Here's a Cool Way to Organize Your Writing

By S. Ashley Couts

                                                                  

            I don’t know about you but I sometimes get overwhelmed by all of those words. It is easy to get lost in the plot. Mary might be Mary one place but Margaret in another. It can be hard to keep a handle on all that. When I am planning a story or a book I need to see a hard copy and yet I can still get lost in all of those pages. I’ve attended a number of workshops and seminars on writing and learned that this is a common problem.

        Recently I read an exciting article about a writer who has solved this problem. Michael Jecks, an English writer in his article “A Book in Three Stages” in Writers’ Forum gives step-by-step instructions including photos.  His article was so convincing that I ran right out to buy supplies in order to employ his method.

       Jecks method involves using two English notebook Atoma4 and 5 for plotting out his books. I realize as I write this now that somewhere out there my British friends are having a chuckle because apparently the Atoma notebook is as common as a legal pad across the pond. However, to the unschooled you might be asking, what is so special about the Atoma and how can it help my writing? 

          Jecks a historical crime writer (Blood of the Innocents) explained in his article a bit of the history of the A5 and A4 Atoma which was invented in Belgium in 1948. The initial design being easy and portable with fat removable side rings and a flat surface. The article included a three- page instructive illustration. The Atotma notebooks Jenks referred to in his article have five large holes.

        In my search, I found something similar at Office Depot (TUL Custom Note Taking System)—a flat notebook in those requisite two sizes albeit with more plastic side holes. Their system comes in a variety of colors, styles and you can purchase a special hole punch, colored stick-on page markers etc. The prices range from around ten to fifty dollars.  

         These notebooks are useful to writers because of their flexibility. Pages are easily removed with a slight flip of the finger. If you get a bright idea and decide all at once that Harry should be the protagonist and not Herbert, simply exchange those pages –no sweat. You can even mark the change by inserting a yellow or red tab or slip in a short page that includes a note. Easy-peasy.

       Jecks plots his character in the small Atoma-- Office Depot sells two sizes if you want to follow his example. He uses a specific structure in his writing. Stage one is planning the novel. Stage two is using the second notebook to insert the detail and characters. In Stage three he uses a white board to pull it all together. 

     “This is the part that gets sticky for me . . . making sure I haven’t left out anything out. It (the board) sits on the wall dominating my study.”  The white board is his master he says. His website is : www.michaeljecks.co.uk