Saturday, November 17, 2018

Adieu, for 2018 by Kait Carson


It’s hard to believe this is my last blog of 2018. Where did the year go? Why didn’t it go faster? Oh, that’s another blog, one I won’t be writing. Never mind.

One of the joys of welcoming a New Year is planners, plotters, and calendars. I’m not sure what that says about me as I’ve only recently given up my pantser plotting ways. The moment new calendars arrive, I’m in a track stance. Over time I’ve discovered that Current calendars arrive first – followed by Colorful Images. Now those two companies have joined forces so I can get my wall calendar fix ordered, annotated, and hung (behind the remains of the prior year) by September 15th.

Waiting for writing planners is more difficult. There’s always something new to consider. I’ve saved prior year blog posts from other plotter rabid writers in my One Note files and it’s Nirvana if they’ve posted updates during the year. I drag my feet while my finger is wearing itself to the nub clicking multiple sites and I’m considering buying a second screen for all those open tabs featuring calendars and planners. Just when I’ve made up my mind, a new one emerges and dang—I’m back at square one!

Not this year. This year I stood strong. I decided to shop for planners early too. That way, if they didn’t work out, I still had time to find others. Seemed like a win/win scenario—for the retailer at least. There is one constant in my agenda planner life. I am addicted to the Quo Vadis Minister planners. The paper is heavy and stands up to a flowing ink pen. There’s plenty of room for events, word counts, plans, everything I need. It perfectly combines my writing and personal life. I love it. So, why look further? I’m a creative. What if I’m missing something?

Last year I read about a new system, Plot Your Work. A few author friends were using it and it sounded fabulous. Of course, by the time I found it, the ship had sailed and we were well into January. Clip and snip and into the One Note planning file it went. I ordered the undated deluxe project planner, received it two weeks ago and dug right in. This is not an agenda so much as a writing system. It does something no other system has ever done. It marries the writing process and the marketing process reminding the author to make plans for the marketing and social media events at various stages.

Finally, it became impossible to resist the siren call of The Bullet Journal. So many writers have raved about how effective Bullet Journals are at organization. And, to be honest, I found one in my favorite color, a turquoise/teal. It’s a work in process for me as a planner. What I do love it for is as a speed journal and as a place to keep track of and catalogue ideas. The concept of the index is brilliant as are the shorthand icons. The author of the Bullet Journal encourages users to experiment and find their own ways to use the book. It’s not meant to be one size fits all and there are YouTube videos of all sorts of suggestions and recommendations.

Early shopping allowed me to start my New Year trials on November 1st. I’m pleased to say that so far, both Plot Your Work and The Bullet Journal are successes, and are helping me stay on track.

What’s your favorite calendar, plotter, and planner?

Best wishes for a wonderful Holiday Season. See you in 2019.

Enjoy the short stories my fellow bloggers have written. They are wonderful.

10 comments:

  1. Kait, I have a kitchen wall calendar which works well for a household of two adults.

    On Sunday afternoons, I spend a couple of hours making writing goals for the coming week so I can tear into a project on Monday morning.

    I've become more of a plotter and free write plot and character ideas in a daily journal.

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  2. That's great, Margaret! How do you keep track of the plot and characters in the daily journal? Do you have an index system or a color code?

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  3. My only calendar is electronic. No planner, plotters, etc. I suspect I’ll die a pantser.

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  4. Oh, Jim - the important thing is that it works for you. And it works well!

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  5. I discovered bullet journaling this year and find my personalized system works well for me. I started in March and it's become a part of my life now. It also has helped to chronicle writing ideas. Thanks for mentioning Plot Your Work. A new system to consider! Best wishes as you go forward!

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  6. My calendar of choice is a freebee a local bank gives out. It's a small calendar that opens to a triangular form (with a base) that stands next to my computer. One side has a regular calendar; I circle any date with a commitment. It has a lovely photo of a local scene on each page. The other side is a calendar with blank squares--I put info about the circled date on that. Since I keep the calendar for both of us, it works well for me.

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  7. Thanks for the recommendations and your support.

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  8. @Paula - The bullet journal is so flexible there seem to be as many variations as there are users. That's got to be a signifier of a successful system! I'll be curious for you to share your thoughts on Plot Your Work.

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  9. @KM Sounds like the perfect system for you. I love the elegance of it!

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