About that poll -- what I actually did...

[julesjones]

Writing happened, but not anything actually in a story. I've spent the last hour or so working on the TiddlyWiki I set up to keep track of information about past and future writing projects.

This wasn't cat-vacuuming. I've got to the point where I need *something* to keep track of character names and descriptions I've already used. I'm not a writer who *must* know a character's name before I start writing about them, but I certainly find it helpful to know what the main characters call themselves, and I'd rather not change their names once I've got started. I'd also rather not use the same name for too many characters (so far I've got 3 major characters called Mark/Marc, although one of them was Not My Fault), and when I started the last bout of Trashy Porn I realised that I could no longer remember even all my major character's names without having a List.

The list in the Exobrain isn't complete, but there's enough there now that I can get on with whatever I feel like writing tomorrow.

Comments

[mishalak]

I suppose this is important as, unlike in real life, if fictional characters are too similar then god (the writer) might accidentally mix up their lives.

[supermouse]

Is exobrain an app or something?

[julesjones]

Not quite. I used the TiddlyWiki software to set up a storage system for writing notes, and called the file Exobrain because that's what it is. There's a copy on my website: http://www.julesjones.com/misc/exobrain.html

[supermouse]

Ooh, right. I can see how useful that would be. How much can it handle? My current WIP has the potential for needing me to store dozens of character CVs and worldbuilding info. ATM I am treeing notepad files, but they obviously don't cross-reference.

[julesjones]

I don't know how big it can get, but there's a faq on their website here: http://tiddlywiki.org/wiki/How_big_can_my_file_get_before_it_gets_too_slow/doesn%27t_work%3F

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

I have a Mark: a Marcus: a Marek: and a Mickey. without digging through everything. It's embarrassing.