List Making & The Creative Process

One of my Post-It lists
A list on my work monitor

I love making lists. Big-picture lists, daily lists, grocery lists, checklists … you name it, I list it.

I even make little list tools that sometimes other people enjoy. (For example, click here for my Weekly Goal SheetHere are specific instructions on how to use it.)

Lists are a personal thing—they speak to the ineffable in us—which is why it’s so enjoyable to look at how or what other people list. Once there was someone who found my lists so representative of me (or perhaps so neatly adorable) that he kept one as a memento.

This month’s Glimmer Train bulletin offers a thoughtful piece by Yelizaveta P. Renfro. She describes how lists play into her creative writing process. (My process is rather similar!)

My stories and essays begin with lists. On whatever is at hand—and often in the margins or endpapers of books I’m reading—I jot down fragments in the order that my mind offers them. This first step is a purging of these pieces, without structure. It’s notating in shorthand what will go in the container, whether the container is an essay or a story. 

Go read the full piece for excellent insights and inspiration.

For more celebration of lists (or voyeuristic peeks at others’ lists):

Also—I’m curious about other writers’ lists. Want to share a picture of yours, along with an explanation of how you use lists? If enough people are willing to share, I might start a feature on this blog. Drop me an e-mail or leave a comment if you’d be willing to participate.

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[…] List Making and the Creative Process by WD Editor Jane Friedman […]

Joel Friedlander

Jane, a great group of links, thanks. As a long-time list maker, I reflexively make lists for any project I get involved in. And I’m fascinated by other people’s lists. One of the secret pleasures of list lovers is coming upon someone else’s discarded list, it’s like a form of “found poetry” that implies the life behind the list. I even once wrote a blog post called The List of Lists, which was incredibly satisfying in a meta- sort of way. Thanks for the inspiration.

Jane Friedman

Happy to have discovered another list maker!  🙂

Skipper Hammond

When the greatest joy in life became ticking an item off a to-do list, I knew I needed to get a life.

Jane Friedman

LOL! Point well-taken.

Rachelgiesel

I love lists! I don’t have much at the moment but I can’t wait to see how others organize a crazy life. I usually have a monthly objective list, wishlist, daily and weekly list as well as a calendar. I like to plan.

Jane Friedman

Every once in a while, I have too many lists going, and I experience list anxiety & overload. Then I begin list consolidation.  😉

Anonymous

I don’t make lists because I am the kind of person that will keep managing lists until the day is over – and continue the next day.

Jane Friedman

Yes! I’ve fallen into that trap too …

Paul Dawn

Been making list for a very, very long time!

One of my favorite programs, is 3M’s Electronic Post-It Notes. Love being able to save them, back them up, etc.

Just wondering if you ever heard of them. They are just like the regular post it notes and ya can print them too!

Again, thanks for sharing!

Paul
aka The Mayor 🙂

Jane Friedman

I haven’t heard of the 3M software. Since I use Mac at home and work, I have the free application called “Stickies” (and right now, I have about 15 minimized on my desktop)!

Aidan

I do love my to do lists…perhaps my fave of all time was one I must have written in the waning days of 2009 or the first few of 2010. I didn’t find it until sometime early this year when I was cleaning up one of those ever-growing piles of loose paper, and when I did I could not help but sit down and reminisce about what had been an amazing year. The list was titled simply “2010,” and contained only 6 words, each representative of a pretty large goal for me. Without following along and crossing off, I had managed 5 of the 6. Pretty impressive for a procrastinator like me. This list serves as a reminder of how much I am capable of, and I will keep it in a place of honour!

Jane Friedman

Bravo! I have a couple historic lists like that myself.  🙂

Dawn Herring

Jane, 
I can so relate to your list making; I am always making lists: grocery lists, to do lists, lists of topics and books I want to read. Plus I always list the #JournalChat Pick of the Day in my Refresh Journal. I am reading Creating Your Best Life which consists of making lists of all kinds of categories for different life lists. 
One thing lists do is make life more focused; that is often my purpose for making one. Plus, if I write it down, I’m more apt to remember it. 
Lots of folks like to write lists in their journals; it’s a great way to create a journal entry. 
Thanks for sharing these links; I enjoyed the full article. 

Be refreshed,
Dawn Herring
Host of #JournalChat Live on Twitter 

Jane Friedman

Love the tip about use of lists in journaling! Thanks so much for taking the time to share.

Cynthia Morris

Lists save my life in the revision process. I make and plough through list after list to make sure I’ve gotten everything. 

For revisions, the list helps take out any emotional turmoil I may be feeling about writing. It gives me concrete steps to take. Without lists, I don’t think I could have written a novel.

Jane Friedman

Great insight! I’d consider lists essential for book-length revision.

Susan Klement

I love lists, too. I like to make lists with one color pen, then use another to make updates, like where I did something to move the item along, but there is still more yet to do, and a third color to mark things that are complete. It sounds busy, but it actually makes it easy for me to see where things stand at a glance. I might use a fourth color to add priorities after I write everything down. I find it easier to prioritize after everything is on paper.

I also take the attitude that lists should contain things I can reasonably do SOMEthing about in a day, but not necessarily things I can finish in a day. Then I just use that list as the basis for my next list, carrying over what isn’t done. I love lists, at work or home, they help me think.

Jane Friedman

Yes! One of the links I shared above (“if won’t fit on a Post-It”) offers advice that works well for me because it keeps me reasonable!  🙂

Susan Klement

True, but I like to make detailed lists so I have more things to check off, ;). Well, that and so I don’t forget some of the details. So, update project statuses might be a task that won’t take more than an hour or so, but if I enumerate all 12 project numbers, I can check that I didn’t miss any and make a more impressive looking list, making me feel all accomplished. It does mean I use a full 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper for most lists. I find the key is not stressing out about missing some items–identifying things that need to be done is good, too, even if they don’t get done right away.