Get It Together
- Jacquelyn Lee
- Apr 10
- 5 min read
Where Do Good Ideas Go When You’re Not Ready?
Have you ever found yourself in the shower, lathering shampoo into your hair, when a brand-new idea for your current writing project came rushing in? You told yourself you’d jot it down as soon as possible. And then it was gone.
Inspiration can come at any time of the day or night (if you’re like me, a night owl). You might be washing dishes or going through your routine, and get inspired by something so simple. The point is, when inspiration hits, you need somewhere to put it. And that somewhere needs to make sense.
When it comes to staying organized as a writer, the challenge is not just capturing the idea. It is knowing exactly where it lives once you have it.
Organize Your Writing Like You Organize Your Favorites
When you walk into a grocery store, everything has a place. The cold items line the outer edges. The packaged goods fill the inner aisles. Each section is labeled, each product belongs somewhere specific, and when the system works, you can walk straight to what you need without wandering the whole store.
Your writing files work the same way. Each project is its own section. Each draft, each version, each resource is a product on the shelf. When everything is organized with intention, you stop wasting time searching and start spending it writing.
Think about how streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, or Disney+ handle their content. They do not just throw everything onto one screen. They sort by type, then by genre, then by mood. Your writing deserves the same thoughtfulness.
Naming Your Files Like a Parent Names Their Kids
When you give everything a name, it becomes unique. Think about parents who have multiple children. My parents had five children, and although they gave us all names that started with the letter “J,” each of our names is unique and fitting to who we are.
Now, five children might seem like a lot for some people. I only had two, thank God. I kept it simple. But for parents who have five kids, it gets a little more challenging. My father’s parents had over ten children! Interesting how through the generations it went from ten-plus, to five, to two.
So, when it comes to naming your files as a writer, how do you stay organized and avoid confusion? What if some of those files were twins? How do you distinguish which twin is which? Based on their name? Based on their content?
Would you name all your kids Kelly and just label them Version 1, Version 2, Version 3, and so on? Or would you use a combination?
Versions A, B, C for major drafts
Versions 1, 2, 3 for minor edits within a draft
Get the bigger picture. Put a mood to a color. Put a color to a mood. Use these elements to develop your own naming convention, one that works for you and makes sense to your brain.
Color Your Revisions: The WGA West System
Speaking of colors, did you know that screenwriters have been using a color-coding system for decades?
I used to write only on white pages in Microsoft Word, until I learned how screenwriters use colored paper to distinguish between different revisions. This helps producers, actors, directors, and crew members know exactly which version they are working with.
The Writers Guild of America, West (WGA West) follows a standard color sequence for script revisions:
White: Production White (an unrevised draft, your original)
Blue: 1st Revision
Pink: 2nd Revision
Yellow: 3rd Revision
Green: 4th Revision
Goldenrod: 5th Revision
Buff: 6th Revision
Salmon: 7th Revision
Cherry: 8th Revision
Second Blue: 9th Revision
Second Pink: 10th Revision
And so on…
While this system was designed for screenwriting, not manuscript writing, I think it still serves a purpose for writers of all kinds. I have recently started developing my own method based on it.
Right now, I am writing on a dark blue background with white text, and I find it helps me focus on this topic, this particular article. When I used to write with black on a white background, it felt too bland. I wanted something that would help me engage with the work. This suits me more. It helps me be more creative. I love it!
Although printing in color can be pricey (and I do suggest printing if you prefer a physical copy during editing), it works very well when making revisions on an electronic copy. You can save each version labeled with its color and a revision number.
For example, you might name your files like this:
Do what works for you.
How to Apply a Page Color in Microsoft Word
Here is how to get started:
Open a new Word document.
Click on the Draw tab at the top.
Find and click on the arrow next to “Format Background.”
At the bottom, you will see “Page Color.”
Select a color that either represents your mood or theme for this new idea or follows the WGA West standard color sequence above.
Organizing Your Digital Life as a Writer
Beyond file naming, staying organized means managing every corner of your digital world. Here are the areas to pay attention to, along with a tip or two for each.
Emails
Have and keep a separate email address just for your professional writing work. Mixing personal and professional in one inbox is a fast track to missing something important.
Resource Sites and Bookmarks
Create folders and label them. Group your websites by topic and place them into appropriate folders. Your browser’s bookmark bar should work like your own personal library card catalog.
Writing Programs
Know which tool does what, and when to use each one. Not every program is built for every task, and using the right one at the right time makes a real difference. Keep your programs organized and intentional.
File Management and Draft Management
Here are my top three organizing principles:
Separate personal from professional.
Separate fiction from non-fiction.
Separate low content from high content.
AI Chatbot Chats
After you start a chat, immediately give it a name. Name it something easily recognizable when you come back to it later. Some platforms let you organize chats into project folders.
Treat your chatbot like your personal organizer. Give each conversation a clear label and group related conversations together. It makes all the difference when you are deep in a project and need to find that one thread from last Tuesday.
Where to File Your Work
Use this checklist to decide where each file should live:
Desktop: Active works-in-progress and current session files
USB drive: Backup copies of completed drafts
Cloud storage: Master storage for all projects
Google Drive: Shared or collaborative files
Tip: Assign one storage location as your primary. The others are backups or secondary access points.
★ Free Download for Readers
Ready to put this system into practice? I built a free template to go with this post. The Writer’s Filing & Organization System Template has everything covered here: a project tracker, file log, revision color guide, master dropdown lists, and a 30-item organization checklist, all in one downloadable Excel file.
Download the Free Template → jacquelynleewrites.wordpress.com/resources
Two Tricks That Will Change Everything
Trick 1: Test Out Different Methods
Do not stick to one particular norm. Think outside of the box. See the bigger picture. Go outside your comfort zone. You will be surprised at what you discover when you try new ways to think or act. You might end up really loving it.
And when you love something? You just want to do it all the time.
Trick 2: Be Consistent
Once you find what works for you, stick with it. You will hear this from artists and creatives in nearly every interview, podcast, or video, and there is a reason for that. Consistency is the system. When you keep coming back to the same structure, it stops feeling like effort and starts feeling like home.
Resources
Here are a few helpful starting points as you build your own organization system:
Writers Guild of America, West (WGA West): https://www.wga.org
Jacquelyn’s Resources Page: https://jacquelynleewrites.wordpress.com/resources
InspireBooks | @JacquelynLeeWrites | #LifeCycleAuthor | #InspireBooks
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