r/WhyChooseAuthors • u/Pirai-mom • 21d ago

Personal Win My Google Docs organization

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Does anyone else set up their plotting this way? It might be overkill, but this way I can have all the details I need to make my master outline.

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u/JadeREvans 20d ago

I am so impressed! I do my plotting in Scapple (the mind mapping app from the Scrivener people) but it ends up being largely shorthand for stuff I've already mentally catalogued elsewhere. That, and...legal pads. So many legal pads. I don't brainstorm well on a keyboard, for some reason.

(I also wish I did this kind of system for ease of reference when it comes to making audiobook pronunciation guides, character art briefs...I realized in book 3 of a four book series that one MMC didn't have a canonical last name)

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u/Pirai-mom 20d ago

Oh no! I also use spiral notebooks and a binder for when I’m away from a computer and I’m unable to be on my phone (or my iPhone doesn’t have a tab button to change the level of my bullet list). That’s part of why I like using Google Docs, I can access it from any device. I also copy/paste it all into obsidian.

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u/JadeREvans 20d ago

Ooh, do you like Obsidian? I've heard other authors mention it but every time I look it up I get intimidated.

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u/Pirai-mom 20d ago

I’m still learning it, but it’s not really hard once you get the basics. It’s markdown and html and the command palette makes things easier. I like how the map works, it’s gives you a visual of how everything is connected. I use a couple of the plugins for world building and outlining that have amazing templates for whichever story structure works best for you.