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Writer's pictureA D Riemer

How To Organize Your Research Whilst Writing.

Updated: Apr 17, 2022






You’re back! Good for you. Last time we got you organized with a special notebook for your writing, and discussed all of the things that could go in it. This time we’re going to talk about all of the things that can’t, or that need to come out of it to go somewhere else.


Alright, you’ve been writing steadily and have now filled your first notebook — but there are all of those juicy ‘bits’ that didn’t get used. Well, there are two ways that you can go about this. Both are valid, both are easy. One you can do anywhere, but the other is going to need several hours of your undivided attention. Still, once you’re in the swing of it — if you know what you are doing — the process goes along at an acceptable clip.


For the first you need a file box, file cards, an alphabet divider and a few different colored pens (if you’re into color coding, that is). For the people who have written willy-nilly in their bible, this is the perfect time to grit your teeth and get it organized.


Grab some of those lovely blank rectangles (get lined ones, not blank, just to clarify) and label them. If you already know where some of the bits from your bible are going, label a card with the name of that story and lay it aside for the moment. Next label other cards with things like: CHARACTER, CHAPTER TITLES, BOOK/ STORY TITLES, SETTINGS, and so on.


For my books I have a card for each character with their physical description. I also update if I have a recurring character with the titles of the books in which they have appeared. Any new discoveries about that character can also go on these cards. For the sake of continuity also list any allergies or health concerns that your character has. It won’t do to have the main Character scoff a jar of peanut butter in Book 1, and have a peanut allergy requiring an epi-pen in Book 6, for example. Readers have the memory of elephants in these matters and can be almost GUARANTEED to point these mistakes out — usually in a scathing review of your baby.


Chapter Titles (already assigned to your main work, unassigned ones need a separate card), Story Titles (separate card for each) and Settings are all self-explanatory, so only a short note: sometimes the act of writing this out will trigger connections, and you may discover that ‘this’ character goes to ‘that’ location, and OMG — ‘here’ is the exact title that I need, and OMG again — ‘these’ chapter titles are just perfect! WRITE ALL OF THAT DOWN NOW! Not later — NOW. You really will forget those tenuous connections if you put it off. And now we get to the BITS.


Will any of those go with the new story idea that you may have come up with? Write them on those cards there and then, but for the rest, place the on cards just labelled BITS. These will be gone through regularly as you write — no need to recopy them — just strike them through with a red pen, exactly as you would in your bible as you use them up.


Now, you may be saying “what about the computer AD? Wouldn’t it be easier? All of it at your fingertips with a press of a button you know!” Yes, well, you may have a super-duper computer that boots up in a micro-second, but sadly, my machine has all of the grace and speed of an aging Apatosaur.


In the time that it takes to start up, I’ve made a cup of coffee, drunk it, wandered around and tidied up a bit, checked on how the start-up is going, made another cup of coffee… and I’m halfway through that by the time I get my password in. Then there’s the waiting for the word processor to start, and getting my playlist up on iTunes. I could have gone through up to five pages of my notebook by then.


HOWEVER, one of a computer’s strengths is its research capabilities and the ability to contrast and compare research articles with ease. It also has the ability to scan articles and photographs that may already be in your possession. You can also use it as a research tool to cast your characters. DO NOT USE THESE FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN THIS! Breaching copyright is a very serious matter, right up there with plagiarism (though they are kind of the same thing).


And now another of a computer’s strengths; the ability to create nested folders. Using an example from my research, I would create a folder labelled HISTORY. This will be the Master Folder. Other folders would be labelled things such as EGYPT BCE, EGYPT CE, SUMERIA, MAANS, AZTECS, VIKINGS, CELTS, and so on. These would be placed inside the Master Folder. The next Master Folder would be PEOPLE, with prominent figures grouped by the same classifications as the HISTORY folder. I’m sure that you get the gist and can come up with some of your own folders.


Now you have the ability, when your story demands it, to either read onscreen, or print the article out. I’m a fan of printing, it means that I can highlight and make notes in margins as I like. It also means that I can get the research started as the computer is booting up…


And there you have it, now you have your research organized and at your fingertips, no matter which way you choose to do it.




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