WordPress as a knowledge base for writers
I think all writers have this problem to some degree. You scribble a reminder to yourself to research burial customs in Regency England. You come up with a great scene while you’re eating breakfast in a restaurant and jot down as much as you can on the back of envelopes and scraps of paper. You find yourself with a stack of a dozen spiral bound notebooks, with notes about different stories in each.
And later, when you’re sitting down at your computer to, oh, actually write, you can’t find any of it, or at least not that one thing you really need right now.
I am much, much more organized than this in my day job. I have to be, considering the mountains of code and documentation that flow past my eyeballs on any given week. If I can’t find stuff easily, I end up in a world of trouble.
So I needed a tool that met these requirements:
- Readily accessible from almost anywhere
- Full text searchable
- Regularly backed up so nothing gets lost
Duh. WordPress.
I set myself up a private, password-protected blog, buried way down in a subdirectory on one of my domains. It isn’t visible on the Internet unless you know exactly where to look, and you have to enter the password to read anything.
I can even post from my cell phone, so no more envelope scribbles. (The Centro has a keyboard built in, which makes typing notes a lot easier.)
I’ve been using WordPress for more than three years now, and I can’t believe it has taken me this long to realize how handy it is for managing notes.
Posted: May 12th, 2009 under Tech, Writing.
Comments: 12
Comments
Comment from Edie
Time: May 12, 2009, 3:55 pm
Lynne, I have a different way to do it. Instead of writing notes, I email myself!
Although I have to admit, I do still write notes. The computer isn’t on all the time. Or I might be in a different room.
Comment from Lynne
Time: May 12, 2009, 4:43 pm
Hi, Edie! Email is searchable, and all of your notes are in the same place. I think that’s a great way to manage your writing!
I was using a version of Wiki that I installed on my server, but I never could get it secure enough to make me happy. And backups were a pain. With the automatic backup feature of WordPress, I never have to worry about losing my posts.
Comment from Michelle
Time: May 13, 2009, 11:51 pm
I open a Word doc, and just add the info in a real-time stream. Burial customs. Then a couple of links I found but didn’t have time to read, etc.
But WP works too. And email. I occassionally create a draft for myself with info I need. I’m never carrying paper on me, or if I’ve got paper, then the pen is missing.
Comment from Lynne
Time: May 14, 2009, 7:43 pm
Hi, Michelle! Funny, I was just researching burial customs earlier this week. :-) Hope you found what you needed!
I use Word for final drafts, of course, but I tend to use One Note for first drafts and random notes. It lets me write longhand, which is actually faster for me than typing when I’m writing draft. If I try to type in a manuscript from nothing, I get endlessly caught up in editing before I can get even one page written! With the virtual longhand in One Note, I can usually bypass the tendency to spin my wheels like that.
Comment from Karen
Time: May 14, 2009, 7:58 pm
Great idea, Lynne!
Since I’m your WP protegee, I take everything you say about WordPress as gospel, LOL. I think I may have to start writing in longhand again. I’ve found myself using the backspace key a little too much over the last few weeks–spinning wheels indeed.
Comment from Lynne
Time: May 16, 2009, 7:54 pm
Hi, Karen! I’m a techie like you are, so it seems weird to use such a low-tech tool for writing, but longhand is the only way I’ve found that keeps me from getting in the rut of typing and retyping the same sentences over and over again.
I’ve even started writing in a leather-bound book with a fountain pen. I guess quills are next. ;-)
Comment from John
Time: May 18, 2009, 10:56 am
Try chiseling into stone. When the Romans committed their thoughts to the ages, they committed. <3
Comment from Kerry
Time: May 18, 2009, 4:15 pm
Hey Lynne! I use Zotero for my historical research. http://www.zotero.com
It’s browser based, syncs your research with the server (if you use the 2.0 beta version) so you can access it from other computers as well as have a backup, tracks your sources and allows drag-and-drop citations. Since it’s browser integrated, you can pretty much just take notes and snatch sources as you find them surfing. It also has extensive note-taking functions and allows you to store a local copy of any web page you like, so if the page goes away you still have it. It has indexed searching and can index inside PDF files (which it will also save a local copy of for you). It’s good stuff, I swear by it. You probably don’t care about the citations, but the other features seem right up your alley.
Comment from Lynne
Time: May 19, 2009, 8:46 am
There are some days, John, when my word count is so low you’d THINK I was hammering it into stone tablets. :-P
Comment from Lynne
Time: May 19, 2009, 8:51 am
OMG, Kerry! That is some awesome stuff. I already use Questia for research, and I can see how helpful this will be.
I do care about keeping track of sources, even though I don’t footnote fiction. :-) I might not ever need to provide a bibliography, but at least I have it just in case.
Muchas gracias!
Comment from Liz Kreger
Time: May 27, 2009, 4:31 pm
Hi Lynne: Chiming in late. I have a little pad of paper that I keep with me at all times. Granted, its only about 3 x 5 but its more than adequate. I scribble down my notes and then put them into a directory on my ‘puter.
Granted its a little difficult to scribble notes to myself when driving, but I’m getting pretty good at that. LOL
Comment from Lynne
Time: May 27, 2009, 5:58 pm
Hi, Liz! That’s a fabulous idea. A full-sized notebook is way too big to slip into a purse.
I haven’t yet mastered the art of note-taking while driving. :-) Maybe I need to get a copy of Via Voice and see if that would work.
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