My brain is aching. I’m trying to keep too much information jiggling around – story plot, characters, motivations, background info, arcs (see I’m talking like a writer already)…
I tried using notebooks (you know those old fashioned moleskin things, where you actually use a pen to write!), but they’ve just turned into a rambling mess, and I can’t believe how bad my handwriting is.
I tried using a word processor and now I have 10 or so obscurely named documents, located on various computers, most of which I’ve forgotten the password to.
So, I reverted to my non-fiction writing buddy – mind mapping software. I installed the latest version of Freemind, the open source software for mapping all types of ideas that I’ve used for a few years, with great success. And I at least now have a messy mindmap (actually 4 mindmaps) that shows some progress to taming my madness.
Here’s a video demo of freemind, I love it for so many writing projects.
Freemind DemoHowever, it’s just not good enough. It isn’t mapping the weird connections, it’s too linear and yet not linear enough. I can’t see the gaps nor the opportunities. I can’t see any flow, a mindmap jumps around just as much as my mind does. I need some order AND creativity. Phew, this is hard.
Most of the books on writing suggest using index cards, but I can’t bring myself to step so far back in time. And my handwriting really is awful!
Now the question is, am I just putting off the inevitable of getting stuck into the writing part, or do I really need some software to help me bring order to the chaos?
What method do you use for getting the ideas captured? How do you go from your head to paper? Straight to a first draft? Index cards? Software?
Let me have your suggestions below, thanks!
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