Sunday, October 26, 2014

Plugging up the cracks (so nothing falls through)?

As I've mentioned, I'm working on a massive series and I found myself creating characters, then jotting down information about them, only to lose that information.

So I created a wiki to keep track of everything. It sounds really complicated, but it really isn't. As I get closer to publishing, I'll share the Wiki link with you. Suffice it to say, my wiki is my secondary brain when it comes to keeping track of hundreds of characters, many locations, and a plot that spans several years.

I do something similar for every book I write. I keep a little book notebook about the book and I split it into sections: Who, Where, Notes, Timeline, Details. I cut out pictures of houses to use in the book, floor plans, pictures of people, and jot down anything I want to in this book. I have one for every mystery I wrote, and it's come in so handy -- it's a secondary brain for each book where I can turn to find out my details.

Someday I may part with some of those old notebooks, but for now, I still enjoy browsing through them. It's like falling into the past and remembering the angst of writing and the fun I had when the book released.

My wiki is very like that, only it's digital, not paper. And believe me, it's come in handy to make sure nothing falls through the cracks!

J L Wilson
(jayellwilson.com)

4 comments:

Margo Hoornstra said...

Love your term secondary brain. Whatever works in the process, right? The nice part is you enjoy it!

Jannine Gallant said...

I keep a character list and a timeline. Sometimes not completed until the book is finished and I'm on round one of edits--just to make sure I didn't screw anything up! On a series, I know how important keeping everything straight is. Sounds like you have it nailed, JL!

Leah St. James said...

What a cool idea, JL. I never would have thought of that. Would love to see your wiki when you can share!

Jody Vitek said...

I'm an old fashioned girl and need to have it all on paper. Each book has it's own expanding folder to file the documents in. I'm jealous of you and the others who are able to keep track of things online.