How to organize writing notes

Break into sections, then structure the parts

So you’ve chosen your organizing scheme. Here are some tips for pulling your story together.

1. Put your info in buckets.

As you gather and organize information, think of your material as “buckets” of like information. Depending on the scope of the project, your buckets might be physical file folders, files on my laptop, Word documents, even bookmarked sections within a Word doc.

For a marketing brochure, for instance, you might have buckets on how the product helps customers:

• Save money
• Make money
• Save time

Each bucket becomes its own section in the body of the piece.

2. Write a ‘lead’ for each bucket.

Master writers craft mini feature structures for each section, giving each section its own “lead.”

3. Label your buckets.

Your reader should be able to see at a glance how your piece is organized. To show them, place a meaningful subhead before:

• Each section of the body
• The conclusion

That will make your thinking visual and your structure clear.