Magic Index Cards

[blairmacg]

The novel makes sense again!

And it doesn't suck!

Today I went from "Why did I ever think I could be writer?" to "Woohoo! Let's have some fun with this story!"

The index cards are my personal magic. Someone--anyone--feel free to remind me the next time I start stalling out and/or whining about my writing process. If I need to get out of a funk, it's index cards all the way. For some reason, it's those scribbled-upon cards that give my brain a complete picture of the novel. I can spread them out, and suddenly the entire outline makes sense and can be manipulated.

Does it sound a little silly? Probably. But it works!

Comments

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!

And, no, it doesn't sound silly at all. I hear a number of folks say they use index cards to get the big picture of their novel. I've always wanted to be able to do that, but having the large number of cards gets unwieldy for me.

[blairmacg.livejournal.com]

Totally unwieldy it is!

I started using the cards when working on Chant. Not only did I have to keep track of the Omni viewpoint, but of many characters moving through multiple locations in a short time span. It didn't make sense to me until I could see it in the cards. :)

[marycatelli]

Easier than putting arrows and stuff on a sheet of paper outline.

[blairmacg.livejournal.com]

SO much easier!