Secrets to Creating a Stunning Writer’s Bullet Journal

How to Create a Writer’s Notebook

The Bullet Journal Method is the perfect platform to use to create a writer’s notebook. If you’re a writer who’s not sure you need a notebook, think again. Check out this post to learn more:

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Steps to Create a Writer’s Notebook Using the Bullet Journal Method:

To view more Bullet Journal Tutorials, click here.

1. The Index: (I recommend you buy a notebook with one already included.)

This is why I love the Leuchtturm1917 Notebooks. They come with an index already in place. If yours doesn’t have one, you’ll need to create one. Just use the first two pages (four total with front and back). Make two or three columns. One for page number, another for the topic, and an optional third one for details and notes. Your index is a quick reference to all of the most important information in your journal. You don’t need to record exactly what is on every single page. Just make note of the essential topics.

For example, some things that would make the cut include character sheets, plot outlines, blog post ideas, content creation strategies, writer’s block cures. You wouldn’t want to record your daily log locations unless one is more significant for some reason. Basically, your index is where you log the locations of all of your collection pages.

2. Create a Future Log:

Your future log is a bird’s eye view of the coming year. It is for long-term planning. You create this just as you would for any bullet journal. However, the difference is what you record here. Instead of birthdays and major holidays, you could record publishing contest deadlines, dates to complete works in progress “WIP”, editing stages, blog content themes, newsletter content strategies, etc…

Some people dedicate a page to each month for their future logs. If you have a lot of long-term plans and goals, I suggest doing it that way. But if you just have a few quick notes about what you want to do for each month, then use a format similar to the one pictured.

3. Leave about twenty blank pages for Collections:

This topic is covered in greater detail in this article. But I will go over it briefly here. Collection pages are my favorite part of a bullet journal. You know those stacks of notebooks, sticky notes, napkin scribbles, pages upon pages of research you have scattered to the four winds? Well, a bullet journal is a great way to organize all of those ideas. They will be in one place, easy to find, easy to read, and visually appealing.

You get to be really creative here. Collections can be used for everything from character stat sheets, to plot outlines, word count tracking, habit tracking, blog post ideas… The possibilities are quite literally endless.

How to Create a Writer’s Notebook – Ideas for Collection Pages:

Lists

These include generic collections & lists. I call these “Brain Dumps” because you just write down all your ideas for one topic so you have a place to reference them later.

• Story Ideas
• Blog Post Ideas
• Place Names
• Character Names, Occupations, Details, etc…
• Chapter Titles
• Themes – moral argument, etc…
• General “Ideas” Page
• Title Ideas
• Social Media Posting Time Blocks
• Cover Sketches
• Inpsiration Page – motivation quotes, writing prompts, etc…
• Archetypes
• Niche Blogs
• Pin Ideas for Pinterest
• Writing Community Information – names of your writer’s group members, locations for meet ups, dates & times of meetings, etc…
• Tropes
• Setting Ideas
• What if’s? – can also be included in your “Inspiration” page
• Books to Read
• Things to Research
• Novel Writing Tips
• Helpful Websites

Trackers

Use these pages to track your progress. Trackers are great for building habits as well as identifying and improving problem areas.

• Word Counts – words per day, week, month, etc..
• Overall Novel Progress
• Scene Completion
• Self Care Habits
• Writing Habits – time spent writing per day, finishing a chapter, word counts, editing, etc…
• Research to Complete
• NaNoWriMo
• Reading Habits
• Social Media
• Blog Posting – posts to write, posts that have been written, posts to edit or re-write
• Blog Stats – popular posts, comments, etc…
• Content Creation

Bonus – Submission Tracker Ideas:

• Lists of Publishers – journals, websites, etc…
• Lists of Literary Agents / Editors / Beta-Readers – you can include who you’ve contacted, you still needs to be contacted, their responses / feedback, and the results of the interaction
• Dates & Deadlines for Submissions
• Responses – create an entire collections dedicated to responses if you have a lot of networking to do
• Research Notes on Publishing Sources
• Book / Work Synopsis – you can also include your premise and author bio on this page for easy reference and sharing
• Query / Cover Letter – make sure to customize your letter for each query!
• Author Bio
• Single Spreadsheet Ideas-
  • Names & Details of Publishers
  • Date Submitted
  • Dates for Follow-Ups
  • Results / Notes / Feedback
  • Note– you can use color coding for each source to make them easy to distinguish

Reference

This type of collection is more rigid than a “Brain Dump” list. Although the ideas are similar you will typically spend more time planning and organizing before creating these collections. You want them to be cleaned up, easily read & referenced, as well as user-friendly.

• Problems to Fix – known, arising, future
• Feedback Notes – beta readers, comments on posts, editor notes, etc…
• Completed Character Profiles
• Finalized Setting Details
• Finalized World Building Details
• Blog or Website Content Strategies
• Final Plot Outline
• Research Notes – book information, ideas and tips from websites, etc…
• NaNoWriMo Plans – plot, setting, characters, word count goals, etc…
• Collaboration Page – Literary Agents, Publishers, Editors, Beta Readers
• Freelance Writing Gigs – websites, journals, newspapers, blogs, etc…
• Beautified Inspiration & Motivation Page
• Self Care Ideas
• General Story Information
• Series Plans
• Mission Statement
• About Me / Author Bio
• Mind Maps – can be used for both blogging and novel writing

Outlines / Project Planning

Accomplish your goals by organizing your process into step-by-step instructions with deadlines, progress trackers, motivation, etc… You can even create rewards for meeting milestones. Keeping all of your projects in your bullet journal will not only make them readily available but also motivate you to meet your target points.

• Plot Outlines
• Chapter Breakdowns
• Scene Selections – don’t need to keep these in order, simply check them off as done when you’ve written them
• Setting Details
• Character Profiles
• List of Project Deadlines – e.g. write X number of scene by Y date
• Year-At-A-Glance Novel Plan – Check out this post for some great ideas!
• Novel Writing Goals
• Long Term and Short Term Writing Goals (general)
• Content Development Strategy – monthly, daily, yearly, etc…
• Website Creation Outlines
• Website Creation Plans / Goals
• Social Media Tribe Creation & Planning
• Blog Post Creation
• Blog Categories
• Goals & Plans for Increasing Website Traffic

To Do Lists

These go hand-in-hand with goal setting. In addition to creating a daily/monthly/weekly “to-do” list in your journal, I highly recommend creating a To-Do Collection Page for each project you plan on tackling this year.

• Writing – drafts, revisions, edits, beta-reads, editor submissions, proofreads, etc…
• Novel Completion – plot / outline, character creation, settings & world building, moral argument / theme, ending, beginning, chapter structure, premise
• Book Production – format, cover, premise, author bio, etc…
• Marketing Plans – social media platforms, e-mail lists, book tours, newspaper releases, radio spots
• Website Creation – design, theme, platform, content, posting frequency, categories, etc…
• Research Progress – books to read, websites to visit, notes that need to be written or transcribed, ideas generated from research
• Social Media – platforms to establish, handles to create, posting frequency, content planning, etc…
• Self Care – create a single self care collection page with all of your favorite self care ideas, then translate that into a monthly / weekly / daily tracker

4. Create your first Monthly Log:

Start your first monthly log right after your last collection page. You don’t need to have all of your collection pages completed before you do this. I didn’t. Just make sure you leave enough room to add as many collections as you think you’ll need – for me, that’s usually about 20 pages total (10 actual pages front & back).

Your monthly log is designated for mid-term planning. Take an hour at the beginning of each month to decide which writing goals you want to accomplish over the next thirty or so days. Be sure to schedule some time for self-care!

Ideas for Monthly Logs

• Deadlines related to story creation
• Schedule in some days for specific steps in your novel creation process – e.g. character creation, scene structure, world building, general outlining, etc…
• Word Count Tracker
• Scheduled reading & research days
• Self Care Log
• Blog Posting Plan – brief title / summary and date to be posted
• Social Media Posting Tracker – you can see mine is included right next to my entire monthly plan
• Inspirational Quote of the Month
• Blogging Theme
• Writing Focus / Major Goal
• Other Writing Priorities – you know best what you need to do, so write it down in your monthly log and then transfer the smaller tasks to your weekly and daily logs
• Writing Habit Trackers

5. Create Your Weekly or Daily Logs

I had said in some previous posts that I don’t like to create weekly logs. Well, I changed my mind. Now, I only use weekly logs and have eliminated the need for daily logs altogether.

Your daily logs are the nuts and bolts of your bullet journal. They are used to plan each day. Simply set up the date however you like. Then under that heading record everything you have to do and everything you want to do. You can also use this space to record notes and ideas. I often use a day where I wasn’t particularly productive to record a journal entry.

Your daily log (or weekly log in some cases) is where you will utilize your key. Next to each task, note, idea, etc… use the symbols/colors you’ve chosen to identify what each item is. If you don’t finish every task you’ve written down, don’t panic. This is one of the things to love about the bullet journal method. Any task that isn’t complete can be migrated. Put simply, you move it to the next day, or whenever you think you’ll be able to complete it.

Many people use arrows for migrated tasks. A right-facing arrow ( –> ) means it has been moved to the next day or week or even month. A left-facing arrow (<– ) means it has either been moved to a collection page (in which case you would note which one) or to your future log.

Ideas for Daily Logs

• Write ____ # of words today
• Write for ____ # of hours today
• Edit ____ # of pages today
• Edit for ____ # of hours today
• Finish XYZ scene(s)
• Create moral argument
• Complete XYZ character arc
• Finish world building steps
• Blog post idea for the day
• Finish notes on a research project
• Create collection page for _____ idea
• Beta-Read for an hour
• Read a book for an hour
• Write Author Bio
• Create a Mission Statement
• Research tasks: read, take notes, transcribe notes, etc…
• Social Media interactions
• Reply to comments
• Edit ____ # of old blog posts
• Write ____ # of blog posts: I will often write my posts ahead of time and schedule each one to be posted on a certain day of the week

Pro Tip – Don’t get overly ambitious! Only write down the tasks that you can reasonably complete in a single day. If you suddenly feel inspired and have a lot of tasks you need to record, either create a mini collection, or add them to your monthly log.

Why Use a Bullet Journal to Create Your Writer’s Notebook?

You can use any notebook style and format you’d like for your writing goals. Don’t feel obligated to change your routine and switch to a bullet journal. If your method works for you, keep it.

But there are some reasons why the bullet journal is better:

• Progress- A bullet journal allows you to easily set up and stick to goals & targets for your writing.
• Collections- Bullet Journal collections can help you keep an eye on the details and progress of your work-in-progress (WIP).
• Habit Improvement- Tracking your habits helps you to establish writing as a routine. The more you track about your daily habits, the more you learn where you’re going wrong (and where you’re doing amazing!). This can help you put steps in place to improve your life goals.
• Motivation- Keeping a bullet journal helps you focus on your goals, narrow them down into manageable tasks, and track your progress.
• Creativity- It is a major component to bullet journaling. Even when your motivation to write is low, you might be to muster the creative energy to write in your bullet journal. This may even lead you to find the push you need to keep writing for the day.
• Inspiration- Another reason bonus of bullet journaling is that you can record notes of inspiration right next to your daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly tasks. You can even dedicate an entire collection page to inspirational quotes, thoughts, ideas, and doodles.
• Self care- Nothing has helped me to improve my self care habits like keeping a bullet journal. Not only is the simple act of bullet journaling therapeutic, but I also incorporate self care into my daily habits because of my bullet journal. Check out this post on self care habit tracker ideas for more.

How do you use your bullet journal for your writing? If you haven’t tried it, do you think you might? Let me know in the comments!

Additional Resources on Bullet Journals for Writers

1. How to Write a Novel with a Bullet Journal
2. How to Organize Your Novel in a Bullet Journal
3. Inside My Novel Bullet Journal