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August 10, 2016 By penny 4 Comments

Bullet Journal Your Novel: Free Up Your Mind, And Write

Bullet Journal Your Novel: Free Up Your Mind, And Write

I’m currently in the middle of the first draft of a new novel. It’s going well. However, I’ve changed the novel’s hook, eliminated a couple of characters, and made huge changes to the plot. These major changes are a lot to keep in mind while I complete the draft. My novel’s bullet journal helps.

What’s a bullet journal?

Firstly, you may be wondering just what a “bullet journal” might be. The concept’s developer, Ryder Carroll, has an excellent intro to the system here. Basically, a bullet journal (BuJo) is a freeform notebook/ task list/ daily to do list and much more.

I followed the BuJo system religiously for almost a year, trying to put my entire life into a bullet journal. It stopped working for me. I found it too distracting to have my day job, my personal stuff, and my novels, all in the same Leuchtturm A5 hardcover notebook. After racing through notebooks alarmingly quickly — when I got to two notebooks a month, I gave up. In the time I was copying Collections to new notebooks, I could have written a new chapter.

So, I decided to use my BuJo just for my novels, and it’s working like a charm. It’s helped me to stay confident that I’m on-track, no matter how many changes I make in first drafts.

How a bullet journal helps you to stay on track with your novel

Basically, your BuJo helps you to feel in control.

From The Bullet Journal Works Because It Soothes Your Panicky Mind:

“Your mind is precious real estate — most people can only pay attention to three or four things at a time — and transferring your to-dos frees up space for other, more immediate needs.”

When you’re writing a novel, there’s a lot to keep in your mind. Plot, characters, timeline — when you start tinkering with these elements, while you’re writing, the temptation is to go back, and write new scenes, and eliminate scenes. The impulse to fix it NOW is almost irresistible, yet resist it you must.

If you succumb to the temptation to FIX stuff, you’re 100% guaranteed not to finish the novel, in my experience anyway. I’ve found that if I can encourage myself to move forward (as if the changes had already been made), I can complete the book, AND I know what needs to be done in the second draft.

So — my BuJo is now a book journal.

New to the concept of bullet journaling? Here’s an excellent article which will teach you what you need to know — How to Bullet Journal: The Absolute Ultimate Guide.

It’s packed with great advice:

“If you’re hesitant to buy a new journal before you know if you’ll use it (valid decision by the way), grab an old steno notebook or one of the dozens of barely-used journals on your shelf. (I’m the president of Journal Hoarders of America, so I do not judge.) Now let’s take a few minutes to do a quick set-up so you can see everything in action.”

Let me know if bullet journaling helps you with your novels. 🙂

The Eardleys Of Gostwicke Hall
The Lady And The Rake: A Scandalous Arrangement

The Lady And The Rake: A Scandalous Arrangement

eBook: $4.99
Author: Penelope Redmont
Series: The Eardleys Of Gostwicke Hall, Book 1
Genre: Regency Romance
Tag: regency

Melisande Eardley has a temper, and that temper gets the better of her.

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The Lady And The Duke: A Dangerous Season

The Lady And The Duke: A Dangerous Season

eBook: $4.99
Author: Penelope Redmont
Series: The Eardleys Of Gostwicke Hall, Book 2
Genre: Regency Romance
Tags: Recommended Books, regency

Her sister Catherine believes that Elaine's hair tells you everything that you need to know about her. It's flame-red. When Sir Oliver Destry trifles with Elaine, she decides on revenge. Elaine soon discovers the truth of the old saying that if you want to make the gods laugh, just tell them your plans.

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The Lady And The Man Of Fortune: A Wicked Secret

The Lady And The Man Of Fortune: A Wicked Secret

eBook: $4.99
Author: Penelope Redmont
Series: The Eardleys Of Gostwicke Hall, Book 3
Genre: Regency Romance
Tag: romance

Although he's a prize on the Marriage Mart, wealthy and twice-widowed Lord Delmere thinks that nothing could ever tempt him to marry again. Until he meets the lovely Lady Kingston.

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The Lady And The Military Man: Conquer My Heart

The Lady And The Military Man: Conquer My Heart

eBook: $4.99
Author: Penelope Redmont
Series: The Eardleys Of Gostwicke Hall, Book 4
Genre: Regency Romance
Tags: regency, romance

What happens when two people who won't consider marriage can't live without each other?

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The Lady And The Adventurer: Win My Heart

The Lady And The Adventurer: Win My Heart

eBook: $4.99
Author: Penelope Redmont
Series: The Eardleys Of Gostwicke Hall, Book 5
Genre: Regency Romance
Tag: regency

Henry (Henrietta) Eardley makes a huge mistake. Then she makes it worse. She's never known a man like Lord Devernwood, and he's never met a woman like her.

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The Lady And The Devil: If You Knew Me

The Lady And The Devil: If You Knew Me

eBook: $4.99
Author: Penelope Redmont
Series: The Eardleys Of Gostwicke Hall, Book 6
Genre: Regency Romance
Tag: regency romance

When Cerise and her sister are in danger, she relies on herself. There's no one else. Then she meets Lord Grayhurst.

 

 

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Lady Julia’s Destiny: A Love To Treasure

Lady Julia’s Destiny: A Love To Treasure

eBook: $4.99
Author: Penelope Redmont
Series: The Eardleys Of Gostwicke Hall, Book 7
Genre: Regency Romance
Tag: regency romance

Julia doesn't know whether to be amused or angry when Lord Lyneham decides to find her a husband. He and Julia's cousin take charge of Julia's fortunes. Suddenly, Julia's an heiress and her life changes.

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Filed Under: Writing Tools & Techniques Tagged With: getting things done, journal, time management, writing process

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Julia says

    November 28, 2016 at 6:40 pm

    Hi!
    I think that this is a great idea. I have maladaptive daydreaming disorder which makes me/allowed me to make up stories, worlds, characters in my head, but I don’t write them down like you would when writing a novel a novel. There are hardly any ideas on the Internet and I think this is the most inspiring post so far.
    Cheers!

    Reply
  2. ericastwilight says

    December 24, 2016 at 5:21 pm

    As a writer with ADHD I found a bujo helped me balance my busy life and writing. The problem was I wasn’t writing as much being so structured. A separate bujo for novels might be the answer I’m looking for. Any layout examples would be amazing!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Editing Bullet Journal Tracking for Fiction Writers » Belinda Kroll | Books for kids and teens says:
    February 20, 2017 at 2:31 pm

    […] Bullet Journal Your Novel: Free Your Mind and Write  […]

    Reply
  2. Bullet Journal Ideas: 3 Tips For Journaling Beginners says:
    February 4, 2019 at 12:05 am

    […] bullet journal only takes a few minutes to maintain each day if you don’t get too fancy with it. I don’t have […]

    Reply

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