Category: Organization

Posted in Chapter Books, Getting Organized, Organization, Picture Books, Progress

Sometimes Life is Like a Snow Globe

Posted on by beckylevine

Okay, sometimes life is like being inside a snow globe. It’s an odd metaphor for a summer, but it’s a summer where things have been shaken up, settled briefly, then shaken up again. In July, we “hosted” my husband’s kidney stone about three weeks. (Go get a big glass of water. Right now. I’ll wait.) Then the heat wave hit, and now California is basically one big firestorm. I’ve been able to get things done at work and make some decent progress on a writing project, but concentration and focus haven’t been my friends for a while now.

When my snow is “settled,” I’m good with having a lot of writing projects up in the air. I can shift back and forth, letting one simmer while I move forward on another. When the snow is whirling, though, having that many first drafts and revisions in my head is like being in a blizzard. (Not that I’ve ever been in a blizzard.)

This morning, after I checked the news on the fires, I took a few minutes to sit and breathe (the smoke has been better at our house for a couple of days!). The wind in my head quieted down a bit, and my mind wandered over to my current writing projects: a new picture book idea I’m excited about, three revisions I have some good thoughts on, and whatever continued writing I want to do on my chapter book wip after the Highlights workshop at the end of this month.

Needless to say, the thought of all those projects waiting for me kicked up the wind, and my mind was back in the snowstorm. I reminded myself that, at times like this, it’s good for me to step back into a sheltered place, line up my goals neatly by the fire, and make some decisions about what comes next, then next after that, and then next again. A row of “nexts” is much better than a swirl of “NOW!”

I put my row in this order:

  • I want to write another chapter on the chapter book WIP. I’d been putting that on a shelf, because it isn’t required for the workshop, and who knows what direction I’ll be going when I’m on the other side of all that learning. But I realized this chapter is calling to me, I can see my MC struggling and coming out (temporarily) ahead by the end. This sounds fun, and fun is good. Assuming the snow settles a bit, that’s the writing I’ll do this weekend.
  • I’ll plot and think and brainstorm and get a first draft out of the new idea. When this year started, I had what I thought was four picture book manuscripts worth revising for (eventually) querying agents. Since then I’ve drafted and revised two new ideas into stories with a lot more potential. It’s clear to me that only one of those original ideas is good enough to revise right now, and the other three need to go on a shelf. I think this newest idea is another good one, and I want to get it drafted. Then I’ll be back to a stack of four, and a much stronger hope that I can turn them into something ready to show agents.
  • After the workshop, I ‘ll move into revision-only mode on my picture books. Four is enough, and I want to keep doing the hard work and getting more feedback from my critique group. I never say never, but at this point, I may not go on another idea hunt until Tara Lazar’s Storystorm comes around in January. (Which, the way time has been feeling lately, is right around the corner!) My goal is to start querying, and revision is going to be the best path toward that goal.
  • I’m not making any hard decisions about the chapter book until after the workshop. I may find out that this story idea just doesn’t have the potential for today’s market. I may find out that I’m on the right track, and I may “depart” from Highlights as or more excited about the story as I am right now. If the latter happens, then I’ll toss that ball into the air and have it handy to work on anytime I need to let all four picture books simmer for a few days.

Believe me, I’m perfectly aware that this list is my brain’s attempt to glue my snow globe to a shelf and keep anything else from shaking it up, and I’m even more aware that actuality is out of my control. But I’m looking at my plan as being like a snow shovel. If I don’t pick it up and do some clearing while I can, I’m never going to be able to get my car out of the driveway. (Not that I’ve ever held a snow shovel.)

How are you handling the chaos these days? Feel free to share any tricks and tips in a comment!

Posted in Organization

Starting Fresh and Organized…Sort Of

Posted on by beckylevine

I was a good kid. A really good kid. Mostly because I had no impulses to do anything risky or dangerous, since a great day was one when I was left alone to just lay on my bed and read. Consequently, I rarely got in trouble.

Okay, I lie. I frequently got in trouble, but for only one thing. Not cleaning my room.

I was the despair of my father. He and my mother had a beautiful house designed for them (okay, and us) when I was eight or so, and they created it with lots of open spaces, tons of windows with an ocean view, and light colors. All of which would have looked like something out of architectural digest, if it had stayed neat and tidy. Mostly, it did.

Just not my room.

So, why, these days, is it nearly impossible for me to work in a messy space? My dad would argue with this statement, especially after looking around my office at the piles not cleaned up from Xmas, the boxes and wrappings and gifts sort of pushed to the edges. We had a guest in November, and I’ve got more coming this month, so why should I put the futon back up into couch form? Why should I get rid of the pillows and comforter piled on it, when it’s such a cozy place for my son to hang out?  Obviously, I’m still not perfect.

But my desk is different. Yes, I make piles, but they have to be stacked up in a small space at either end of the desk. And–here’s the thing–if those piles hang around too long, well, I start to get nervous. Edgy. Stressed. I become sure, especially at 4:00 in the morning, that the piles hide something critical that I’ve forgotten about, something that is sure to be a real pain to take care of, that will have extra consequences because–by now–it’s overdue.

I’ve spent the past couple of days clearing out the piles. I did find a couple of those somethings, but luckily I’m not late, just…close to late. Guess what I’m doing tomorrow?! And, of course, since I finished tidying up last night, there are already a few new things in the stacks.

Life was easier when the only piles were books on the nightstand and, okay, clothes on the floor. In those days, I needed only a path from my door to the bed and the current book to be happy. Luckily, yes, life is also more fun now, with all the risks and possibilities woven into it.

But I wouldn’t say no to a butler/personal assistant to get rid of that new pile. 🙂

What does your workspace look like? Are you neat or cluttered? Do people peek in and wonder how you get any work done, or are they in awe of the empty, sparkling surfaces? And however it works for you–may your workspace be happy and productive!

Posted in First Drafts, Getting Organized, Organization, Outlining, Plot, Scenes

Thursday’s Target-A Rainbow of Sticky Notes

Posted on by beckylevine

Yesterday, I reread Robin LaFevers post on index cards. Then I went out and bought some sticky notes. Two packs. Five colors each.

Because I’m confused.

Not from Robin’s post. From my own plot. Too confused to know what to write next. So I’m trying something that occasionally works for me, but only occasionally–going visual.

My MC has three (maybe four) possible paths. Well, in all likelihood, she’ll follow all the paths somewhere in the story. I think. At the end, though, she has to choose one. I know this. I even know WHICH path she’ll choose. I also know (darn it!) that I can’t just lay these paths out sequentially or in parallel, which is how they’re feeling in my brain right now. No, I have to weave them.

Which means I need connections. Overlaps. Characters with more than one role. Layers.

I know, these come in revision. And I’m still on the first draft. Well, actually, I’m just a bit stalled on the first draft.

I think writer’s block may actually be this kind of stall–and maybe more aptly named writer’s jam. It’s not that I don’t have any ideas. It’s not that I can’t see my MC acting, going places, talking to people. It’s that I have LOTS of ideas, lots of action, people, and places. But they’re all crowded together, like I’ve poured them into one of those cake-icing bags–the ones that narrow down to a tiny hole. And all the ideas are trying to get out that hole…at the same time.

So I’m going to play with my sticky notes today, on my whiteboard, and try to come up with some pattern that shows me what to focus on. What to pull out of the hat next. I’m going to use a different color for every scene on one of those three (four?) paths and then try to move things around. (Yes, I know I said I had 10 colors. Hey, you never know!)  Hopefully, I’ll get THE idea that lets me move forward.

What do you do when you need a “lightbulb moment”?

Posted in Organization, Writing Space

What Do YOUR Filing Cabinets Look Like?

Posted on by beckylevine

I have two types in my office. The two-drawer ones are simple, metallic-white. One holds the printer and the other holds up an end of my desk. I also have two beautiful wooden, four-drawer models, where I tend to store the things I don’t need to dig into quite as often.

And that’s it. That’s my organization system.

Ha. I’ve also got some lovely swamp land in Florida to sell you.

Let’s move on around the room. Next to the tall filing cabinets is what I basically call “The Library Shelf,” meaning this is where books (hopefully) go to when they’ve been read & need to get BACK to their library home. Does it work? Well, good intentions count for something, right? A few of these shelves are also filled with some great, sturdy cardboard boxes from Ikea–where I store things like manilla folders, envelopes, etc. Other than the file type, I have no drawers in my office, so the overflow (okay, some of it) goes here.

The back wall is mostly bookshelves, thanks to Target and my wonderful husband. At one end of that wall, though, is my whiteboard. I bought it at a second-hand office-supply store (aka Dream World for any author). I use it, but not often enough. Right now, it’s got the basic plot arc of my novel up-with lots of questions underneath. When I’m finished with this draft, I’m hoping to use it (with sticky notes) to do something like Robin LaFevers does here, with index cards. (Beautiful, isn’t it?)

Next wall, just a big window, with a futon in front of it, for when guests show up. And some tall narrow shelves that started out organized, but now look like two tall towers of the proverbial “junk drawer” style. Mostly I can ignore the junk because of the great view in the window–our courtyard with lots of greenery inside and gorgeous, tall eucalyptus trees outside.

On the wall I’m facing, more bookshelves. While the books behind me are all my kids’ novels and mysteries, the shelves I face hold my working books. All my writing books and, these days, the research books as well.

When they’re not on my desk, on top of a filing cabinet, or strewn across that futon.

Oops–I forgot the corner. It’s, well…let’s just say a picture is worth a thousand words.
 binderscomp

Yes, those are binders. But why, you may be asking, do you need binders if you have filing cabinets. Beautiful, tall, wooden filing cabinets.

I could give you all sorts of reason. Binders are portable; they can go to the coffeehouse or a critique session. I can see the binders easily & remember what I’ve got out there. Nothing else will really fit on that corner shelf; paperbacks tend to just fall out the back.

The real reason is probably not that good. I suspect it’s just…mood.

Yep. There are times in my life where I feel like organizing in files and times when I feel a strong pull toward binders. I suspect that each of those times is driven by the fact that whatever system I HAVE been using is now overcrowded and overwhelming. So I switch gears and develop a new method. Until that system…well, you get the point.

No, it’s really not that bad. I’m pretty sure that, for the number of balls I’m juggling projects I’m working on these days, my organizational skills are adequate, if not superlative. I do know, and appreciate, that I am lucky to have my writing space, with all it’s shelves, windows, and books. I’m sure that over the years, I’ll keep changing and playing with how I store my work, how I keep immediate projects in front of me and past/future presents in their own space.

For today, I’m happy with boxes, binders, and filing cabinets. And, you know, a few not-too-teetery stacks here and there. And there. And there.

How about you? What organizational tools or styles do you use? Which are your favorites, and which are just temporary, until the organization fairy comes with her magic wand to straighten everything out?