How to set up your notion project page (for writers) (with examples/inspo + free templates) ✒️✨
1. Choose a format
I prefer to make a separate database as a home for all my project pages, but you can also start with a new blank page
2. Make a section for basic information
Title, genre, themes, loglines, summary, word count goal etc. I prefer to add them to the top of the page, so they're always visible
Inspo:
3. Outline space
If you prefer databases:
Start a new database in the table view. Add sections for chapter, summary, pov, status. Optional: word count, setting, scenes, date (if you have a set timeline)
Examples of a plotter's dream:
Example of a simpler version:
Example of using a gallery view database:
If you prefer pantsing:
start a toggle list where every heading is a chapter/plot point/act. You can write what happens inside each toggle. Personally, I use this method quite often.
Toggles are handy because they don't take up much space, but simple text will also work:
4. Characters
Add a gallery view database.
Create a new default template in which you can either make or paste a character worksheet. Here's what mine usually look like:
5. Setting + worldbuilding
Any database view will work. Create separate pages for important settings in the story. If you're creating a fictional world, you will probably need to add pages about geography & nature, politics, magic/technology, culture, religion, history, etc.
Examples:
6. Notes board
This is a place where you can drop new ideas, concerns, to-dos, and so on. I usually create a board view with sections such as "needs changing" "new ideas" "character ideas" and "unsorted".
I've made a filter that removes the note from view when I click the checkbox in front of "Handled". If you want an explanation on that lmk.
7. Word count tracker
Add a new database, make sections for date, word count, and description. Click sum under the word count section, it will calculate your total wc.
Pro tip: add a filter to see the total wordcount in a specific time frame. I usually have two tabs -- monthly and yearly wc.
[id. A twitter post by @/Bennieeexyz
Jury duty letter came addressed to my cat.
Not a mistake. "Felix Martinez" - that's his full name according to his vet records.
My last name. His first name. Somehow he's a registered voter now.
Called the county clerk.
Me: My cat got summoned for jury duty.
Clerk: Is the name correct on the summons?
Me: Yes, but he's a cat.
Clerk: Is Felix Martinez a legal resident of this county?
Me: He's a legal cat.
Clerk: Sir, if the name matches our records, he needs to appear or file an exemption.
Me: He can't file anything. He has paws.
Clerk: You can file on his behalf.
Me: Under what exemption? There's no box for "is a cat."
Clerk: (pause) Check "unable to serve due to medical reasons."
Me: What's the medical reason?
Clerk: He's a cat.
Me: That's not a medical condition.
Clerk: It is if it prevents him from serving.
Sent in the form. Got rejected two weeks later.
"Insufficient documentation. Please provide medical professional's statement."
Took the letter to my vet.
Me: I need you to write that my cat can't do jury duty.
Vet: Why is your cat summoned for jury duty?
Me: Excellent question. No good answer.
Vet: This is the weirdest request I've gotten.
Me: Can you just write that he's medically unfit to serve?
Vet: On what grounds?
Me: He's a cat.
Vet: (started typing) "Patient is unable to serve due to species-related limitations including inability to speak, read, or comprehend legal proceedings."
Me: Perfect.
Sent it in. Got another rejection.
"Summons is mandatory. Failure to appear will result in contempt of court."
My roommate thought this was hilarious.
Roommate: Felix is going to jail.
Me: This is serious.
Roommate: Bring him to court. See what happens.
Decided that was actually the only option left.
Day of jury duty, put Felix in his carrier. Brought the entire paper trail of rejection letters.
Checked in at the courthouse.
Clerk: Name?
Me: Felix Martinez.
Clerk: (looked at the cat carrier) Is that Felix?
Me: Yes.
Clerk: (long stare) He's a cat.
Me: I've been saying that for six weeks.
Clerk: Why didn't you file an exemption?
Me: I filed three. All rejected.
Showed her the letters. She read through them, expression shifting from confusion to disbelief.
Clerk: Someone rejected the veterinary documentation?
Me: Twice.
Clerk: (called her supervisor over) You need to see this.
Supervisor read everything. Looked at Felix. Looked at me.
Supervisor: How did a cat get registered to vote?
Me: You tell me.
Supervisor: This is a data error.
Me: Took you six weeks to figure that out.
They dismissed Felix immediately. Apologized for the inconvenience.
Supervisor: We'll remove him from the voter registry.
Me: Appreciate it.
Supervisor: (pause) Out of curiosity, how would he have voted?
Me: Probably whatever party supports universal treats.
Got a formal apology letter a week later and a voter registration card.
For me this time. Apparently I wasn't registered, but my cat was.
Roommate: Felix committed voter fraud.
Me: Felix committed nothing. He's innocent.
Roommate: That's what they all say.
Felix is sleeping on the jury summons now.
Fitting end to his legal career.
end id]
wish everyone could perceive the Vague Concepts in my head because i just know you would looove my Vague Concepts. you would think im so smart if you saw the misty clouds of Vague Concepts floating around in my head. #MyVagueConcepts
"the pupils are static. the face around them is churning like disturbed water. hazel's tear ducts are thick and pull down the bridge of his nose, which is bonier and broader, upturned. his mouth is wide, cupid's bow split by a dark line moist with discharge. his teeth-- already sharp --are visibly pointed, with thick roots, and ramsey watches his jaw stretch to accommodate them. hair erupts from his forehead and the bridge of his nose, following planes of his face that ramsey doesn't expect to be there."
GENRE/RATING: paranormal literary horror (tentatively; that's a question for the beta readers 4 sure)/adult
WARNINGS: explicit sexuality, dubious consent, explicit gore, body horror, suicidal ideation and attempted suicide, child abuse, religious abuse, child injury and death, animal injury and death, parent death, dissociation, obsessive behaviors
SUMMARY: sixteen years ago the town of montage, nebraska was unsettled by a series of violent animal deaths. perhaps most unsettled of all was ramsey hollowary, whose best friend hazel had transformed into a werewolf before his eyes.
now ramsey travels the country with his father, pursuing their divine calling as werewolf hunters. stories of a monster killing livestock lead them to rory, nebraska, where ramsey meets a man too familiar to be anybody but his childhood friend.
in trying to prove his own suspicion wrong, he only further convinces himself that this is his hazel, and that he doesn't want to kill him.
STATUS: outlined, drafting (yes, still)
TAG: #dd
image sources:
caught in the den - philip r goodwin
incendiary nocturne with stormy sea - stephen hannock
dante and virgil in hell - william-adolphe bouguereau
Kinda parasocial but I went looking for @wolfythewitch The Pitt fanart and realised it doesn’t exist. This is lowkey my first time being in a fandom without Wolfy </33 I feel worthless I feel stupid I feel gay
i love when people say "i’d read your book!" like girl me too unfortunately i haven’t written it yet because i am trapped in a cycle of procrastination and the feeling of impending doom
