Susan Fuchtman

When I first started writing many years ago, I didn’t foresee just what a mess my computer writing files would become.  Some of my short story versions were filed together and others were tossed haphazardly in the general folder.  I had folders labeled Writing, Writing 2007, Writing_1, etc.  Conference materials, writing exercises, and blog posts were scattered around my computer without any order, making them difficult to find.

When I got a new computer I decided it would be a good time to straighten up my file folder structure.

Organizing Principles

I had over 9000 documents in my old computer, so before I started setting up the new folders, I made a few decisions:

1. I would bring everything from my old computer into my new computer in just one folder, labeled “Z_Old Computer.”  That way I’d have it available but wouldn’t feel obligated to clean up every little thing.  The Z at the beginning sorts it to the bottom so it’s out of the way.
2. My first-level file structure would fit on one screen without scrolling.
3. Good organization trumped clicking—if I had to click through a couple of folders to get to my documents, that was ok if the extra organization was worth it.

Organizing Structure

First, I backed up everything to a network drive to avoid losing anything in the shuffle. 

It took me less than a day to set up the new folder structure and move in selected files from the last two to three years.  I’m not moving in any older files yet, but as I need them I can.

There are just 11 first-level folders.  The “Writing” folder contains 15 sub-folders.  I decided to sort by genre—poetry has one folder, blogs in a folder, and short stories another.  My novels each have their own folder within the Writing folder.

I started out with a Work in Progress folder but that would mean that, for instance, some short stories would be in Work in Progress and some would be in Short Stories so I eliminated the Work in Progress folder and sorted by genre instead.

Within the Poetry and Short Story genre folders, I made a folder for each story or poem that had an original and at least one revision.  That way when I’m working on the next revision, everything I’ve done will be in one place. 

I also have folders for Writing Classes_Conferences, Writing Exercises, Writing Ideas, and other writing-related topics. 

Organizing Tags

Tags are a feature in the Mac finder; I’m not sure what the PC equivalent is.  Folders where the composition is finished are tagged as “Final.”  The tags will let me quickly find finalized work for submission.

Organizing Results

My files were such a mess that I discovered some forgotten writing treasures as I cleaned up.  It felt like cleaning out a closet and finding a long-lost favorite blouse, only better because losing a blouse isn’t (usually) losing something you created!

You don’t have to wait for a new computer to clean up your folders.  Move your documents into a file labeled something like “Old Documents”, then set up a new folder structure that works for you and move your work into the new, organized folders.  Depending on how many documents you have, you can do it all at once, or gradually over a week or two. 

My only regret is that I didn’t clean up my folder structure sooner.  Now that my files are neatly organized, I’m looking forward to a more efficient 2015!