I’ve been thinking a lot about systems lately. Several different conversations ended up being about them. I talked to someone about a system of taking notes and looking at the notes. At the foundation, the team has been building a system of assessment to help us understand where we can improve our work.
It occurred to me that scale is about having a system for when you can’t keep all the information in your head. I’m a systems champ because I’ve had probably about forty years of experience building systems. I learned at an early age that I need systems to keep myself organised, on time, and presenting as a functioning person. I think I was in third grade when I started colour-coding my timetable, notebooks, and textbooks to have the correct materials for the day ahead. Since then, I’ve fine-tuned my system of note-taking and knowledge retaining because I’ve been a student most of my life. I have systems to make sure I’m at the right place at the right time and getting everything I need to get done. I have these systems because otherwise, I’d daydream for the whole day.
In that sense, writing a novel is also about scale. For short stories, it’s pretty easy to keep everything in my head. Characters are relatively easy for me because I get to know them. The more I write, the more I know the characters. I still need to keep the physical details somewhere (how old they are, eye colour, that sort of thing) because I suck at these. And for a short story, the plot is easy. It’s usually straightforward, and I can keep all of it in my head.
When it comes to writing a novel, though, the plot, timeline, and settings are where I get lost. The problem is I don’t have solid systems for this because I’ve only been doing it for a few years. My systems for keeping novel details aren’t as formed as those for keeping me functioning. I feel like I’m making stuff up all the time. Which, I guess, I do. But I need to keep track of everything that happens in the novel, and that’s a lot of work for me.
I’ve been using Notion for the last few months and am rather pleased. I still need to fine-tune and remember to use my systems, but I think that realising I’ve been missing a system is half the battle won. At least, I hope so.
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