BuJo for Writers
[Tips, spreads, and ideas to keep you - a writer - organized in a bullet journal. Or a notebook. Or a sketchbook. Whatever works for you, my friend.]
Hey, what’s a BuJo?
BuJo - or Bullet Journal - is a system of journaling developed by Ryder Carroll. The system itself is designed to be extremely straightforward and easy to use. But it’s also meant to be adaptable and customizable to your needs.
Most importantly…
I’m not here to tell you that you HAVE to Bullet Journal. I’m also not here to tell you HOW to Bullet Journal.
But I am here to share what works for me. What helps me organize writing my high fantasy novel, Call to Fire, into obtainable, bite-size goals. What takes all the chaos in my brain and weaves it into an intricate story.
FYI: I’m also here to help you un-stick your brain. If you’re having trouble organizing your story, a set of events, or a collection of details, tell me what you need. I bet I can come up with a spread that will help.
Art degree? Optional.
You’ve probably seen BuJo spreads online that are super sleek, really artistic, highly intricate, and just perfect. You know what else they are? Intimidating. Your writing journal is just that: yours. If you don’t want it to be super artistic and colorful and done up, that’s fine. If you do, also fine. No gatekeeping here.
I like a mix of both, and I think different designs can serve different purposes. For a lot of my spreads, I’ll be doing two designs for you:
Utilitarian & Artsy.
“But that’s not BuJo!”
There’s a lot of gatekeeping in the community on what does or doesn’t “count” as a Bullet Journal. If your spreads are too artistic, not BuJo. If you don’t use the bullet system from the book, not Bujo. If you blah blah blah, not BuJo.
The point of BuJo, for me at least, is to use a system that works for my brain to organize all of the thoughts, ideas, anxieties, and goals I have. This is that system. It’s built on the core ideals of Bullet Journaling; rapid logging and collections.
So I’m calling it BuJo, and I’m sharing it with you.
I hope you enjoy BuJo for Writers.
Featured Spreads
Timeline Spread [Part 01]
There are dozens of ways to do a Timeline Spread because there are dozens of timelines to keep track of in a novel. Organize them.
Character Spread
Keeping track of an army of characters can be difficult. Jot down all the important details in the Character Spread.