Author Blog Challenge – Day 7 – Paper, Pens and Plastic Pockets!

08 Jun 2012 Leave a Comment

by Nikki in Brilliant Books Tags: , , ,

Describe your outline process for your book.

Day 7 of the Author Blog Challenge, and I have not missed a day, YAY! Must give myself a pat on the back for that…..

Today’s promt makes me feel a bit old, as my outline was created the old fashioned way…with pen and paper!

While I love and embrace modern technology, some things I like to do the ‘old’ way! I have a techno savvy daughter who comes to my rescue regularly when I have to make things work in computer land, but my book started out on my trusty A4 lined pad that never leaves my side when I am hatching and scheming things.

I just start writing and what ever comes out, gets jotted down. When I try and do these things typing, I seem to loose my train of thought as I glance at spelling or punctuation. Lot’s of single line notes as memory joggers fill the pages, so I don’t forget a thing. Then I got a clean sheet of paper and wrote down my proposed chapter titles, or at least what they were meant to include. Lot’s of scribbling, doodles and the odd shopping list make up my draft!

Then I just started typing, and typing and typing. Copy and Paste became my best friend as I shuffled things around, again and again. Throwing in a new chapter and tossing an old one was normal behaviour, until I decided enough is enough, it is great the way it is, leave it alone or it ain’t EVER going to be published.

Enter, the saviour of all things written, the Plastic Pocket, which is the home of all my creations. I can’t stand having pieces of valuable notes flitting around, so I use Plastic Pockets all the time for everything, totally addicted. If I am having a super neat freak day, these plastic pockets actually get put away into folders!

I am happy to confess that I am totally addicted to beautiful stationary, notebooks and pens that write nicely. I will never ditch them completely, as a computer hard drive does not have the same appeal as pretty paper, as my A4 pads are normally purchased in colours not the standard white, I am using a green one at this moment…..

Have you given up the paper habit, if so how on earth did you do it?

Happy Friday everyone!