Comments on: No More Room

By: debora edholm

debora edholm — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:19:07 +0000

Photo copy it and file under the research category. Much easier to pull it and have it at your fingertips………….

By: Amy De Trempe

Amy De Trempe — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:48:23 +0000

Love the spreadsheet idea. I spend way too much time re-researching. I am going to have to develope one.

By: Kalen Hughes

Kalen Hughes — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:45:41 +0000

It’s mostly in my head . . . though I’m lucky enough to have a really good memory for where I saw/read something too and can usually put my hand on it within minutes. I’ve had to learn the art of just making a comment in WORD though (when I first started out, I had to have the detail right before I could move on; thank god I got over that!).

I do have spreadsheets that I’ve built up over the years though: One for important events (news paper headlines, murders, wars, anything that might have impacted my characters’ lives), one for money (just a list of what things cost that I add to as I stumble across tidbits), one for the arts (books being published and music being performed, etc).

By: Deeanne Gist

Deeanne Gist — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:10:29 +0000

Wow! Great stuff, girls. I have a WIP binder, too, Chicki! Except mine is a color-coded spiral, so there’s no “taking out” one section or the other. When I do take the spiral with me somewhere, I always wonder what I’d do if I ever left it or lost it. Ohmygosh. Scary! (Great links, btw. Thanks for those!)

I know what you mean about stranger-than-fiction, Kimber A. I get that all the time from my editor or crit partners (”No way, Dee. No one would ever believe this.) LOL.

Okay, Kimber C. I want your blog address!!

By: Kimber Chin

Kimber Chin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:46:41 +0000

I set up a blog and keep most of my research info there. This does a few things… I can easily search on key words, I can organize it based on categories, it allows others to use the same research (nothing proves that romance is serious writing like a few thousand posts of research), it gives my readers something extra, it drives traffic I can promote to, and it builds an asset (I could sell the blog).

By: Victoria Janssen

Victoria Janssen — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:07:41 +0000

I use post-it notes to mark the pages with useful details.

By: Chicki Brown

Chicki Brown — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:27:07 +0000

I create a WIP binder divided into sections for plot, characters, research, my notes, and notes from my crit partners. When it gets too big to carry out to the coffee shop or the bookstore where I sometimes work, I just take out the section I’ll need for that chapter and bring it with me. I got the idea from:

http://www.writer2writer.com/notebook.htm
http://www.teresciaharvey.com/hea/articles/projbinder.html

By: Kimber An

Kimber An — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:22:34 +0000

I keep it in a heap beside me at the computer and in my head too. My problem is finding a publishing professional who believes my facts which, apparently, are stranger than fiction.

By: Terry Odell

Terry Odell — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:08:54 +0000

Your assistant creates your spreadsheet?

I’m still at the ‘everything is all over’ stage. Maybe when I get to the “Have my assistant … ” stage I’ll be able to organize things. However, by the time I need something, the technology has changed so much, my research would be out of date anyway. I spend most of my time trying to figure out ways to get around the instant communication systems and other technological advances that make books out of date before they see print.