8)

So, now that I have been writing for the past 4 months, I developed an aching need for good project mgmt tools. I've been googling, researching, and dropping otherwise perfectly good writing time into fretting about this.

8)

Being addicted to the concept of best practices and too analytical for my own good; I carefully listed all the things I needed to track and manage and then began my search. I tried various Wikis (tiddly and Voodoo pad for starters) and found them too unstructured for my mgmt. needs. I tried using my normal tools (Omni Focus and visio) and found them too general.

What I was looking for was a toolset that would allow me to:
-Manage all my writing activities, from ideas through crits, edits and submissions.
-Manage my crits for other people.
-Manage the content of my projects (see above).
-Integrate with my current project mgmt toolset (I'm a 43 folders gal).
-It should be simple to maintain.
-And integrate with the Mac tools that use and love like Calendar and Mail.

So, I finally think I am happy with my tools and thought I would post to all those other organization freaks who are lurking out there.

8)

I use a Bento db for overall project mgmt. It is the hub and has links to all flies and email addresses. I track both writing activities and critting. It is my dashboard and integrates into my filesystem, Mail and Calendar.

I use Voodoo pad for ideation. It is unstructured, but I can then link ideas back to Bento, so I don't lose ideas. This has been a real problem for me, I think of a great idea, jot it down in my phone and then lose it in the hoary depths of the filesystem after a sync. A few weeks later I roll across it and it's like Christmas! Ugh, not a good way to manage a project.

Finally, I use MindManager MindMaps for story outlining, character development and and structured free associations. These too, are linked back to the Bento Dashboard. I have also created MindMap templates for a number of the writing best practices from LibertyBell and here such as the short story outline, character description and Novel outline. The LibertyBell ticklers have really decreased the time that I churn before I have a short story fleshed out.

Ok, OK, but I am business consultant and tool developer by trade! 8)

Anyway, if anyone is a Mac user and would like to have any of these templates or the Bento db Project let me know. Or if anyone knows of other tools, I am always looking for a better mousetrap!

Leslie

As CELTX is browser-based, you ought to be able to use it.

See here for yWriter: http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter4.html which is for Windows. I can run it in Linux, under Wine.

Also see the LH wiki for other resources: http://wiki.libertyhallwriters.org/doku.php?id=resources:resources_for_writers

You might take a look at the Tom's Tiddlers, there. It is a single html file, with lots of add-ons.

Also at our resources page is a .pdf file of a Mindmap I made to clarify POV for myself.

I'd be interested in seeing any other mindmaps you have made for yourself.

Just one note of caution, it is way too easy to get sidetracked into spending time on the management of writing, and not actually get any real writing done. I am guilty of that.

[This message has been edited by mikemunsil (edited October 08, 2008).]

Thanks for the extra info and I will send along my templates. I totally understand the time sink that over-organization can become. I actually time box my bouts of organizational fetishism- this one was a sunday afternoon. I know my leanings!

8)

I looked into yWriter, but the Mac version is not ready for primetime- based on the reports from the forums. I also tried TomsTiddlers, but I really need a bit more structure for the proj mgmt end than I saw there. It was better than voodoopad for that, but not enough. I think I found the links to both of them from the LH wiki.

I will check out CELTX, during my next org refinement. I like the way screenwriters approach planning, its very much in line with the way I think.

Back to writing! Nearly done with my first draft of my WoTF entry for Q1, woohoo!