What is a bullet journal?

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What you need to start your bullet journal

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A neutral pen. Pick one that doesn’t bleed too much, so you can use both sides of the page without issue. I’m currently using the same pens I use for just about everything (BIC Ultra Round Stic Grip) because they’re super comfy and work well. Kara (Boho Berry)



Washi tape and/or coloured pencils or pens. Optional, but fun for decorating your pages with ease and creating colour-coded charts! I've started using Staedtler Triplus Fineliner pens* after receiving them for Christmas and am completely in love. They barely show through the page, even when I'm colouring in little boxes or bars on a graph or chart, and they write beautifully.



What if I already have a bullet journal?

If you already have a bullet journal, the choice is yours as to whether you use the same notebook for your writing tidbits or keep them separate. Honestly, though, at the rate mine fills up, I’d be starting new notebooks all the time if I kept my writing-related notes in my regular bullet journal. Unless you just write every once in a while, chances are you’ll be happier having a dedicated bullet journal for your writing. Pick one that doesn’t bleed too much, so you can use both sides of the page without issue. I’m currently using the same pens I use for just about everything (BIC Ultra Round Stic Grip) because they’re super comfy and work well. Kara (Boho Berry) has some recommendations on this front, too Optional, but fun for decorating your pages with ease and creating colour-coded charts! I've started usingafter receiving them for Christmas and am completely in love. They barely show through the page, even when I'm colouring in little boxes or bars on a graph or chart, and they write beautifully.If you already have a bullet journal, the choice is yours as to whether you use the same notebook for your writing tidbits or keep them separate. Honestly, though, at the rate mine fills up, I’d be starting new notebooks all the time if I kept my writing-related notes in my regular bullet journal. Unless you just write every once in a while, chances are you’ll be happier having a dedicated bullet journal for your writing.

Can I use one bullet journal for all my writing projects?

Of course! That being said, if you’re writing an epic fantasy novel with characters and settings and ideas coming out the wazoo, you might want to give that one a journal of its very own. Totally your call. If you’re not sure, start with one and see how it goes!



Would a bullet journal for writing still have a spot for daily and monthly planning? A key? An index?









Long answer: Let’s take this one by one …



Daily Planning



This isn’t a must-have, especially if you’re only working on one project and/or not on a daily basis. You could keep a weekly planner, instead. Whether you choose to jot down tasks on a daily or weekly basis, though, you could include things like:



how many words you plan to write

a research question to follow up on and how you’ll be doing that

a writing date at Starbucks with a friend

finishing an assignment from the writing class you’re taking

reading a how-to book on amping up your writing skills

Monthly Planning



If you’ve watched my Short answer: Yes!Long answer: Let’s take this one by one …This isn’t a must-have, especially if you’re only working on one project and/or not on a daily basis. You could keep a weekly planner, instead. Whether you choose to jot down tasks on a daily or weekly basis, though, you could include things like:If you’ve watched my Vive la Writing! workshop , you’ll know I have a thing for planning out writing sessions in advance, and developed a whole customizable calendar system around that idea. You could totally transfer that system to your bullet journal!



Already have standing writing dates scheduled into your planner? You could skip this step, then, or you could start keeping them in your bullet journal instead. There’s something about giving your writing dates their own calendar that makes them feel like more of a priority. It gives you more room to jot down details about what you’ll be doing during those writing sessions, too, like "incorporate more sensory details into Chapter 5."





Create an index, update it whenever you add something new or continue a collection on a different page, and you’ll make things so much easier for yourself in the future.



What’s a collection?

Pretty much everything in a bullet journal is a collection, strictly speaking, even your daily planning pages. However, my personal definition of a collection is that it’s a convenient way to gather ideas, notes, and/or lists on specific topics in one spot. In my everyday bullet journal, I have collections for everything from soon-to-be-released movies on my radar to sewing tips I glean from YouTube videos.



The best thing about collections is you don’t have to allocate a certain number of pages for them from the get-go, so they can be as lengthy or petite as you need them to be! Once you have one page filled up, simply flip to the next blank page, whether that’s right after or thirty pages later, and carry on with your collection. Just make sure to add it to your index, while you’re at it. You might also want to consider I’m going to put on my Bossy Pants here and insist that, even if you don’t have the last three things, you HAVE to have a bullet journal index. Without that, you just have a notebook with a jumble of notes. Same old, same old.Create an index, update it whenever you add something new or continue a collection on a different page, and you’ll make things so much easier for yourself in the future.Pretty much everything in a bullet journal is a collection, strictly speaking, even your daily planning pages. However, my personal definition of a collection is that it’s a convenient way to gather ideas, notes, and/or lists on specific topics in one spot. In my everyday bullet journal, I have collections for everything from soon-to-be-released movies on my radar to sewing tips I glean from YouTube videos.The best thing about collections is you don’t have to allocate a certain number of pages for them from the get-go, so they can be as lengthy or petite as you need them to be! Once you have one page filled up, simply flip to the next blank page, whether that’s right after or thirty pages later, and carry on with your collection. Just make sure to add it to your index, while you’re at it. You might also want to consider threading, a quick extra step that makes your collections even easier to navigate.

What collections could I create for a writing bullet journal?

Main characters ( start by giving them each their own collection page ): include their name, background, important relationships, and any other pertinent information, such as their motivation and how they evolve as the story unfolds

): include their name, background, important relationships, and any other pertinent information, such as their motivation and how they evolve as the story unfolds Supporting characters: you could have these all in the same collection or give them each their own collection page, depending on how much detail you have for them

Master list of characters: this could just be their names, or you could also include when they make their first appearance

Master list of settings

Scene ideas

Dialogue ideas

Research questions

Books, websites, and other resources for future research

Title ideas

Progress meters for word count/chapter count, for rough drafts and/or revisions

Chapter-by-chapter charts to show how often you use different settings or weather patterns





Favourite writing prompts, so you’re never without inspiration and writer’s block busters

Plot bunnies that won’t leave you alone

How-to books to read about writing

Don’t forget about the “peripherally related to writing” collections:



Literary agents to query

Publishing houses to query

Other writing or publishing professionals (editors, coaches, proofreaders, publicists, cover designers)

Submissions chart

Blog tour stops

Chart to track sales

Happy Moments log (positive snippets from reviews, fan letters, beta readers, Twitter friends)

Promotion ideas

When wouldn’t you use a bullet journal for novel writing?

For me, having a bullet journal, especially for my writing, is about having all the information I need at my fingertips, without having to search through a thousand bits and pieces of paper and text messages and emails and computer files to get it. It’s not a space for scene drafts, heavy brainstorming sessions, and things that go all over the map.



That being said, this is your bullet journal. If you want to use it for brainstorming and drafting your novel, go for it! Just remember it’ll fill up a lot faster if you do this. Finding what you need when you need it should still be just as simple, so long as you’re keeping up with your index and numbering those pages.



What about your research?

This really depends how extensive your research will be. If you’ll only have a few pages worth, it could totally go in the same bullet journal as all your other writing material. Otherwise, you’ll likely want to keep it separate; just keep track in your bullet journal of what research you’ve done and what still needs doing, and keep the piles of paper and sticky notes and annotations elsewhere.



What do you do when your bullet journal is full?

Start a new one and immediately set up: (1) the index, and (2) any ongoing collections.



Not sure which collections are ongoing? Ask yourself if you’ll be adding to it anytime soon. If your research is done for your current project, you don’t need a collection for research just yet. Once you do, you can add one!



After you’ve got the index and your collections sorted, you can set up your first planning pages (daily, weekly, monthly) if these are a regular part of your bullet journaling process. As far as general writing collections, I’d go for:Don’t forget about the “peripherally related to writing” collections:For me, having a bullet journal, especially for my writing, is about having all the information I need at my fingertips, without having to search through a thousand bits and pieces of paper and text messages and emails and computer files to get it. It’s not a space for scene drafts, heavy brainstorming sessions, and things that go all over the map.That being said, this is your bullet journal. If you want to use it for brainstorming and drafting your novel, go for it! Just remember it’ll fill up a lot faster if you do this. Finding what you need when you need it should still be just as simple, so long as you’re keeping up with your index and numbering those pages.This really depends how extensive your research will be. If you’ll only have a few pages worth, it could totally go in the same bullet journal as all your other writing material. Otherwise, you’ll likely want to keep it separate; just keep track in your bullet journal of what research you’ve done and what still needs doing, and keep the piles of paper and sticky notes and annotations elsewhere.Start a new one and immediately set up: (1) the index, and (2) any ongoing collections.Not sure which collections are ongoing? Ask yourself if you’ll be adding to it anytime soon. If your research is done for your current project, you don’t need a collection for research just yet. Once you do, you can add one!After you’ve got the index and your collections sorted, you can set up your first planning pages (daily, weekly, monthly) if these are a regular part of your bullet journaling process.





When all's said and done ...





It took me a few months to really sink into bullet journaling, but now I couldn't live without it. I feel calmer and my productivity has soared. Writing time is precious, and now I don't have to waste it rummaging through my room for scraps of paper because I have one spot for All the Notes.





If you're feeling overwhelmed, I completely understand. My best advice is to snag a notebook - any notebook, it doesn't have to be THE notebook - even if it's halfway full already, and just give this a try. Devote twenty pages to this newfangled bullet journaling idea and see how it goes.





What do you think? Will you give bullet journaling a try for your writing bits and bobs? If you already are, I'd love to hear how you're making it work for you: the collections you've added, the symbols you're using, what you include and what you leave out.









If you'd rather save this post for later, when you have a little more time to kick things off, please feel free! ✨



Do you want a snazzy checklist to help you incorporate these collections into your own bullet journal? I've got you covered! Just click here to snag the checklist for your very own (no email sign-up necessary).

Picture this: a magical notebook that collects your lists of character names, rough draft progress meters, and memorable feedback from readers all in one place. Imagine being able to organize it and add new things as you go, without needing to allocate perfectly spaced sections ahead of time. There’s even a special page that helps you find whatever you’re looking for in seconds.This, my writerly friend, is the magic of a bullet journal.Bullet journals have been rapidly gaining in popularity over the last few years as a way to simplify your life and keep all your to-dos, lists, and future planning in one spot. Once you have the basics sorted, it’s incredibly easy to customize to your tastes. Pinterest and YouTube abound with suggestions and tutorials to help you make it your own.If you haven’t encountered bullet journaling before, start with these articles to give you a sense of the basics. After that, make sure to return here to discover how you can use this magical notebook when you’re writing a novel! An In-Depth Guide to Bullet Journaling , from GenTwenty: A basic overview by yours truly of bullet journaling. Thorough Guide to the Bullet Journal System , from Tiny Ray of Sunshine: This is incredibly comprehensive and helpful, but if it starts to feel overwhelming, scroll down to the bottom of her post where Kim has an infographic summarizing her main points! Bullet Journal - Daily Planning , a video from Boho Berry: I’ve watched a lot of videos and read a lot of posts about daily planning in bullet journals, but this one still tops my list as one of the most helpful resources out there, especially for something you’ll be doing a lot. A Peek Inside My Bullet Journal , from Sublime Reflection: As well as having some good starting pointers for newbies to bullet journaling, Kimberly has helpfully included photos of her own bullet journal. Bullet Journal Flip Through , a video from Boho Berry: When I first started bullet journaling, I found it a lot easier to grasp the concept when I could actually see examples on video and watch people flip through the pages. It gives you a better idea of how everything works together. This video is well worth the 30-minute watch!There are a few other things to wrap your brain around to make your bullet journaling experience as smooth as possible, like migration and threading . If this is all new to you, do yourself a favour and come back to those after you’ve read the rest of this post and decided if bullet journaling seems like a good fit. That way you’ll better be able to visualize how these concepts work.Some people love the Leuchtturm1917 , which is the original Bullet Journal. Others, like myself, love a good ol’ Moleskine notebook.. It’s light, holds up well to repeated use, has heavier-than-average paper, and it’s preeeetty. Honestly, though, you can use just about any notebook for this, especially if you’re just starting out and aren’t sure whether bullet journalling is right for you. You can even use the bullet journal system with a binder and A4 or US Letter paper.Having a key for your bullet journal will help you differentiate at a glance between things that need doing, to-dos that are half-finished, things you want to remember or look up, and anything else you happen to put in your bullet journal. I keep mine on a sticky note inside the front cover; that way, if I want to change the symbols around at some point, I can do that without having to cross out the old ones.Here are some quick examples of a bullet journal key:If you have multiple works-in-progress, you could even assign a symbol to each one!Why do this?Because, on a day when you’re working on all of them, it saves you having to write “write 1,000 words of He Left in the Night” and “edit chapter 4 of Loose Sails.” It’s not a big deal, when all’s said and done, and you could just use initials instead, but using a symbol makes meanings easy to discern at a glance.Alternatively, you could colour-code your symbols for each WIP. I’m a big fan of colour-coding things … can you tell?Excellent question!For specific works-in-progress, I’d include collections for: