How do you keep track of story ideas? (With Paul Regnier!)

We have a new week to celebrate and, with it, a new author! 

Friends, please welcome author Paul Regnier to the blog. Over the past year, I've had a chance to get to know him a little bit and he's such a fantastic soul with so much great advice. 

This past spring, Jill and I teamed up with Paul to teach the Teen Track at Mount Hermon and he was such a steady, level-headed, wise addition that I can't help patting Jill on the back for looping him into our maniacal plans. We had a fantastic time.

On top of that, the third book in his science fiction series just released, and you guys have got to check these books out. 

 
But more on his books Wednesday. Today, let's learn a little about Paul himself.
 

Paul Regnier is the author of the Space Drifters science fiction series. He is a technology junkie, drone pilot, photographer, web designer, drummer, Star Wars nerd, recovering surfer, coffee snob and a wannabe Narnian with a fascination for all things futuristic.

Paul grew up in Orange County, CA and now lives in Treasure Valley, ID with his wife and two children.

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To connect with Paul Regnier and discover the full extent of his nerdhood, please visit his pages on Facebook and Twitter.

Paul Regnier surrounded by two gals who talk way too fast.

I don't know if it's his Narnian cravings or if it's the Star Wars thing, but the three of us got along really well and I'm so grateful he's agreed to join us this week.

So, let's get to it. Monday's panel question is:

Paul: I've learned, through the pain of lost "great ideas," to jot them down as soon as they come to me. Post-its, napkins, receipts, any scrap of paper that's handy and occasionally, the notes app on my iphone. I always think I'll remember them later but sure enough, if I don't write them down during the moment of inspiration, they often fly out the window never to be heard from again.

For the larger ideas, the "high concept" type of story origin motivators, these generally stick around in my brain. These are the ones I slowly build upon, day by day, building the details over the skeleton of a concept. I don't usually write these down, unless there's specific scenes that really shine, so that I can really stretch and play with the overall story idea before I write it down.

Basically, I write down anything specific and scene related while I allow the larger story idea and plot to roll around in my head for weeks or months until it forms something solid that I feel deserves an honest "sit down and write" kind of session. The reason being, I don't want to cement the foundation before the blueprints form a structure worth building.

Jill: I have a file cabinet filled with folders. Anytime I get a new idea, I’ll brainstorm on paper and put those notes into a manila file folder. That way I have a place to put more sheets of inspiration that might come to me, and the ideas will all be right there waiting for me to give them more attention. If I draw a map, it goes in the folder. If I’m really excited about the idea, I’ll make a file folder for it on my computer and start writing. I’ll also make a story bible file in Word, in which I start adding character names, research links, and any other pertinent information.

Shan: First of all, I'm thoroughly impressed (and not at all surprised) that Jill has an ACTUAL file cabinet for story ideas. Second, my system has evolved to be more user friendly than it was when I first started writing and I think it's normal for this to happen, so don't worry if you haven't got a handle on this yet. I used to try to keep notebooks for each story and folders on my computer with story ideas in them. But these days, I just whip out my cell phone whenever I have a story idea and I type it into an email draft and there it stays until I decide to pull it out and play with it. Currently, there are 48 ideas waiting on me in my 'Drafts' folder.

Steph: Your systems are all WAY better than mine. Mine is lame and ineffective. I jot it down in Google Keep and then I frequently forget about it until I happen to be scrolling through my archives. 

Note from Shan: I often forget about my ideas as well, so I have to frequent my 'Drafts' folder on occasion, but that's what it's there for. To remember all the amazing things I'm destined to forget.

Now, you tell us! How do YOU keep track of your story ideas?