Post-it Notes
Post-it Notes represent the perfect low-tech, high-value tool for capturing a flash of insight, a new take on your subject, a good word or phrase or a metaphor you don’t want to forget. Many writers keep a packet of the mid-sized ones stashed in purse or pocket.
Some writers use Post-it Notes to develop the entire skeleton for a piece of writing, a variation on the cut-and-paste method and a much more flexible approach than a linear outline. This method works especially well for visual and tactile learners, allowing them to arrange and rearrange the notes physically, opening up new spaces to add new ideas and insights.
Use the smaller sizes to stick notes to yourself in the margins while reviewing source materials or drafts of your work. This technique works well for editing, too, especially when two or more people will review the same hard copy. Each reviewer can use a different color of Post-it Note.
Lists
Make lists as informal reminders of information or ideas you want a piece of writing to include. Unlike outlines, lists don't mandate a linear order, but simply capture a group of related ideas or a string of points you want to remember. Consider giving your list a title: “Don’t forget these.” “What readers need to know.” “Qualitative outcomes.”
Keep your lists informal so they don’t turn into outlines. Write them on old envelopes, napkins, Post-it Notes, within a computer file labeled “project dump.”
Cut-and-paste
Visual learners usually like some version of the cut-and-paste method of organizing a writing project.
Simply print off or lay out your freewriting pages cut them into segments and begin arranging on a table or floor, like a jigsaw puzzle. (You may want to carve out a private workspace for your organizing efforts other people won’t disturb your work.) Eliminate and rewrite parts that don’t work. Move your cuttings around to accommodate fresh material.
Like branching, the cut-and-paste technique allows you to see your ideas laid out in a single plane, creating less anxiety if you decide to add new material, write a new lead, or give new emphasis to a theme that seemed unimportant when you first began to write.