Great Article in The Writer

If you find it hard to keep track of all the bits and pieces surrounding your work-in-progress, check out the December issue of The Writer and the article "How To Avoid The Paper Chase."

I've been doing this for a lot of years and I've pretty much read (and tried) every tip ever created for taming the work-in-progress beast. I've tried spiral notebooks, index cards, computer software programs, long streams of butcher paper pinned to the living room walls, chalkboards, bulletin boards, collages, etc., etc.

Katharine Davis's article is simple, just seven tips, but they seemed to jump right out and grab me by the throat. Two in particular are exactly what I need: 1) use character lists and 2) keep a running synopsis. Especially the running synopsis idea.

I'm going to give it a try starting today.