This is the first post in a series I am calling The Writer’s Toolbox. Every other Monday (I know, wonky!).  I will share the tools and tricks I use to keep me writing, even when I feel like I have nothing.

In my last post, I described how important it is for me to make the most of my writing time. I try (nobody is perfect!) to have at least two scenes to write. Once I start writing, if for some reason I get stuck, or end up just not feeling it, I pick another scene to write. I use Trello to help me keep track of the scenes. This is not a sponsored post, just sharing a cool app that makes my writing life a little easier! 

Trello is a project management app. I frequently use Trello in my full-time job. I won’t go into many project management methods in this post. I will share the way I use Trello to keep a catch-all list of scenes. 

I don’t use Trello to outline my novel, for that I use Google Sheets. I will write a later post on that process. Trello comes in after I have an outline of my chapters and major scenes. It helps me capture and organize ideas for scenes once I have started writing. 

My novel is character driven. The characters and their journey are clear to me, which is why I divided my Trello board using the names of my characters to create lists.

Under each list, I add cards. The cards can be a description of a future scene, a question that comes up while I am writing, or a line that I hear the character saying.

It’s also useful to keep track of plot holes that you identify as you are writing a scene, without having to search for the chapter and make a not. I just jump onto Trello and put it under my Things to Consider list. When I finish writing the scene, I move the card over to the Done list. 

Using Trello helps me stay present in my writing, and if I am stuck, I can just pick another scene from the running list that I have on Trello. 

Overall, Trello is super easy to use, and if you, like me, do most of your writing in the cloud then it is a useful tool that you can access wherever, and whenever. 

Thanks for reading, 
Raquel Garcia