Recently I have written several posts on the subject of a Writer’s Planner – a notebook or diary generally accepted as being a cross between an agenda / filofax or diary and a specific writing-themed repository of forms and planning calendars.
I have written several reviews of systems designed to allow you to print and populate your own planner systems, and some documented my own systems for tasks and work tracking also. Here, I’ve provided a simple list of these articles for easy reference.
Creating Your Own Writing Planner from Printable Templates
There are three articles dealing with this subject -
1. Review : The Organized Writer
The Organized Writer is a commercial e-book which introduces some thoughtful methods of organisation for the writer – methods which include the template forms available in a supplementary e-book called The Sidetracked Writer’s Planner.
In this article at Juiced on Writing, The Organized Writer e-book(s) are reviewed.
LinkMe: Review : The Organized Writer
2. Review : The Writer’s Planner
The Writer’s Planner is a commercial word .doc package which contains several form templates, articles, tips and author quotes specifically for the writer.
In this article at Juiced on Writing, The Writer’s Planner ebook (in .doc form) is reviewed.
LinkMe : Review : The Writer’s Planner
3. Review : D*I*Y Planner.com
D*I*Y Planner is a website and community dedicated to providing (mostly) free PDF printable templates for a printable planner system in various sizes / editions. There are some large core packages of templates for calendars, project and goal planning, with a creative package orientated towards writers and designers.
In this article at Juiced on Writing, D*I*Y Planner.com is reviewed, and recommended as an excellent start to building your own Writer’s Planner system.
LinkMe: Review : D*I*Y Planner
Michelle’s Own Writing Planner and Work Log (The Writing Tracker)
Personally, I prefer not to use a filofax-type planner or diary. In this article I discuss how and what I do use in an in-hand approach. Note that I also use multiple computer-based planning methods as well, which aren’t dealt with in this article.
4. Writing Work Logs, Writing Diaries & Writing Planners
I use a Moleskine Diary, plus a recent idea from a U.K. Writing Magazine, some post-it notes and writing to-do lists, and from these I have one physical notebook / diary which I call my Writing Tracker .
The below combine to provide tracking of what I need to do, what I have done to progress my writing career, and a simple planner system which suits my needs. In this I have -
- Writing Planner – tasks, to-dos, dates in calendar pages
- Writing Time and Work Effort – task times and expenditure (costs, resources)
- Writing Progress – accomplishments – successes and failures
In this Juiced on Writing article I discuss the ideas, and how my own Writing Planner / Tracker works, along with some images of it in action. I also point you to an excellent printed planner from Mslexia.
LinkMe : Writing Work Logs, Writing Diaries & Writing Planners
5. Supplementary : A Writer’s Notebook
I use two or more notebooks away from my Writing Tracker (Planner). These are simply my Writer’s Notebooks, designed to capture thoughts, quotes, story ideas, plans, scribbles, mindmaps, and all the rest of the inspiration which comes through in a writer’s day.
In this article at Juiced on Writing I explore my personal system for organising my own Writer’s Notebook, using small colour-coded post-it notes. The article also lists the many things which could go into such a notebook.
LinkMe : A Writer’s Notebook
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Mon, Jan 26, 2009
Goals & Task Management, Juiced On Writing News, Planning & Project Management