: Re: How to build a train of thought across multiple paragraphs and pages? I am struggling to organize small to medium size chunks of writing into coherent trains of thought. I will first describe

I started writing various bits of fiction and non-fiction a while ago and really struggled to stick to some kind of planned structure. After doing some research on plotting etc, I couldn't find anything suitable for me so I decided to build a Word Add-In (in VBA) to provide background notes on the key structural sections such as chapters, zones and scenes. These sections are nested on the popup form so one can instantly see where you are in the plot; read and update the background notes on the arc; list who is mentioned in each scene and quickly navigate to all the places they appear (in colour). It does lots of other clever things that would otherwise seriously slow down my train of thought. All the data is hidden from view in the document's internal storage space.

The idea of finding where any particular index card or sticky note fits into the working document would give me nightmares. I have just started using the Add-In in earnest and I cannot envisage ever needing a manual system. Above all, in trying to answer your question, I can now create all the scaffolding without having to type anything into the blank document. I play around with Zones and insert and shuffle the Scenes, adding status flags and notes as I go. Then I simply navigate to a scene and start writing; much easier but less fun than programming the Add-In!

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: Re: How to build a train of thought across multiple paragraphs and pages? I am struggling to organize small to medium size chunks of writing into coherent trains of thought. I will first describe

More posts by @Goswami879

: Is replacing "this" with "a" allowed in fiction? Example: "Exploding whales?" My date stared at me as if I had given him some bad news. He'd taken me to this fancy Italian restaurant.

: Character in Macbeth that maintains integrity in position of power? I'm writing a movie based off of Shakespeare's "Macbeth". It includes characters directly linked to the original play and is

: Is the word "becoming" being used correctly in the following metaphor? We kept going until we reached a door. Finally! The corridor was deeper than I thought, like a tunnel. Or the bottom

: Is it a good writing practice to keep related elements as close as possible to each other? Here's an example: Not finding anything useful, I went to check the maple. Four times my size, it

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