Organize your Novel with a Wiki
Lisa Janice Cohen http://www.ljcohen.net
Introduction
Most every writer will need some sort of organizational structure for writing a novel regardless of where you fall on the spectrum of plotter versus pantser. pantser. If you are a plotter, you you write to a structured structured outline, with a significant significant and extensive amount of pre-planning. pre-planning. If you are a pantser, you let fingers fly fly on the keyboard in a gush of unfettered creativity. creativity. In reality, reality, this dichotomy represents the two extreme ends of a spectrum and every writer uses some system to keep all the bits and pieces of a story together. together. There are likely as many ways to organize the writing of a novel as there are writers. If you are digitally inclined, inclined, a wiki is one technological technological solution to staying organized no matter what kind of writer you are.
Definition According to wikipedia, a wiki is: a collection of web of web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language. language.[1] [1][2] [2] Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. The collaborative enc yclopedia Wikipedia is one of the best-known wikis.[2] wikis.[2] Wikis are used in business to provide p rovide intranets and Knowledge Management systems. Ward Cunningham Cunningham,, developer of the first wiki software, software, WikiWikiWeb WikiWikiWeb,, originally described it as "the simplest online database that could possibly work".[3] work".[3] (From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki)) [For an interesting discussion of the origins of the word wiki see: http://c2.com/doc/etymology.html http://c2.com/doc/etymology.html.] .]
Wikis have traditionally been used as collaborative tools in which knowledge is Organize Your Novel with a Wiki
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constructed with multiple contributors contributors adding to the whole. However, the strengths strengths of a wiki-links between related content and searchability--lend searchab ility--lend it to being a useful tool for the writer.
Tiddlywiki
While there are several wiki platforms available, many of them free for non-commercial use (see PBWiki http://www.pbwiki.com http://www.pbwiki.com and Wikispaces http://www.wikispaces.com/ http://www.wikispaces.com/ for two popular examples), I have found tiddlywiki (http://www.tiddlywiki.com/) (http://www.tiddlywiki.com/) the most useful. Tiddlywiki is described as "reusable, non-linear, personal web notebook," and has several advantages over other wiki platforms.
Advantages: Advantages: 1. Tiddlywiki is open source with with a large user community pushing the platform into interesting directions and available for user to user support. 2. Tiddlywiki is small and portable. Because it's a single HTML/Javascript/CSS HTML/Javascript/CSS file, it can easily be emailed or saved to/run from a USB key. 3. Tiddlywiki is cross cross platform compatible and will run in any browser in an offline offline session, so you do not need to be on the web to run tiddlywiki. 4. Because Tiddlywiki Tiddlywiki runs on your local computer, computer, it is private by nature. (Although it can be run on the web as a collaborative wiki.) 5. It is customizable with very little knowledge knowledge of coding required. (again, the large large user group is active in creating and sharing implementations of Tiddlywiki.) 6. Tiddlywiki creates its own backups, and can be set to back up to the web as well. well. Organize Your Novel with a Wiki
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7. Tiddlywiki is sortable sortable and searchable.
TiddlyWikiWrite
I tweaked the basic Tiddlywiki to create TiddlyWikiWr TiddlyWikiWrite. ite. I describe it as a virtual index card system. Information is stored stored in small chunks (remember (remember creating index cards for high school papers?) called 'tiddlers,' Each tiddler can be tagged and searched. Tiddlers can be sorted and ordered in any view the user needs. Searching is similar to any browser search that that you might use. Links between tiddlers are easily created using the syntax of wikiWords wikiWords (any words smashed together with a capital letter in the middle like 'wikiWord'). 'wikiWord'). The program will automatically set that word as a link to another tiddler with that title. title. Links can also be made using the 'wikibar' available from the 'edit' screen. This is a word processor-like processor-like editing 'hack' built into this version of tiddlywiki. tiddlywiki. Tiddlers will will also hold html, so links to live websites can be embedded as well. It's set up so that if you can use a word processor, processor, you can use tiddlywiki and this implementation of it.
Examples of Use
1. Research Tiddlers can easily hold information gleaned from books or websites, including live hyperlinks to URLs. (At its most basic, think of the Tiddlywiki as a digital repository repository for virtual index cards.) Organize Your Novel with a Wiki
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One of the areas I needed to research for "Heal Thyself."
It was much simpler to copy/paste the information into a tagged tiddler along with the URL for the source than to lose the bookmark amongst the hundreds of bookmarks book marks in my firefox setup.
2. Character Development I created a tiddler for each character, ch aracter, including physical description, role in his/her culture, connection to other characters (linked with wikiWords), wikiWords), history, history, motivation, etc.
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This is a list of all the character tiddlers in my Heal Th yself wiki. It's also helpful to see all my characters' characters' names in one list.
And this is the tiddler for my main female protagonist. Lilliane's entry is not all that extensive, as I only did a minimal to moderate amount of pre-planning with this project. But even approaching this novel more like a 'pantser', I found using the wiki to be invaluable Organize Your Novel with a Wiki
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in keeping me on track.
3. Chapter summaries If you summarize each chapter's plot events as you complete the chapter, then it's easier to edit and move plot events around around as you can see the tiddlers in any order you wish. In addition, the collection of each chapter's c hapter's tiddler becomes the first draft of your synopsis. The plotters out there can plan ahead, writing a extended outlines ou tlines for future chapters in their own tiddlers and then alter the summaries afterwards to reflect any differences from planning to reality.
Summary, Summary, Chapter 1
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4. Problems To avoid getting trapped in an endless editing loop, create a tiddler for any problems that crop up as you are writing. Tag the problems as open/closed and when you are ready to edit, you have a list of places you need to address.
Major problem noted in editing. editing.
5. Worldbuilding In "Heal Thyself," I have two main cultures, each with different mores, beliefs, government structure, and language. I use tiddlers tagged 'worldbuilding' and with either 'Tisreen' or 'Rimland' to organize background information.
Conclusion
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TiddlyWikiWrit TiddlyWikiWritee works for me where index cards do not because of the way I can search, sort and organize the tiddlers. It's far easier for me than to resort to a large corkboard and thumbtacks or multiple word processing files in a folder on my hard drive. My first novel was organized with a spiral spiral notebook. My second with text files files spread across my hard hard drive. My third and forth were organized using a wiki. I can attest to the fact that writing deep into the novel as well as editing were both significantly easier with the wiki than without it. TiddlyWikiWrit TiddlyWikiWritee won't eliminate writer's block, won't cure passive voice, v oice, prevent POV violations, or comma splices, but it will keep your information organized in an easy to sort, easy to search format. As with all digital solutions, do make make sure to keep your work backed up in multiple places. Happy organizing! organizing!
Appendix
Where to get TiddlyWikiWrite: The developers of TiddlyWiki TiddlyWiki are currently (2013) working on a significant upgrade to the core code, but it is still in alpha. The most recent version of the current released co de is 2.7.2. In recent versions of FireFox, it became impossible to save changes to the wiki. The developers have an addon to firefox that fixes this problem called TiddlyFox. You You need to install it in order to use TiddlyWikiWrite. Click on the down arrow next n ext to "Firefox" on the top left corner of the window. Click on 'addons'. Type Type "Tiddlyfox" in the search box. Organize Your Novel with a Wiki
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Add it to Firefox and restart. The next version of the core code will have this built in.
TiddlyWikiWrit TiddlyWikiWritee is free for any interested user to download, down load, use, and alter. You can find it on my website website:: http://www.ljcohen.net, http://www.ljcohen.net, on this this page: http://www.ljcohen.net/resourceswiki.html To download an empty wiki, click the link at the bottom of the page. In your browser, click 'file/save as' and select either 'simple html' or 'web page/html on ly' (depending on your browser). NOTE: Once downloaded, run it in your browser. browser. You must use the 'save' option on the right hand sidebar of the wiki, not save in your browser file menu. There are user instructions provided in 'gettingstarted' and 'help'. You can also email me Organize Your Novel with a Wiki
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(link provided in 'aboutme') if you have questions or problems.
About the Author:
LJ Cohen is the writing persona of Lisa Janice Cohen, poet, novelist, blogger, local food enthusiast, Doctor Who fan, and relentless optimist. LJ lives just outside of Boston with her family, family, two dogs (only one of which actually ever listens to her) and the occasional international student. In love with words since early childhood, LJ filled dozens of notebooks with her scribbles long before there were such a thing as word processors.
After 25 years of writing professional articles, text book chapters, assessments, and progress notes for her physical therapy practice, she returned to fiction nine years ago. Eight novels later, she is still writing. She also writes the occasional op/ed piece for her local paper and has maintained the Once in a Blue Muse blog (http://ljcbluemuse.blogspot.com (http://ljcbluemuse.blogspot.com)) since 2004.
LJ's novels represent several different genres and styles. She considers herself a reading and writing 'omnivore'. Her favorite genres are fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, thrillers, and mysteries.
THE BETWEEN, a YA fantasy, fantasy, is her h er self-published debut. Determined to follow a hybrid path in the publishing world, LJ is committed to both self-publishing and traditional publishing and is represented by Nephele Tempest of The Knight Agency.
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You can find links to all purchase portals for THE BETWEEN on her website: http://www.ljcohen.net/the-between.html
LJ has also serialized several novels in progress on Wattpad: http://wattpad.com/LJCohen
Find LJ on the web: http://www.ljcohen.net/contact.html
A version of this article first first appeared on the blog: Writer Unboxed Un boxed , http://writerunboxed.com/, in August of 2008.
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