TWCL

[Wild Horse]

So this morning my phone died which is quite worrying, mainly because I have all my comic ideas stored on it. I'm still hopeful I'll be able to salvage them but it got me thinking about whether this is a common way to store ideas.

So questions to you guys: Do you have heaps of ideas written down or do you tend to write on the spot? Where do you store your ideas? How many ideas do you have?
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[Snotnarok]

I have a lot of them stored in google docs, it's neat because you can access them from anywhere.

However the remainder typically are in my head since I have a memory for these things, or on MSWord docs.

Sorry to hear about your phone.
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[iaviv]

I write everything down on paper first and later type it in a text file on the computer. It's good to have backups.
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[ewomack]

Mine are all on paper in notebooks... I also do random sketches in them... if you're going to use electronic storage though, and there's nothing wrong with that, be vigilant about backing up, otherwise the inevitable will happen...
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Ed Womack

[ttallan]

All my notes are Word docs on my computer, and I they get regularly backed up via one of those online backup services.

Currently I'm in the process of trying to condense my seemingly endless reams of notes into something more manageable. I've squeezed my rambling and slightly outdated 100-pg plot outline into a 17-pg document, so far. (Which represents the next 11-or-so chapters in my reallylongform comic.) I guess that's progress. Now I just have to turn that outline into more scripts!
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[sophielynette]

Either in my sketchbook or on my phone, depending on which is more convenient at the time. Many computers I kept a word document of ideas, it's probably floating around on one of my backup discs by now. I really should get organized.

I would love to have something quaint and efficient like index cards in a rollodex or something. Alphabetical. Color coded. Anal retentive. The inner me is a control freak.
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[Lavenderbard]

sophielynette wrote:

I would love to have something quaint and efficient like index cards in a rollodex or something. Alphabetical. Color coded. Anal retentive. The inner me is a control freak.

That would be the outer me. When I was in high-school I had alphabetical color coded index cards.

Now I have a custom mysql database with a hand-coded website as the front end. I take your control freak and raise it by a geek factor of ten.

But I have been known not to write anything down at all until I after I've written the first draft/script. Stuff usually gets added to my database while I'm working on revisions.

Edited to add:
In case it isn't obvious, I don't use it for "story ideas" as such. I use it for data: Names, dates, relationships, locations, glossaries... There is a table listing my stories, which includes ones I haven't written, but most of those listings have only a title, the universe it is set in and a series if it belongs to one.

I usually try really hard to forget any story ideas that pop up. If I add a story to the database, it's because I've given up on ever managing to forget it. Naturally I don't feel any need to include details.
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[Kail]

Everything up until the actual drawing starts is generally entirely in my head. I know it's probably not ideal, but A) I'm pretty disorganized, and I can never find somewhere to write things down consistently that I won't lose or replace before I need it, and B) I'm really nervous about people finding and reading it for some reason.

[Spamwise]

I've use yzTask. I set up a "project" for each comic/blog/book/screenplay I want to write (waaaaay too many ideas, not enough time!) and then add "tasks" for each comic idea. You can sort, use the start date or due date to order them, whatever.

The software's still in a soft beta, so don't expect much, but it works for my needs.

[katastrophe]

I find Evernote really handy because whenever I get a spare moment or an idea (at work, at a restaurant, watching the kidlet, etc) I can type it into whatever computer or device I have handy and get to it later. It's also pretty easy to organize -- aside from the notebooks and tags, it lets you link to notes from within other notes, so you can create a table of contents for a project and so on. And you can clip webpages, useful if, like me, you spend a lot of time going "now where did I read that nifty thing about criminal profiling again?" Pretty much all my research, brainstorming, and scripting is in there now.

I also keep an old-fashioned address book sitting beside my computer with various character and place names in it. Because it's just so embarrassing when you misspell your made-up person's name. And even more embarrassing when your husband catches you apologizing out loud to them.
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[Traegorn]

I keep my stuff on my iPad, which backs up to iCloud every night.

...which saved my ass when I dropped my iPad on the ground and had to replace it. With the new one, all my data was waiting for me immediately. (Well, after a half hour of downloading it )

I also back up my art to Dropbox (which also copies it to all my other computers automatically)

[RussSpruce]

I do a whole bunch of things, but I primarily keep them in a little moleskin journal I like carrying around with me. When I get the chance, I'll then type them up and save them on my computer and back them up on a flash drive and a cloud server. Yeah, it may be overkill, but I've lost stuff before and don't want it to happen again.
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[eSquaredCOMICS]

I tend to draw first then add come up with what exactly they are saying. Other than that, the initial joke is on the spot.


http://e2comics.com

ps i have no clue how to set up a signature with this forum..any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Montanto]

For the most basic ideas anything that sounds amusing, phrases, concepts... I have a filemaker database I call project notes (it's basically a tweaked version of their "research notes" template. It's saved me from writer's block more times than I care to count.

For fleshing things out in more detail I have several word documents... I've also been experimenting with a wiki.
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[vaslittlecrow]

I keep a paper journal for jotting down dreams, ideas, thoughts and research notes. I use Livejournal, Google Docs and even my webcomic site blogs to jot down my ideas. This system works really well for me.
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Visit Catnose Comics and Velvet Rasputin to see my comic art and graphic novels.