[tensen]

How do you keep track of ideas for future projects?

I have a folder with photos and newspaper clippings that looked interesting that might work out for a future story or novel. It however is pretty random. I like the randomness because sometimes very different things come together to form a story.

 

[Sapphire]

I do the same.  An odd clipping paired with an off-hand quote can spur the imagination in surprising ways.  Now and then, an idea for a story line for an entire book hits me all at once.  I have a spot on my computer where I type in a fast overview of the idea.  When I'm ready, I'll go back and add details.  There are several incubating withing my laptop as I write this.

 

[Betsy the Quilter]

Could one use Pinterest or Evernote to do this?

Betsy

 

[Mainak Dhar]

Am old fashioned (and superstitious). Write all my ideas for future projects, observations, inspirations etc in a brown, antique themed journal. When it finishes, I get an identical one. One of the many reasons my wife thinks I'm mad.

What's so fun is to go back to it long after a book is published and see through the scribbles and notes how it came about.

 

[Carry Lada]

Could one use Pinterest or Evernote to do this?

Betsy

Very cool!

I like the ability to access anywhere.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Quiss]

I don't use words

Yeah, weird.  I collect images. Quite often, an idea comes about because of some visual cue. So I grab screenshots or download images. For visual notes for sci-fi, Deviant Art is an excellent resource.

 

[Not Here Anymore]

Could one use Pinterest or Evernote to do this?

Betsy

I have a pintrest board for each of my recent and future books. Good for inspiration when I'm writing or when I get stuck. I put a link to the board at the end of my books, too. I used to keep newspaper articles, but not so much any more...

 

[Dan Harris]

WHERE'S THE BACON?!



Whenever I have an idea for a new book, I create a new Scrivener project for it, and whack whatever ideas I have into the 'Project Notes' field. I've... I've got a lot of projects.

 

[quiet chick writes]

Liquid Story Binder!!! http://www.blackobelisksoftware.com/

I have a Binder for each of my WIPs, but I also have another Binder for my poetry and random scraps of story ideas that aren't quite fully-formed enough to make a Binder for.

I totally like the idea of collecting random scraps that look interesting. I can see how a few might pop out and merge together into something useful! Love it! I'm totally going to start a new Binder for that, lol!

 

[41413]

I have no shortage of story ideas, so I play it like survival of the fittest. I don't write anything down. Whatever survives in my head long enough for me to get around to writing it is the one I'm obviously most enamored with.

I know it's a good story when I'm still thinking about it three years after I first got the idea.

 

[NoCat]

I use notebooks. Generally I have a little notebook with snipets of stuff and then when things turn into full stories or novels, I break out the bigger notebooks. I like to use little tabs that you stick onto pages to show where things are in which notebook. It's a bit of a crazy system, but it works more or less.
(I did a blog post on it a while back: http://overactive.wordpress.com/2010/12/05/my-idea-system/ )

 

[Guest]

I use notebooks. Generally I have a little notebook with snipets of stuff and then when things turn into full stories or novels, I break out the bigger notebooks. I like to use little tabs that you stick onto pages to show where things are in which notebook. It's a bit of a crazy system, but it works more or less.
(I did a blog post on it a while back: http://overactive.wordpress.com/2010/12/05/my-idea-system/ )

This is me. I have notebooks all over the house, partially filled with various notes, ideas, ramblings, sentence fragments, etc. Mike has learned not to touch my notebooks under penalty of me having a nervous breakdown that it was moved. So long as he doesn't move them, I always remember WHICH notebook contains what information. But ye gods, when he tried to clean one day and stacked all of them neatly on my office desk I seriously considered killing him. I couldn't find a darn thing.

 

[tensen]

WHERE'S THE BACON?!

I ate the last batch. Make your own.

 

[tensen]

Could one use Pinterest or Evernote to do this?

For me, probably not. I mean great and all, but I still tend to start planning out a story by pen and paper. I live by the technology by day, and requiring myself to manually scratch out and correct things on paper it helps cut down on the inner editor during brainstorming.