3 Ways to Organize Your Writing

Every writer has been there. You need that one piece of information, and now you can't find it anywhere. You search through five folders, two notebooks, and your incredibly long Word document, to no avail. That's why organizing your things are so important.

I'm an organization nut, so of course I'm going to say that. But I really do encourage trying some from of organization, especially for something as important as your writing. So when you need a piece of information, you can find it easily.

Before we jump into the ways you can try out organizing your writing, here are a couple tips on organization.

#1: Find what works for you

Everyone is differently. For me, organization can look like keeping things I need where I can see them and making sure everything has a place. For my sister, her organization looks more like piles of items that only she has sorted. So work with what you find easiest.

#2: Keep it simple

The other big pitfall to organizing is people can make it far too complicated. You need to find the line between organized and overly-sorted and not cross it. Sure, having a Pinterest board sorted into sections can help a lot, but maybe not if there are ten different sections. And so on.

Now on to the organization ideas!

Just look at that color coded binder *chefs kiss*

#1: Scrivener

I know this program isn't for everyone. But if you like highly organized writing and not switching between four Word documents, this is for you. It allows you to sort all your writing into different folders and documents, stored together in one large project.

You can also color code, sort into categories, and add icons to help you keep everything organized. I also love how they've allowed you to change up things like Scrivener colors now so you can even make it match your project aesthetically.

Scrivener does cost money, but you can try it out for 30 days for free, and personally, I've found it worth every penny. It's also pretty reasonably priced for how many amazing features you get- everything from name generators to compiling your project for e-books.

#2: Color coding and labels

Another two of my favorite organization things. I find both of these super helpful, especially locating things in a glance. For example, if you have a notebook full of project notes, highlighting all your character notes in pink can help you locate them much more easily. Or labeling folders and notebooks so you can see what it is without having to open it.

I personally recommend Zebra mildliners for highlighters if you don't want extreme neon. They come in soft, muted colors. While they are a little pricier, you can find them for a good deal on Amazon most of the time.

Love these highlighters

If you don't like hand-writing labels, try getting a label maker. My family has one and it's my favorite thing. You can make a simple label, or add lots of fun things like different fonts, emojis, and layouts.

#3: Binders and file holders

You can never go wrong with a good binder, especially if you write a lot of things by hand. You can clip them all inside and add tabs to keep them organized. Binders also have those awesome clear holders in the front, so you can print out a cool cover to both show what's inside and make it look cool.

Or if you have a lot of notebooks relating to a single project, get yourself some magazine/file holders. You can get easy to fold cardboard ones to make yourself, or buy metal or plastic pre-made ones. I slap a label on the outside and boom, it's ready to go. They also help to keep everything a lot neater.

How do you keep your writing organized? Do you have any tips I didn't cover here? Tell me in the comments.

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