how to write a story (part twelve)

I didn't always do this but I read about it being a helpful tool and I finally went out and bought myself a little black recipe box (cheap, cheap, cheap at the local grocery store) and a package of 3x5 index cards, lined. But of course, instead of recipes for food, I have recipes for stories, necessary ingredients, flavor, and spices. Some of them may never be noticed or mentioned, like a character's date of birth. Others are visual, for example, an actual picture I drew of my character's room on London - that's where Arlen is right now, just arrived and just met her third ghost. The recipe for this particular tale (Grimoire in case you wanted to know) also includes historical notes for the time period (~1806), Arlen's family tree, and a list of the books she owns, one of which is her grimoire in disguise.

I used to write primarily in notebooks and then transfer everything onto my computer but now I write primarily on my computer. Having this recipe box helps me be organized, gives me instant access to information I might need and doesn't take up a lot of space on my already overcrowded desk.

meanwhile, it's good to be back - I missed my blog (sad little person that I am) and my followers. Tomorrow we'll play another round of the word verification game and in the hopes of getting lots of people to play I'll give you the word today so you'll have plenty of time to think.

The word for tomorrow is chuni (which I found on my sister's blog). All you have to do is use this 'word' in a sentence or paragraph that conveys the meaning of the word. So get your imagination in gear and have fun with it :)