C. N. Garraway

Photo by: Thanakorn Lappattaranan

Do you have two characters with the same name in different novels? When you have multiple writing projects going on at the same time, do you find that when you return to a novel after a while, you have used the name of a character in both novels? I have done this on more than one occasion. What usually happens is that the novel that I have invested more time in is the one that keeps the character’s name. I didn’t have this problem when I was a teenager. Maybe it was because my only responsibility was attending school and doing chores. We adults live busy lives and try to crank out poetry, fiction, and non-fiction works. Recently, I even wrote two poems, and I titled them the same.

As a teenager, I was organized when it came to writing projects. For my poetry, I created a spreadsheet of all the poems that I’ve written and the titles of future poems that I wanted to write. For my stories and novels, I did the same thing. I took it further and started writing all the characters in my novels and stories so that I wouldn’t repeat them. It helped me keep all my characters in check. It helped prevent me from recycling characters’ names.

So, if you are like me and want more organization when writing, then creating spreadsheets for your writing projects can help you be more productive. You can also have the start dates of all the novels you have opened and the start and finish dates of how long you have been working on a specific novel.

Many of my novels have been worked on for years. This helps to see where you are in the novel. Maybe revisit a novel that has been open for too long and that needs to be finished.  Revising could spark something new.

So, don’t waste time having to rename your characters because you used the name already. We will be on this organizational journey together. Do you have any other organizing tips you want to share? If you do leave them in the comments.