Organizing Unruly Characters

You’re a newcomer to a group. You walk into the room and someone introduces you to half a dozen people. There’s a Mark and a Mike, a Linda and a Lynn. Last names are a blur. Why do they all seem to start with “W” or “C”—Watson, Weaver, Wilson…Clark, Cook, Clancy?

If you’re like me, trying to keep the names of new acquaintances straight isn’t easy. And when the names start with the same letter or sound alike, it’s even worse. That’s why I try to ensure the names of characters in my books—even minor ones—begin with different letters and are as distinctive as possible. To accomplish this, I create a Character Spreadsheet to keep my unruly characters organized. (I’m better at orgranizing characters than I am at organizing myself.) Here’s a sample of the headers in the Character Spreadsheet for the 1938 manuscript I’m currently fine-tuning: First Name ... Last Name ... Role ... Physical Description ... Personality Characteristics. The information I entered for my hero is: First Name-Ed, Last Name-Nelson, Role-Hero, Physical Description-Age 32. Mahogany hair, green eyes, 6', Personality/Characteristics-Loyal. Brave. Lonely. Smart/college educated. (Couldn't figure out how to load the spreadsheet--sorry!)

This spreadsheet can be sorted by First Name or Last Name to make it easy to see if you have a plethora of characters with similar first or last names. I developed this AFTER I had to go back and change character names in a prior book to eliminate problems. While I didn’t have problems with the names of my hero and heroine, I had oodles of duplications with my minor and walk-on characters. It was almost as if I had a part of a tune stuck in my head that prompted me to name characters with the same first letter—Marley, Martha, May, Mike, Myrtle, Myriam. Doing a search-and-replace in Word after the fact is a much bigger pain than entering information into a spreadsheet at the get-go. It certainly helps me pick up on the fact that a beginning letter or sound is on a repeating loop in my brain. Also a global search-and-replace simply isn’t an option if you need to change a name like Ed to Norman or May to Shirley. Try that and you wind up with results like this: “She edited NormanitNorman the manuscript. He May Shirley love her.”

Another advantage of my spreadsheet organization is that I scan down the Physical Description column to see at a glance if I’ve populated my novel with all green-eyed beauties, accidentally creating a “Stepford Wives” effect. It also lets me make sure I don’t indicate a character’s height or hair color one way on page 10 and another way on page 130.

I create a similar Timeline/Chapter spreadsheet to track when and where things happen. I don’t do this in advance, but add the basics for each chapter after I write it. Then, if I change my plot later, I can go to the spreadsheet and find where I need to make changes. The headers on that spreadsheet are: Chapter No ... Pages ... POV ... Date/Time ... Events ... Characters.

As a reader, do similar names annoy/frustrate you? As an author, how do you keep your characters and timelines on the straight and narrow?

Organizing and Cleaning

by Christy Carlyle

I confess it. I’m a doer. I’m a pleaser. I hate saying no to people who need help. That is probably part of the reason I became a teacher. However, it is also a tendency that frequently causes me to scoop far more onto my plate than I can reasonably handle. Those are the moments my mind screams for organization. I find that when I step back, make a plan, and then tackle it, I can get more done in less time. I think the equations look like this: 

lots of stuff to do + lots of time stressing = not enough time

vs.

lots of stuff to do + organization (- lots of time stressing) = just enough time +/-

Organizing and scheduling my time and tasks seemed a natural way to tackle my day job, writing, hobbies and all my other extra commitments. But that still left me with chores at home that piled up and brought stress back into the picture. So, I decided to apply my scheduling methods to house cleaning.

First, another confession. I have a love-hate relationship with house cleaning. Once I’m doing it, I actually enjoy it. I get a thrill out of the clean lines my vacuum produces (I know…don’t laugh). There is a total sense of instant gratification when dishes go from dirty to clean. A clean house makes me happy. What I don’t love is the time it takes to accomplish it.

I realized I need an organization method for cleaning, just as I did to manage all of the other commitments in my life. At first, it seemed strange to schedule house cleaning, but, like writing and other important activities, it wasn’t going to happen unless I carved out the time. I adapted a method I saw on the Flylady website that involves dividing your house up into zones and focusing on one zone per week.

Basically, you divide your house up into four or five zones. Perhaps the bathrooms will be one zone. The kitchen might form another zone, while the dining and living rooms combined make yet another. The idea is that you deep clean one zone per week. You also make a clear list of what that deep clean should include. Obviously, basic cleaning, like doing dishes or running the vacuum, will happen more frequently. I do such tasks daily. However, I know that each part of my house will get a deep cleaning every month. I had a friend who worked part-time and used the zone method, though she focused on one zone each morning. For me, between a day job, writing, and other stuff, I do my deep zone cleaning on weekends.

Before I used this method, I struggled to find the time for deep cleaning and, honestly, was struggling at times to keep up with the basics. Cleaning is still not my favorite activity, but now I have a plan and it doesn't feel so overwhelming. I've broken down cleaning into doable chunks and it now has a reasonable place on my to do list.

Have you ever tried the zone method? Do you have another type of organized structure to your cleaning method?

Organizing Easy?

Most people who know me can easily see how creative I am. The hobbies I am involved in are numerous and mercurial. Writing, jewelry, scrapbooking, and sewing are just a few. So, how does a creative/artistic personality keep things organized? You've come to the right place. Below are my four tips for being an organized crafter, whether it's with words or paper.

1.) Find your Organizational Personality.
          Each person has their own way of looking at things. Me personally, I'm a stacker. I'm a very visual person so if I can't see it, it doesn't exist in my mind.

2.) Claim the Space.
          What do I mean? It's simple, really. You've got to make the room something you'll want to spend time in. For instance, my office. When I moved in my father had painted it a dark blue, (which was great for him, but I hated the color) so I repainted it light green. I love the color now!

3.) Purge.
          Simple, right? Not always. Usually we hold on to things for three reasons. The "Sentimental" person holds on to things because of the memories. The "Maybe" personality holds on because they might be able to use it in the future. The "For Someone Else" personality holds on because they want to pass it down to kids/grandkids or friends. A good rule to consider when purging, if it's been sitting untouched for six months you don't need it.

4.) Cheap.
           Yes, you can organize your room for cheap. Luckily here in Oregon we have a dollar store in almost every city. The dollar stores are your friends. So is goodwill and family and friends. Once you know how you see things, you can create the storage solutions you need. I tend to use smaller containers with lids for things I don't need everyday, for instances my inks and stamps. For my paper and scrapbook pages I use office stackable paper holders. When I first moved in I had a bunch of mix match storage devices that didn't work. Once I realized that I need more consistent storage shelves I put together a wooden shelving set my mom had way before I was born, (and had dragged to every place we'd moved to) and set them up.

What are some things you do to stay organized?