Monday, June 10, 2019

The Art Of Organising Manuscripts For The Old~Fashioned Writer


 My dear friends, 

As you may know, I've been in the woolliest portion of writing my next tale, inspired by my most affectionate hero, Beatrix Potter called, "The Tale of Henny Penny Goody Two Shoes.

It is such a delight to awake each morning, shuffle to my treasure room, with tea in hand and my writing companion, Sir Oliver Twist Topsy underfoot. He is quite a dear friend to me, and that may sound a wee bit odd to some, but to those that have such sweet relations with their pets, can understand my sentiments without further explanation.
As the weekend came to a close, and while clearing my desk; I was having a pinch of swirling confusion in the attempt to keep my stories organised. I have 14 stories in a queue and needed a way to keep them separated.

I read once that J.K. Rowling would keep a basket near her desk, and when she thought of snippets for her stories, she would scribble them down, and toss them into her basket. At a later date, she would organise the bits of paper and place them accordingly. On Twitter, she also revealed, like many old~fashioned writers, prefers to write in longhand first, then afterwards, types up her story. I thought to take this jolly idea a wee bit further. I, too, longhand all of my blog posts, as well as, my books.
So, when I was out and about over the weekend, I picked up numerous composition notebooks at Walmart for a mere .88 cent each. I then found some old scrapping paper, and glued it onto the front and back, then placed a hand-written label at the top; identifying which book is which. I will have each book, all set to go when I am inspired to take action on that specific story. I feel in such delightful company, and know there is a running theme through the many great authors of our day, and those that have passed. This is another way of stealing like an artist.

How do you organize your stories?

Most affably yours til my next swim, Raquelxxx

2 comments:

  1. Aahhh! I too prefer to write long hand first and with a pencil nonetheless. I love the snippet basket idea and yours is gorgeous. I don't have a great filing system for my writings but finally have them separated into childrens and adults. That doesn't seem like a big deal, but when I write, I would just grab a notebook and start writing - a couple pages here, a couple pages there, oy! Your notebooks are lovely and much nicer than the gaudy looking things they were 🌷 Your attention to details makes your setting much more charming and welcoming. Working on a few such things in my own home though it's slow going, it's progress.

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    1. I understand completely. I had notebooks in every single crevice, and then when I would go to begin a chapter, I couldn't find which book my idea was in. I was losing it, so I though this idea may work. It seems to be going very well. It has taken me a bit of time, having to put all the notes into each book, but I know it'll be worth it. The stories write themselves, ya know? Thank you for always such kind words. You are such a sweet and dear soul. I am so happy we met. I can't wait to see your things, and yes , it all takes time... like sands through the hourglass. Which reminds, I want an hourglass. {ADD slipped up there as I was typing...} oyyy.... love you, Raquelxxx

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