Drink'. The documents under this folder could then be called 'Fast Food', "Pub Meals', etc. The point is, writer's notes get lost quickly so it's important you design a system that works for you. But just because you've designed yourself a mind-blowing filing system, don't rest on your laurels too much-it isn't all about note making, you have to actually transfer your notes, too! Sharon Jacobsen is a full-time freelance writer living in South Cheshire, England. While she most enjoys writing about social and environmental issues, she'll happily populate your website with engaging, keyword rich articles on any just about any subject, from dog breeding to cricket. To contact Sharon, or to find out more about her work, please http://www.sharon-jacobsen.co.uk
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
RELATED ARTICLES
The Unwritten World Of The Reality Of Letterwriting You may wonder why I have chosen this title of this post. Well from my experience is that it is really hard to put the feeling into words about what letter writing means to me. Top Seven Mistakes Writers Make and What to Do About Them Writers often get stuck because they make assumptions about writing, finishing, publishing, and promoting their books. A recent client confessed that he thought a book was just too big a project. How You Can Take Advantage of the Increasing Demand for Freelance Online Writers The freelance writing market is a growing market to be in. There are many jobs available, but sometimes, it can be hard to find the work that you want, and available at the time you want it to be. Proofreading for Profits How to avoid mistakes that undermine your credibilityYou're probably already familiar with the spell checker built into your software. Some work automatically as you type, others only run when you activate them. Use Real-Life Templates For Writing Success At some point along the way, most of us have used what arecommonly called "fill-in-the-blank" writing templates. Wemight have used them to write a letter, format an essay, orset-up a resume or CV. Learning How To Write As a student of Spanish, my goal was to think in Spanish. Skipthe word-by-word translation so I'd have the necessary speed tospeak and listen. How To Filter Description Through Your Characters How do you describe a scene without slowing down the pace of your novel? What do you include? What do you leave out? Here's a neat trick: use your own experiences as a guide.When we encounter a new setting or new experience, all our senses are on the alert. Print-On-Demand: A Definition and a Comparison The purpose of this article is to consider Print-On-Demandpublishing as an alternative for the aspiring author. It has itsstrengths and its weaknesses. Get Your Writing Reviewed by Major Publications for Free All Writers need the press, especially new writers. As a new novelist, I know I need name recognition. Top Ten Tips (Part 1) The following rules are essential if you want people to take you seriously.Be yourself Know your subjectBe interested Punctuate proudlyRespect the apostropheGet great grammarSpell well Keep to the pointRead and reviseSleep on itPay attention to detailBe yourselfWrite from the heart or the head or the gut, depending upon the type ofwriting you are doing. Help! I Cant Write! Writer's Block can strike like a King Cobra, paralyzing every little golden nugget you try to create. What can you do to lick it? Below are some fun suggestions to crack the nut! (write about each prompt for twenty minutes)1) Take yourself to the local coffee shop and eavesdrop. Dont Make This Huge Writing Mistake! You can create a great headline, a dynamic first sentence, and a brilliant lead paragraph. But if you can't hold readers during those middle paragraphs, they'll never see your conclusion. Writing Made Them Rich #2: Charles Dickens Charles Dickens was born in Portsea, England, in1812. His father was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office,stationed at Portsmouth. New York Code Orange Jaisini New Art Series The creativity of Jaisini is not designed to be preaching or too critical. Paul Jaisini reached his level of mastership to know exactly that life is worth living to look in the future having no regrets about the past. Looking For Good Copywriter Books? If you are looking for copywriter books, you'll want to devote some time to reading. In fact, if you plan to look online for your copy writer resources, you might as well just devote your life to reading! There are so many books that are available for you to purchase. Hunting for Markets Over the Holidays Chances are, you'll be busy over the next several weeks. Between preparing for, celebrating, and unwinding from the holidays it may be difficult to maintain your regular writing routine. Pairs/Groups Of Words Often Confused - Part 6 of 6 SALE, SAIL Sale is either offering something for purchase ("for sale")or offering it at a special price ("on sale"); sail is partof a ship or boat.SELL, CELLSell is to exchange for money; cell is a small room. A Book Note Vs a Book Report IntroductionSince our early days of elementary education we have been familiar with what a book report entails. But do you know what a book note is? Good question you say? Great! Read on and together we can explore the relationship between the two. Write Possibilities We writers are a powerful lot. We control time. Who Said That? Making Dialogue Crystal Clear Recently, I was hunting for a book that would simply entertain me. I didn't want to have to ponder about 'who dun it'. |
home | site map | contact us |