I kind of get the feeling the Staples Arc book was made for business types, but I’ve found it is the BEST thing ever for organizing my story notes. Like, really. The best.

There is something so satisfying about having a well-organized, handwritten notebook with all of one’s notes on world building, character profiles, research, etc. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) the story-producing part of my brain is a bit flighty. I change my mind about things constantly, so it didn’t seem worth it to buy those big, beautiful notebooks.

Until now!! (Sorry, I’m really into this.)

Anyway, here’s my Arc book:

I don’t know why it’s pink. I’m normally a ‘green’ kind of person, but this one just called to me. Anyway, I have dividers for sections on world building, characters, plot, research, and miscellaneous. But here’s the really cool part, and I tried to type out an explanation several times and failed, so it’s easier if I show you:

 https://youtu.be/ncZL0g0xvfM

See? This fixes all of my problems. I can just take notes as they occur to me, then move them to the appropriate section later. Something changes in a character’s backstory? Throw the page out and replace it.

And maybe it’s just the kid in me who always got excited for back-to-school sales and brand new supplies, but I feel like I’ve been more productive since I got it.

Also, just a side note on productivity, I’ve gotten much better at my computer-free days! So, many thanks to anyone who gave me advice on that topic. It’s been good for me to change things up in my routine.

Okay, I’m done gushing for now. Does anyone else have a favorite notebook / binder / gizmo they use to keep organized? I’m always up for chatting about office supplies.