Happy Friday Friends, My guest today on Help From My Friends Friday is Melissa Robbins. Melissa is organized to the nth degree. If she’s not running for miles, she’s working on Social Media in addition to her Vice Presidential duties for Sisters in Crime Colorado. Speaking of organization, Melissa wanted to share a process called Bullet Journaling, which writers might find helpful during Nanowrimo and beyond. So without further ado, take it away, Melissa! ~ Donnell
Bullet Journaling for Writers: A functional and creative way to help writers with their productivity.
By: Melissa Robbins
Author Melissa Robbins
Bullet journaling? Sounds like a crime statistic mystery writers would know all about. Bullet journaling comes from the type of journal used. Unlike blank notebooks or lined journals, evenly spaced dots (or bullets) make up a bullet journal’s pages. This allows for creative doodles and lines if needed.
I discovered bullet journaling from marvelous fantasy writer, V.E. Schwab. She shares her bullet journal on Instagram. Vee uses a simplistic tracker form. This is mine.
The joy of bullet journaling is I can track whatever I need during the month. Last month, I focused on querying (shudder) and plotting my next manuscript. You’ll notice I crossed out WRITE and wrote PLOT. I had every intention of writing in October (honest!), but then I decided to do Nano, so I tracked plotting instead. November is all about WORDS and lots of them. I included other habits to track: reading, 10,000 steps, my VP duties, etc. Don’t forget about self-care. Some writers track how many hours spent on writing or 30-minute word sprints. If you have empty boxes, this tracker isn’t meant to guilt you (that’s what moms are for – kidding!). Do you see patterns though? Can you see that I may have a productive writing day, but didn’t meet my 10,000 steps? Patterns help gauge what’s working for your writing journey and what isn’t.
Perhaps you are like me and doodle in the margins of your lecture notes. Skipping through the aisles of your craft store for an hour (minimum) is normal to you. Then let’s have some fun! Grab your journals, pens, markers, and washi tape —not to be confused with wasabi. You do not want that in your journal. Although I’ve seen artists paint with tea. If you get a journal with thick enough paper…hmmm. Who am I to curb creativity? You do you! Use that imagination and we, writers, have LOTS of imagination.
I’m a fan of monthly spreads. Yes, I have a color-coded electronic calendar (three teenagers!), but this calendar is MINE. Since last month was all querying and plotting, that’s what I recorded. This month, it’s all word count due to Nanowrimo. Speaking of Nanowrimo…
Bullet journaling is great for keeping track of your Nano word count. The graph on the left is from April’s 2022 Camp Nano. Nothing too fancy. Simple graphing skills. The image on the right is November’s Nano. I decided to be a bit fancier and each color is a day in November.
We all wish we could hide in a cabin to type out words, but alas, there are book promotions, social media, signings, etc. Here is a spread I created for tracking the social media for my Sisters in Crime chapter. It’s a mess due to, waves hand at publishing, but yours may not be so messy. Journal those Twitter or Instagram content ideas so you don’t have to remember what to post next.
I love the old school-ness of bullet journaling. Writers stare at computers all day. It’s nice to do something creative and tactile AND I gave you another procrastination tool to use instead of writing. Yay! Two thumbs up! If you want to check out more of my bullet journal pages (or lots of cat pictures), I’m on Instagram, @robbinsnest03. If you want bullet journal supplies recommendations, ask below.
About the Author: Melissa Robbins started writing at an early age. A child of the 80’s, naturally her first story involved a winged unicorn with a rainbow mane ‘published’ in her fourth grade class. Because of Jim Hawkins, her first book boy crush, she penned Treasure Island fan fiction where a spunky girl (because the story sadly needed a girl!) helps Jim find more treasure on the island.
Melissa is the Vice President of the Sisters in Crime Colorado chapter. She is also a member of the Rocky Mountain SCBWI. When Melissa isn’t writing , she runs her kids around to all their activities, reads, or sketches. She lives in Colorado with her husband, kids, dog and cat.
Melissa, thanks for joining me today! I have to do lists and a GMC fold out plotting board. I love your calendars and I love that I can’t tuck it away on my computer — those calendars (and bullets) and doodles are in-your-face reminder to get to work! So, do you have these in your office spread out? Or all in one area so you can easily get to them. Fun blog!
Thanks for having me, Donnell! All the layouts pictured here are in one notebook. With my weekly spreads, one notebook lasts me a year. The notebook usually sits on my desk where I write. In fact, I just recently purchased one for 2023. I love, love, love notebooks by Notebook Therapy. They have so many colors and designs. I’ll spend some of December laying out my yearly spreads like the SinC social media. I also have a bullet journal notebook for whichever manuscript I’m working on.
Melissa,
I just started bullet journaling in October so I’m a newbie. I use binders for each book I’m working on but can I ask how you use a bullet journal notebook for your manuscripts?
I’ve stuck to the BUJO method in Ryan’s book so far but I guess I might branch out into making calendar pages for 2023. I haven’t decided yet.
This is a great question. Thanks for weighing in, Laurie. Melissa’s in a meeting today. She’ll get back to you shortly.
Hi Laurie,
I have only been bujoing for a couple of years. For my manuscript bujo, it’s similar to what you would include in a binder. I divide my notebook into three sections, character, setting, and plot. I use cute tab dividers from Walmart. With sticky tape, I add pictures of characters and maps – ones I make of my settings and real maps (like subway maps). Calendars for the time frame of the actual story. The plot section is where I jot down notes, plot ideas, etc. If I’m struggling on a particular scene or plot point, if I jot it in my notebook with a pen, it helps the process.
Melissa: Do you have a copy of the calendar I see here? Gratefully, Joan Ramirez, author
The social media one with the information? I can email it to you.
Hello Donnell and Melissa! Thanks for sharing your pages and ideas. I’ve been a consistent Bujo keeper for more than 5 years. I use it to track my daily and monthly tasks, accomplishments, and plans. My phone holds my digital calendar but I like the paper version for tasks and daily work notes. I do not use washi tape or fancy spreads. Mine is very minimalistic but I keep notes on all my work, writing and personal tasks in there so I can find them later. If you watch the bullet journal intro videos by Ryder Carroll you will get the general gist of how to start.
Kelly, thanks for weighing in. I keep a calendar and I’m thinking a bullet journal or a Bujo keeper might be in my future! I like paper also :/
Donnell, Here’s a link to my Pinterest board about Bullet Journals. There are nice sample pages. I especially liked the articles about Minimal Journals, the 5 tips before you begin, and the one about the Lazy way to bullet journal. lol. I use a hybrid method between Evernote for filing articles, Apple Notes App for tracking lists, and the paper journal. Mostly the journal is my daily log and plans for the month. Next year I’m trying something new where I’m using a separate monthly planner to plan marketing and social media posts ahead of time so I post more consistently with less time spent thinking about it. I got that idea from Tonya Kappes.
https://www.pinterest.com/kellybrak/bullet-journal/
Will check out your pinterest page!
Some of my pages are minimalistic. I always have fun on my October ones. I’m a fan of Amanda Lee and “Art n’ Foxes.” I had to look up Ryder Carroll. How did I not know he invented bullet journaling? LOL!
Thanks for the great ideas! I’ve never tried bullet journaling, but it sounds like a great management tool. A wonderful goal for the new year!