Planning Notebooks

When I first started writing I never really cared about what kind of notebook I used when it came to planning. That was until I started getting annoyed with the smallest things that made me ditch the notebook all together and try to find something else. I tried keeping my notes on a computer but that didn't last long at all. I didn't realize how picky I was until I found the notebook that worked for me.

I went through a lot of phases. The regular A4 notebooks that are always on sale and even when they aren't, they are still really cheap. They were too big and I ended up bending the spirals because I tend to carry around some heavy things that squish them.

A5 journals are generally what I like to go for. They are the perfect size to fit in almost any bag and the hardcover versions are durable. I'm not talking about the spiral bound ones but the perfect bound. They don't have spirals that I have to worry about and they just hold everything I need in them just fine.

There are a variety of these kinds of journals. Moleskine. Ecosystem journals. Piccadilly. Piccadilly is my favorite and currently, they sell for a decent price. These journals are just for novel planning or for when I plan out a short story series.

There are some saddle-stitched journals that work just as well for the more smaller pieces I work on. Some short stories that I write that are stand-alone stories tend to fit these better than a full sized journal. Again, the a5 journals are the size of choice. They are much easier to carry that way.

Lately, with the saddle-stitched journals (even the stapled version), I've been adding them to my felt fauxdori my sister and I made one day. Though, I use my felt fauxdori for more journaling purposes than planning.

I can see how this method would be great for planning though. It allows books and other things to be added or changed out once they are no longer what you need. This could be perfect for when you are writing a huge series and need to split some things apart. It would help with organization. There is a definite advantage to having this as a planning method of choice. Also, it helps that the inserts are easy (and cheap) to make.

There are still several options I haven't tried yet. Eventually, I'll explore that but for now, I'm going to stick to what I have since that is my only option at the moment.

Progress Update: Not Going to Plan

So this week started off strong but fell pretty rapidly. I managed to get 5.5 hours of editing finished. That got me through all 26 pages. I'm in the middle of taking the mark-ups and adding them in. Unfortunately, I have to write a few scenes in and I'm having a hard time figuring out where to place some of them. There are some places that I know I'm going to have to go back and fix several things before it has some kind of flow.

It's not going to plan. I wanted to finish the first short story this week but I procrastinated. It is around the time I normally have a fall out with everything I'm doing at the beginning of the year. I'll just have to put in as much editing as I can tomorrow. 

As far as writing goes...I'm not sure how many I wrote but I didn't write the 7 pages I wanted but I did make some progress. I just need to think of where I want this to go. I didn't plan ahead. I should have. That is something I'll have to work on.

I started planning out a novel for April. It's my month for a break. I'm pretty excited about this new novel. It is untitled as of now but I will get one as soon as I know what I'm doing.

End of the Month Overview: February

February Results

Hours Edited: 18

Word Count Total: 28,393

Hand-written pages: 12

Challenges Completed: 2

February wasn't my best month, but it's only the second month of the year so I can't bring myself to really complain. I think because I'm coming to a close on my novel, I'm really dragging with my editing.

Now onto my goals for March.

• Edit my District Pluto Series
• Continue with my Handwritten Novel 

This should be a good enough list of goals to keep me busy during the month of March. I might add more as I continue through the month. The series I'm editing is supposed to be my first published works. Since I'm actually happy with the way they are written...it might go out sooner than I had anticipated (depending on if I can get a beta and someone to edit for me). Well, I guess I'll see how it turns out.

Results of January

This January wasn't one of my best considering my goals and all but I learned a thing or two along the way about editing. I'm not sure if it's just for this particular novel but that's something I'll figure out as the year goes on.

My totals for the year are:

• Editing: 50 hours
• Writing (typed): 22,515 words
• Writing (hand-written): 1,219

I think that's all I have for this month's goals. I didn't finish editing Call of the Piper but I did figure out where I wanted to go with the story. It's not going to be perfect but after I finish rewriting some of the scenes, I'll be on the right track. I won't have to go through and change everything again.

February is going to have a nice range of goals. Some of them are more personal.

• Finish editing Call of the Piper
• Continue working on handwritten novellas
• Write Hush for the Keeping Warm in February challenge
• Consistency Challenge (750 words a day)
• WriYe Blogging Circle 
• Work on creating a healthy lifestyle
• Apply for Jobs

 That is all I have for now and frankly, that's all I really want to have for the month of February. There are going to be small challenges during the month that I might partake in but I'm not sure I'll have time. I want to keep them simple. I want to start working out again and eating better. Hell, eating more at home would be a good start.

I have my art goals that I want to do as well but I think I'll leave that for my crafting blog.

Progress Update: Plot Bunnies

I figured out my editing hour total. I currently stand at 26.75 hours and I still need to add more to it. I'm half way to where I want to be by the end of the month but I need to really buckle down on this editing. Once I get into the fun part of it, I think it'll just breeze on by but I need to push myself to get there.

A lot of the rewriting is setting me back. I have to make a new outline and a new story board. I just need to remember to stay on track. So, I'll continue doing that.

Lately, I've been really into writing everything out by hand. I have those moments and that's usually when paper ends up everywhere. Now my room is a mess. That's probably why I can't be creative in my room. It's messy. I should really work on that.

On another note, thanks to work, I got hit with a plot bunny and I'm considering using the idea for the Handwrite a Complete Novel challenge on the WriYe forums. They are probably going to end up being Novellas. 4 of them. I already started outlining them because it wasn't leaving my head. I'm not sure how I'm going to write it completely. I always get stuck with the 1st person VS 3rd Person POV. I'll have to do some samples later.

Progress Update: Writing By Hand

Today, I have no idea where I stand when it comes to editing. I haven't plugged in my chart yet but I did most of it by hand. There are times when I get really distracted with things around the house. So, I think I need to clean my room and get focused again.

I did get pretty far with writing by hand but I'm not sure how much was written. So, I'm hoping for a better week.