What’s in my toolbox?

A geeky overview of my favorite apps, boards, and notepads

The dance goes on

I know I said I wouldn’t be emailing a Behind-the-Scenes Extra again until August 10, but I wasn’t sure I would have time to get to it. It turns out that I do. Lucky you!

There is always a good reason to dance, and dance we do!

It’s been a whirlwind week of preparing and then visiting with family from in and out of town while we celebrated my husband Richard’s birthday with a big backyard BBQ. Almost all of his brothers and sisters and even some nieces, nephews, and friends were here from all over. There was so much joy! And now there are so many leftovers!

We often say, “life gets in the way,” and sometimes it does, but that statement can be a bit of a cop out. And really, without life happening, what would we have to write, or draw, or dance, or sing about?

Richard and I have built such a full life over the years. I couldn’t be more grateful for who he is, and who he inspires me to be. Who we are together didn’t come all at once and it isn’t something that can be ignored and expected to thrive. I wouldn’t call our relationship work, but it does require our regular attention in equal parts. And we’re both still learning.

A twirl with our oldest grandson.

Always be learning.

Like anything you work at or play at, always be learning. As I love, I learn to love. As I create, I learn to create. As I write, I learn to write.

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Beware! Geeky writer stuff ahead.

Story Weaving Tools

For every writer there is a process that works for them. Even then, that process might not work for every novel or story. I have discovered what works for me at this time for this novel . . . so far. The idea of sharing my novel Chapter by Chapter is new, but based on what I’ve been reading from other writers, I expect it will become a welcome part of my process. I’m already writing more and with more regularity.

There are multitudes upon multitudes of writing advice articles and books about everything from how often you should write to what tools you should use. One could stall for years trying to make sense of them all. And I have spent some time trying different ways of organizing my thoughts and plots, as much as any writer has I’m sure.

I have found a few tools and methods that work for me

When I need to initiate focus I jot notes by hand in my notebook.

I’m a little picky about paper and pens. I have some anxiety that Carolina Pad may not be producing the specific spiral notebooks I like best anymore as they have become harder to locate. If that happens, the world will . . .

Never mind, I’m sure the world won’t actually come to an end.

Anyway, pen to paper helps me focus. Most of my physical notes on paper are in the form of lists, most often with little squares next to them for checking off after completion. I will check off this newsletter post next.

Plot notes and random inspirations go into the Apple “Notes” app on my iPad or phone, because I can jot them down almost anywhere or anytime. I then throw them in the proper folder and can find them again on any device.  I can even doodle things like the layout of Allen Haven Ranch. You don’t want to see that. It isn’t pretty, but it helps me to have a map when I’m writing scenes. I find the Notes tool simple and handy.

As for plot weaving, I tried Excel grids with plot templates. Too ugly. Too worky. Not enough play. On the other end of the spectrum I tried a white board with pen lines and colorful neon sticky notes. That was definitely more fun, but it was kind of a mess. And when I opened my office window the sticky notes fluttered in the breeze, which made them enticing to my cats. Trix discovered that the sticky notes are just the right combination of crispy and chewy. After that I was finding them wadded up under the desk and down the hall full of teeth marks. Plot holes much? I gave up on the white board, but it gave me another idea.

During my years working as a print project manager, I became an Asana addict. It’s really a project management tool for creative agencies, but I use it to organize everything. The “boards” function makes building timelines, storylines, character arcs, and complete outlines very visual, and easy to edit and move things around — even easier than tasty fluttery sticky notes.

I work in two Asana board projects. The first one, I call Skeletons.

Asana project board “Skeletons”

I label a column for each main character’s storyline and arch, then I weave them into my other board, where the Outline of the novel is organized into Parts/Seasons. You can tell me later if this is working and making for a cohesive overall story.

Asana also has that benefit of availability on any device at any time, both as an app and a web-based program. I’m sure it’s not for everyone, but it works for me.

Another tool I picked up sort of by chance is an app called Story Planner.

Story Planner app

I originally thought I would use it to plot out stories, but I found it a little too rigid in that regard. What I like is the ability to create in-depth character sketches, and even include a screen grab image at the top if you want —which I definitely want. Also, if a character shows up in more than one story, it’s easy to tag them to be included in any other project. It makes a nice quick reference to keep my characters consistent, as long as I update it whenever I make adjustments in the story itself.

I tried the very popular writing tool, Scrivener, but it didn’t catch hold with me. Not so far, anyway. I understand its popularity. It seems to be an extremely powerful tool. It can do all of the things I’ve mentioned in one place, but I find it overwhelming. 

I do my actual writing and editing in Reedsy’s editing app. The interface feels almost like I’m writing into a book, and it’s still simple enough. There aren’t too many bells and whistles to distract or overwhelm me. I can download a backup Word version in a flash, and it’s web-based, so I can use it anywhere.

All that said, the tools and methods are so unimportant. Every writer eventually finds what works for them, and that could be a simple notebook and a pen.

If anyone is interested in more detail about how I use these tools, comment below and I’ll put it on my to-do list to work on some follow-up posts in the future.

Just four more weeks before I launch Things That Can’t Be Broken, on August 30.  

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