L.A. Garnett – Author

I spoke a little bit a few months ago about the various tools and methods I use to write (Planners, Calendars, & Journals – Oh My!) and I mentioned that I was using Capacities to store my inspiration and various story ideas. I figured I’d give a brief update, as I’ve changed my methods a bit and I feel like I’m getting closer to my ideal usage of this tool.

For a while, I used my general Capacities workspace to store every idea, to-do, and reference that came to mind. I wanted to use it as a second brain, the way I’d used Evernote previously. The main issue? I just wasn’t referring to it. I have a physical notebook that I use for longer ideas and for jotting down reminders, and I’ve found Google Calendar and Google Tasks to be absolute lifesavers for deadlines and any tasks that come up at work.

As for Capacities, I’ve decided that I will be using the app purely as a writing tool. I added objects (what Capacities calls the different kinds of notes you can create and store) to keep track of three major blocks: Writings (basically anything I’ve written or am planning to write), Characters (all the named characters I’ve created across all my projects), and Locations (all named locations across every project).

You’ll notice above that I have collections that break up “Writings” into three parts–blog posts, prompts, and Books. This section is the least cohesive of all my objects, so this might change moving forward.

In “Projects” I have a main note for each, where important notes relating to that project are stored. For example, the Project note for The Spiraling lists the major characters, locations, and play-by-plays for each chapter.

So far, I like this model! It’s working for me for now and I’m excited to jump into the app every time I open it. It’s helping me stay inspired and easily find information I need to reference while I’m writing. Some parts definitely need tweaking and I will share any changes that help my process!

The Spiraling, my debut, is out now! Check it out on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you buy books online. I’m so excited for this book to be out in the world, and I can’t wait for you to read it.