N is for Notes

This post is part of the Blogging from A to Z challenge–blogging every day in the month of April (except Sundays!) with each letter of the alphabet.

Every book I write has a ton of notes to go with it, things I’ve written down to remind myself of certain details and so I don’t screw up continuity. Most writers do this I think, and there are many different methods of keeping notes. Some writers do it right on the manuscript, some keep notes electronically, and some use programs like Scrivener (which I hear is amazing, though I’ve never used it).

For me, I write everything down on paper. When I need to remember something, or do something later in the story, I scribble it down. My notes are completely disorganized and often sound like the ravings of a crazy person, but they make sense to me. I have a deep fear that I’ll die with all these bizarre notes that only made sense to me lying around and people will think I was a lunatic.

I usually make a list of notes during the first writing, then another list when I’m editing and rewriting. This is especially true when writing a series, when there’s so many balls to juggle and you don’t want to forget something. I have notes for future books in the series, lists of things that need to be resolved, details to pick up later. I scratch each one out as I wedge it into the story and it gives me a sense of satisfaction. It’s a bit of an old-style way of doing things I guess, but it’s how my brain best works.

How about you, do you keep notes for your stories? What methods do you use? Do your notes sound insane like mine?

Filed under: A to Z Challenge Tagged: blog hop, writing