Organisation.

[linziellen]

Goodness, I get blown away by all these amazing threads...I forget to ask the question I came here to ask!How do you organise your "scraps" as I call them. You know all the pages of lyrics you haven't yet used/may never use but keep hold of anyway! I have a few folders and notebooks filled to the point of almost explosion with ideas and I'm sure if could get them into some kind of order I might be able to piece them together and make them into something good! Where do I start? Also from these scraps I often struggle to tell the difference between what might make a verse or even a chorus. Should I be able to tell the difference, is it always obvious!?Thank you.Lindsey.

[arkjack]

Its a good exercise. Every six or eight months on a rainy day when I have nothing to do and I'm out of reach form the studio, I page through those notebooks and recopy the best ideas, payoff lines, snipits etc. into a Master notebook that is organized by various themes, such as 'Love & relationships - breaking up, glad to leave.... vs hurt from leaving.... That allows me to archive the original book into a box, and feel fairly confident that I caught all the best ideas for future hits.If I could do music full time, I would rebuild this into a database in something like MasterWriter. ArkJack

[jchitty]

I really don't do organization well. I work on my dining room table with papers scattered everywhere. Near all the clutter is a big yellow tape recorder from the 80's. I do end up pulling it together after a while....I'll record the finished song. It's an embarrassment when the neighbors come over... Jimmy Hoffa could be buried under all those scraps for all they know. I like the clutter because it reminds me to write everyday.....if I cleaned it up, then I don't think I would write as much.My husband who is a neat freak doesn't appreciate it though.

[montster]

Organization? ................ What a concept!I have to force my self to organize; it can be very difficult to get out of the "bad" habit of the catch as catch can, do it as you go sort of thing, but it can be done. I have found organizing makes a huge difference in the time I have to be creative, or get anything done. As far as different approaches to the organizing process, you'll find what works for you if you simply try and "be organized". Systems can be just as creative as the process of implementing them, you just have to be sick of your disorganization enough to do something about it.I was so inspired by the "think and grow rich" thread and what I discovered there, that I realized my entire life was fairly disorganized. I spent the weekend working on my "life schedule" so I can have the time to do the things I need to get accomplished instead of just the moment to moment grind that left me stressed out with only the bare minimum accomplished. As artists we get very comfortable with the "hat" we wear as artists, the technicians we are that enables us to do what we do. Wearing the hat as the business person or the "entrepeneur" and the "administrator" gives us perspectives on how to channel our creative energy to make us more successful at what we do. The organizing comes from the perspective of the other 2 hats.on a simpler note....... start with the stuff that jumps out at you as being the best and put that in a "Keeper" pile. Part of organizing is understanding that we can detach and let go of the "garbage" that stops us, and if you cant bring yourself to throwing the rest away, put it in a box and leave it in the attic or garage until you're pulled to shuffle through it again. (Ive got boxes of stuff from years of notebooks back to highschool) Seek and ye shall find.........Hope this helps

[linziellen]

Hey!I went away with your helpful advice and sorted out a pretty nifty system where I have all my sketches, drafts, lyrics and music together and sectioned under different themes.Thanks guys I feel so much better now, I can see where I'm going and also where I've come from, this exercise forced me to look/evaluate some of my old work, I've come a long way...even if I do say so myself Lindsey.