An index—I used four pages for this. Realizing I’d selected a notebook without page numbers, I numbered 20 pages. I’ll number the others as I need them.
A future log: things coming up in the next four months. I kept it simple, ruling a horizontal line in the middle of each page, so it took a double-page spread.
My daily log.
Everything I required was done in 30 minutes, and I was good to go.
Here’s how I’m using it.
1. Track daily progress: this keeps me writing
Each day, in the daily log, I jot the word count before I start writing, and again when I finish. I’ve also created a basic word count tracker.
How basic? Just the dates and the total word count to date on a page; I’ve divided it into two columns. When I get to the end of the first column, I begin the next one.
It’s easy to see if I missed a day. On a couple of days, it was a few minutes before midnight, so I quickly wrote a paragraph.
The most realistic conflicts between characters stem from who they are. The Odd Couple is my favorite example of this type of conflict. When Felix and Oscar live together, they’re so different that conflict is guaranteed.
The more conflict the better.
3. Organize research queries, so I don’t waste time
I love research too much, kidding myself I’m researching when I’m procrastinating, so I write down what I need to research, and limit sessions to 30 minutes.
4. Create collections for the plot, characters, and settings
Just the basics: double-page spreads for each main character, the basic plot, and settings. These act as reminders because occasionally, I write on my phone and haven’t installed the Obsidian mobile app.
Can a fiction bullet journal help you?
If you’re struggling to keep your writing organized, it may help, so give it a try—you can decorate the journal as much or as little as you please.
The One-Week Fiction Author: Have Fun And Turn Your Imagination Into Profits
If you’ve been watching new authors achieve their dreams, you’re wondering whether you can become a successful author too.
Returning to his county home from London, Edward Meecham, Viscount Auberston, is shocked to find a strange young woman and three rambunctious orphans infesting the place.
What do you do if your society friends believe your stepson's lies, and give you the cut direct? If you're Lady Ridley-Hunter, you buy a haunted great house, and rusticate.
She knows that her father is deeply in debt. In return for the hand of his daughter, twice-widowed Mr. Holborn will pay all Lord Tilney's considerable debts.
