Story notes are important. You get more and more of them as the story progresses. Also, sometimes I just need to look up how tall your MC’s mother is and I rarely remember that type of thing offhand and searching through the WiP is so so so annoying.
So for that there is OneNote. OneNote is my favorite program for keeping notes.
I can’t write the WiP on it and you don’t know how much that frustrates me. I want to note-take and write in the same space. Which is not to say that OneNote doesn’t have a word processing thing – you can use it as a word-processor. But trying to write a story in it just annoys me.
But it is perfect for keep tracking of all the story elements – characters, magical creatures, magic, ranks and so and so forth. I think it would be pretty good for keeping track for normal project-type researching, too.
When you cope and paste something from the web, it automatically writes down the web address, too. OneNote doesn’t force you into a particular format, either, like word. (Yes, word’s frequent formatting issues irritate me.) You can write or draw or do whatever you, wherever you want it. It’s almost like a real notebook. Only digital.
It’s perfect for use on tablet pc (a real tablet, not of those iPad-ish things) but I have it on my desktop. You could probably write directly on it; it allows handwriting recognition. If I had one of those tablet pcs, I am pretty sure I would use it a lot more than I do.
So . . . how do you keep track of the all your story notes?
Related articles
- Microsoft OneNote on Android: nice but late to the party (gigaom.com)
- How I Use OneNote 2010 (davidcalves.com)
Story Treasury 
I rely on a good old notebook. I find it easier to scrawl flowcharts and diagrams by hand rather than by mouse pointer. I also enjoy printing out information and sticking them in, scrapbook style. And I can also colour-code my notes with different coloured pens and highlighters.
J.C. Martin
A to Z Blogger
I don’t use flowcharts. Or diagrams. Or at least not many. It’s a pretty big difference. What do you use flowcharts and diagrams for?
Diagrams are just rough sketches of places I write about: where everything is and so on. I use flow charts or spider diagrams to map and outline my plot initially, to try and weave subplots into the main plot. And these things are way easier to draw by hand.
I use mind-maps.
Look forward to the rest of your challenge run…can’t believe we’ve had 16 days already!
–Damyanti, Co-host A to Z Challenge April 2012
Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge
Thanks for the one note info!
I’m trying to get more tech savvy… it’s a process!
Right now I’ve got index cards everywhere!!
I love using OneNote. It’s very handy for keeping notes on writing–and other subjects!
*was gonna rant about being an anti-Microsoft person and whatnot, but actually, this software does look nice, instead, I’ll post something useful instead of trying to stir up debate*
Typo spotted (I think): “You can write or draw or do whatever you, wherever you want it.” Shouldn’t that be “You can write or draw or do whatever you want, wherever you want it.” ?
I love using OneNote. It isn’t great as a blank piece of paper to do charts and maps but otherwise it’s wonderful- lightweight, fast, searchable and organizable. Can’t live without it at work, home or for writing.