Organized Notes for Novelists: Clip research notes, pictures to a clothesline above your desk . . .

WHEN I WRITE, I see my characters as actors, and I create a Story Board, along with a Novelist’s Notebook to help me keep everything

straight, organize my thoughts and, let’s face it, get all the crap off my desk, table, bed . . .

In addition to a notebook and story board, I started creating a “Time Line” made out of a clothes line and cute little clippies.

I had all kinds of scraps, research notes, newspaper clippings, pictures and even little objects like leaves, ribbons, feathers, all things to jog my memory and give me a spring board to my story.

I eventually started stringing them up on a kind of clothes line over my desk, a different notecard or pic for each day . . .

Once you get organized, there are a couple of things that I adapted to fit my writing style that really help get me get my characters “in character,” adapted from an article I once read in

The Writer Magazine . . .

To Create a Character Board:

Clip or print pics of characters from Google Images, magazines and newspapers.

Look for pics of interesting faces, but also something in the “setting” or the world in where that character lives. Collect lots of pics of people, places, things and animals who will appear on your page.

To Create a Time Line:

When you’re writing a scene that will include those characters, settings, etc., get them out of your notebook or off your storyboard and clip them to your clothes line.

To Step Into Your Character:

What does your character wear? Put that on (or imagine doing so).

Ask your character questions–Ask, “where you sleep.” “What do you like about your job?” “What do you hate about your job,” “What are your hopes and dreams?” “Whom do you love? Who loves you?” “What are you most afraid of?” And so on.

As you ask these questions, you’ll find that you begin to answer not only with the character’s words, but with the character’s voice. Visualize that character by “stepping into” his or her life.

As you visualize, you’ll find that your characters movements, motivations and even goals may change, and you’ll often see them in a far different light–this is especially fun with villains!

When you’re in character, you can write as the character. You’ll intuitively know what she is thinking and feeling, and how she moves and speaks, and how others, including readers, will see her, too.