On Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:15:48 -0700, Eric Ammadon wrote:
> "R.L." <dela...@sonic.net> wrote:

>>These charts show which characters are together at different times in the
>>movie. Star Wars, LOTR, etc. Twelve Angry Men was easy.

>>http://syndicated.livejournal.com/xkcd_rss/162924.html?page=2#comments

> That's pretty funky-looking stuff, but it does point out something.

> I've been having a tough time with my writing, not because I can't
> come up with a story, or characters, or any of that stuff, but because
> the mechanics of putting it into files in the right order (at least
> for me, the way I work) are pretty overwhelming.  I start writing away
> and then I decide to move this then add some more and move that and
> pretty soon I have a big mess.

> Because I have some experience with software, I've set aside my WIP in
> order to build some tools to make the process of building a novel more
> "handleable".  It might seem silly to some, yet another form of cat
> vacuuming, but it makes sense to me.

> The graphics editor that I've been using for years has a "layer"
> concept.  You can have a background layer, then some other layer like
> clouds, and a foreground layer, and you can show each layer or several
> at a time.  

> What I'm working toward is something similar for building a novel.

> You have a plot-line.  You have characters.  You have character
> development.  You have emotional buildup.  And of course you have the
> actual text.  I want to handle all these separately but together.  I
> want to be able to *see* what I'm doing all at once, instead of having
> to keep half the book in my head while I'm trying to figure out where
> the paragraphs about such-and-so belong.  I want to be able to move
> text around on a chapter or paragraph basis without getting mixed up
> and putting things in the wrong place.

> At least the cat will be well-groomed, eh? <g>