Post-it Plotting

How to transform your writing through stationery

Only use Post-it brand!

Note: I offer a full interactive course on this Post-it method here: https://novel-gazing-with-julie-cohen.teachable.com/p/using-post-its-to-transform-your-writing

People often ask me how I write my novels, and my second answer (after ‘With the help of uninterrupted angst, self-doubt and frustration at my own inadequacy’) is: POST-ITS. I use Post-its at every stage of the writing process, from pre-planning to structural edits.

I’ve given workshops on this technique to hundreds of writers throughout the UK and in Europe. I’ll show you how I’ve used it this week to help me with my novel. But first, a few basics:

Why Use Post-its?

1. Post-its are colourful, and can be used to colour-code different aspects of your novel, eg. character, sub-plot, point of view, time frame, theme, etc.
2. Post-its are disposable. If something isn’t working, it’s emotionally easier to throw away few Post-its than 20,000 words of your novel.
3. Post-its are moveable. You can change them around and experiment, much more easily than with blocks of text.
4. Post-its are small. You can see the entire plot of a book with a glance.
5. Post-its are cheap. You get a…