Visual Novel Brainstorming

    

    Harnessing my attention can be tricky, and I've used visual note taking for awhile now. As Mike Rohde's book Sketchnote Handbook details, this form of note taking has been a way to keep my mind engaged and imprint speaker content into my longer term memory. 

    What I've overlooked all these years was the valuable applications that concept also has in the ideation stage of a novel. Writer's Digest featured an article, by Liz Massey, showcasing the way visual note-taking can assist with organization of thoughts and novel planning. 

Eventually, my planning will fit inside the formulaic grid of an excel spreadsheet, but during the idea stage, this style of ideation is far more fun. Developing pages for character descriptions, setting details, time period facts, and research will go a long way to imprinting on my memory for recall later. 

While I wish I were a true artist and could storyboard key scenes, I'll settle for my silly doodles. Here's to all the fun ways we can hone our focus and creativity!