List Making & The Creative Process

A list on my work monitor

I love making lists. Big-picture lists, daily lists, grocery lists, checklists … you name it, I list it.

I even make little list tools that sometimes other people enjoy. (For example, click here for my Weekly Goal Sheet. Here are specific instructions on how to use it.)

Lists are a personal thing—they speak to the ineffable in us—which is why it's so enjoyable to look at how or what other people list. Once there was someone who found my lists so representative of me (or perhaps so neatly adorable) that he kept one as a memento.

This month's Glimmer Train bulletin offers a thoughtful piece by Yelizaveta P. Renfro. She describes how lists play into her creative writing process. (My process is rather similar!)

My stories and essays begin with lists. On whatever is at hand—and often in the margins or endpapers of books I'm reading—I jot down fragments in the order that my mind offers them. This first step is a purging of these pieces, without structure. It's notating in shorthand what will go in the container, whether the container is an essay or a story. 

Go read the full piece for excellent insights and inspiration.

For more celebration of lists (or voyeuristic peeks at others' lists):

To-Do List. A new list is posted every Monday.
Milk Eggs Vodka. A wonderful website + book that focuses on grocery lists.
If It Won't Fit On A Post-It, It Won't Fit In Your Day. Fabulous advice for managing your daily to-do list.
Action Method journals. This is a marvelous tool (and method) for list makers.

Also—I'm curious about other writers' lists. Want to share a picture of yours, along with an explanation of how you use lists? If enough people are willing to share, I might start a feature on this blog. Drop me an e-mail or leave a comment if you'd be willing to participate.