Writing Tools

I'm working on alter ego's book #2.  That sounds like progress, doesn't it?  That I'm working on another book.   What I should really be telling you is that I'm trying to work on book #2.  It would certainly be a more accurate assessment of the situation because there is little progress being made.

I can't remember if I've mentioned this recently or not, but I sat down and started writing the first chapter of the new book and within four paragraphs realized I couldn't go any further.  Despite having spent years working on book #1, I couldn't remember small-but-important details.  I was bringing one of the secondary characters into the new book's opening chapter and couldn't for the life of me remember her hair and eye color.  A minor detail, to be sure, but one that must remain a constant for continuity's sake. 

So, I opened my OneNote file for book #1 and started poking around.  This was the file where I supposedly wrote down these small-but-important details.  I'm sure you've already guessed it..I didn't have the necessary information written down on this particular secondary character.  I had her name, her husband and children's names, and their relation to the protagonist. That's it. Nothing else.  

Okay, fine.  I had the Word document and the Kindle version of the book.  I could do a quick search and find what I needed, right?  Of course not.  Not easily, at any rate.  After flipping through the book, I decided I was going to need to reread the entire novel and create a functional story bible.  

No problem. 

Only, I really wasn't happy when I couldn't figure out how to get the OneNote file opened on a different computer.  At that point I started to think about the Cloud.  Accessing the story bible from any computer without having to remap the darn file location would be, well, awesome.  

The thing is I like OneNote's organizational setup and love the clipper option. I wanted something similar that could function in the Cloud.  That's when I discovered Evernote.  While it's not exactly like OneNote, it seems very promising.  It allows me to create folders and comes with a clipping tool.  

While researching how to use it, I found this video: 

After watching the video, I decided to give it a try.  I clipped a few images from the web - for inspiration, of course.  I also created a folder with a couple of notes.  Even better, I've already accessed the test files I've created from my iPhone, my laptop, and my desktop.  Just as I had hoped, there were no navigational challenges.

This means it's time to get busy on creating that story bible.