Take notes while reading

[Spectrum]

Hello.

I have been writing on-and-off on a fantasy book/series for two years-ish now. Progress was slow, but recently I picked up a habit that's done wonders for my productivity:

Taking notes.

I'm not just talking about jutting down stuff while I'm sitting and focused on writing. I'm talking about taking notes whenever an idea pops into my head.

When I'm reading books or comics, or watching movies, or even playing video games, I am always on the lookout for inspiration I can use in my own writing. Previously I just kept all the ideas in my head, but I've developed the habit of writing them down immediately. Now I always keep a block of paper at hand when reading or doing pretty much anything else.

The hand-written notes I write down are sketchy and sometimes ill-developed. I then let them lie and simmer a little while, then enter them (in a hopefully more mature form) into the LaTeX document on my comp where I keep all the official planning for my books.

I've found that now that I'm in the habit of actively searching for inspiration and formulating ideas, I get many more of them than before. Since I starting doing this in mid-January or so, I have written more than a hundred pages of hand-written notes, which has turned into maybe 200 pages of LaTeX text. I now have the entire first novel planned out, good ideas of what happens in the later volumes and tons of background story and mythology.

Does anyone else do this? Those of you that don't, I recommend that you try it.

[CharleneHaines]

Oh, yes! I keep a notebook by the bed because I grab a lot of ideas from dreams... So, this has proved to be very effective...

Also, I drive for my job, so I do a lot of thinking whilst I do this (hahaha, I'm a multi-tasker). So, I have been able to gather ideas this way as well...

But, note taking is an EXCELLENT idea!!! I cannot stress that enough!!! Especially when it's a series... Take notes while writing so that you remember important details later when you write the next installment. :-)

[Robsia]

I have an ideas book, but as yet I've never had an idea from a dream, although I have heard it can happen!

[CharleneHaines]

Originally Posted by Robsia

I have an ideas book, but as yet I've never had an idea from a dream, although I have heard it can happen!

Oh, yeah! All of my books have arised from dreams... I would have not thought of my current book and series if it was not for a dream I had last April... It was such a cool dream that I had to write down everything I could remember... then, I added some details and comprised a storyline/plot.

That is why I highly condone writing down ideas and thoughts AS SOON as your brain thinks them up! You may think, "oh... that was a silly dream, I can't write about that!" It may sound silly (for lack of a better word) to you... but it may sound AWESOME to someone else!

[littlemissattitude]

I have a composition book that I carry with me at all times, and I use it often to jot down ideas so that I won't forget them. I don't want to be put in the position I was in once when I was driving a long distance, didn't have anything at hand to write on or with (don't worry, I would have pulled off the road first if I had had them), so when a poem popped into my head, I had to keep repeating it over and over the rest of the way home (probably a hour and a half or two hours) so that I wouldn't forget it./

I also make it a habit to jot notes on whatever I'm reading, fiction and non-fiction. If it's my own book, I just put notes in the margins or blank spaces at the end of chapters or on the blank pages at the end of the book. If it is a library book, I usually put the notes in my current composition book.

[Robsia]

I am firstly a musician, and when I was doing my degree I was writing a Requiem Mass for my main composition project. On the way home from my p-t job one day on the bus we were stuck in Wimbledon traffic and I had a fab idea for the main theme for my Sanctus. I virtually composed the entire thing on the bus on the way home in my head. I had to just keep singing it over and over in my head, and had to write it down the second I got home.

[jeff.s.p]

True, taking mental notes during moments of inspiration is important.. (essential).

But even more important is keeping these notes well organized. No point on having a brilliant idea if it's hidden from view and forgotten. It'll happen after you've reached your 4-5th hundredth scrap paper of an idea.


I've been jotting down notes for a few years. I now keep everything on a hand-held PC. An excellent investment if you can afford. Their small, convenient to take with you anywhere, and information can be easily downloaded to your desktop program. Also, most handhelds have an audio recorder (great for taking a quick verbal note while driving) and can hold small graphics programs, which are ideal for illustrative sketches.

You may consider this route: definitely worth the investment.

Jeff

[Spectrum]

Originally Posted by jeff.s.p

True, taking mental notes during moments of inspiration is important.. (essential).

But even more important is keeping these notes well organized. No point on having a brilliant idea if it's hidden from view and forgotten. It'll happen after you've reached your 4-5th hundredth scrap paper of an idea.

Yes, definitely. I put quite an effort into maintaining a well-structured LaTeX document with all my information in it. With cross-references and hyperlinks spammed all over the place, so I can more easily connect and recall stuff.

[Anthony G Williams]

Most of my ideas come to me when I'm lying in bed: basic inspiration often comes from dreams, but the real value is in follow-up thoughts as I'm half-asleep or just about awake. This often happens in the middle of the night, so as well as a notebook beside my bed I have one of those pens with its own built-in light, so I don't have to turn the light on and possibly wake my wife - an important consideration in preserving marital harmony!

[Gidde]

I found that all of the methods used above weren't organic enough; I'd run out of space when I went to expand a section, or one topic really belonged in more than one section, when I began taking worldbuilding notes for my work-in-progress novel. So, being a bit of a nerd anyhow, I created a personal wiki and password-protected it so only I could see it and I'm off and running. You can install a local webserver and wiki on your hard drive which is even more secure - mine is online simply because I use any of 4 computers quite interchangeably.

[chrispenycate]

Originally Posted by Robsia

I am firstly a musician, and when I was doing my degree I was writing a Requiem Mass for my main composition project. On the way home from my p-t job one day on the bus we were stuck in Wimbledon traffic and I had a fab idea for the main theme for my Sanctus. I virtually composed the entire thing on the bus on the way home in my head. I had to just keep singing it over and over in my head, and had to write it down the second I got home.

I remember being pulled up a ski slope by a "tire fesses", one of the one person pole and plate ski lifts, and looking at the pole in front of me, to see my boss/musician/collaborator wit his wodge of lined music paper frantically scribbling melodie as he was dragged up the mountain side. I found it so funny that I almost laughed myself off my stick, and sort of inverse slalomed up to the top.
Mind you, I wasn't writing then; now I might be as bad.

[Lith]

Writers say keep a notebook handy. Photographers say keep your camera handy. Christians say keep your Bible handy. Artists say keep your sketchbook handy. Sigh. There are days I feel like a walking bulletin board, or something. The backpack's getting rather full.

But it helps! I really does! And people can tell you till they're blue in the face, but until you actually DO it, you'll never know the benefits.

My massive files of notes are semi-organized. I've given up hopes of thoroughly organizing them; I never seem to reread them anyway, that way. But each story has a file of its own, with attendant sub folders if necessary, and each idea with multiple possible applications gets a place in each file. The slight disorganization I find inspiring, but also frustrating, should multiple copies of a piece of information find its way in.

That and keeping tightly-organized notes can chew up a lot of otherwise-productive writing hours. And that is the voice of experience!

[littlemissattitude]

Originally Posted by Lith

My massive files of notes are semi-organized. I've given up hopes of thoroughly organizing them; I never seem to reread them anyway, that way. But each story has a file of its own, with attendant sub folders if necessary, and each idea with multiple possible applications gets a place in each file. The slight disorganization I find inspiring, but also frustrating, should multiple copies of a piece of information find its way in.

That and keeping tightly-organized notes can chew up a lot of otherwise-productive writing hours. And that is the voice of experience!

I've begun keeping several notebooks going at the same time, just so that I don't have to go running off to find the one current notebook when I've got a good idea. There's usually one by my bed, one in my purse (which are sometimes the same one, but not always) one next to my desktop computer, and sometimes another one that sort of floats around the apartment. I don't try to keep one subject to a notebook anymore; that almost drove me crazy(ier). What I do, however, is sit down every couple of weeks or so and collect everything that pertains to whatever project I'm working on at the moment and type up all those notes. It usually doesn't take that long, and even if it does, I figure that I'm familiarizing myself with the information, which is especially important when I'm working on a non-fiction project and can't just go around making stuff up. I usually do that when I'm at a point when I can't do any productive writing work (too distracted, too tired, just not connecting with the writing after trying for a reasonable period of time), so I don't see it as taking up writing time.