You know that feeling when you open a blank document, ready to start your novel, and suddenly your brain presents you with seventeen different timelines, four alternate endings, and a subplot involving a character who doesn't even exist yet? Yeah. Me too.
The problem isn't that we lack ideas—it's that we have too many, and they're all screaming for attention at once. Traditional advice tells us to "just outline" or "discovery write," but what happens when the mere thought of choosing between these approaches makes you want to take a very long nap instead?
Let me introduce you to something I call The Dual Notebook Method—a specific framework that combines Anne Lamott's famous "Bird by Bird" philosophy with a technique called The Shiny New Idea Notebook to create a sustainable planning system that actually works with your overwhelmed brain instead of against it.
The Problem With Traditional Story Planning
Most story planning advice falls into two camps: the rigid outliners who want you to map every scene before you write a word, or the pure pantsers who insist you should just "trust the process." But when you're genuinely overwhelmed by structure, neither approach helps.
The outliners make you feel like a failure when you can't figure out Act Two before you've even met your characters. The pantsers leave you drowning in a sea of possibilities with no life raft. What you actually need is a system that lets you plan small while keeping the big picture contained and manageable.
What Is The Dual Notebook Method?
The Dual Notebook Method uses two separate physical or digital notebooks with strictly defined purposes:
Notebook One: The Bird by Bird Book (your active planning notebook)
- Contains only what you're working on RIGHT NOW
- Focuses on the immediate next step
- Gets wiped clean and restarted regularly
Notebook Two: The Shiny Idea Vault (your capture-and-release system)
- Holds all future possibilities, brilliant ideas, and "what-ifs"
- Requires zero organization or structure
- Cannot be opened during active writing sessions
The magic happens in the strict separation between these two spaces and the specific rituals you use to move between them.
How to Set Up Your Dual Notebooks
Creating Your Bird by Bird Book
This notebook should be small—physically small if it's paper, or a single short document if it's digital. I use a 3x5 index card holder, but a small Moleskine or a phone note works perfectly.
The golden rule: This notebook can only hold planning for your current scene or chapter, plus the immediate next step.
Here's what goes in it:
- The scene you're writing today (one sentence summary)
- Three concrete details about this scene (setting, emotional tone, one plot point)
- The very next scene after this one (one sentence only)
- Today's specific writing goal ("write the argument between Sarah and Tom" not "finish Chapter 4")
That's it. Nothing else is allowed here.
Creating Your Shiny Idea Vault
This notebook should be expansive and completely unstructured. A sprawling Google Doc, a massive journal, a chaotic Notion page—whatever lets you dump ideas without thinking about organization.
The critical rule: You can only access this notebook during designated "vault sessions"—never during active planning or writing time.
Everything else goes here:
- That brilliant subplot about the neighbor's mysterious garden
- The three different possible endings you're considering
- Character backstory you might never use
- Research rabbit holes
- Scenes for later chapters
- Alternative structure ideas
- Literally everything that isn't your current scene
The Weekly Ritual That Makes This Work
Here's the specific process that prevents overwhelm while keeping you moving forward:
Every Sunday (or your chosen planning day), perform a 30-minute "Vault to Bird" session:
1. Open your Shiny Idea Vault and read through recent additions (10 minutes maximum)
2. Choose exactly one element to pull into your active planning—either the next scene you're ready to write or one enhancement to your current chapter
3. Transfer only this element to your Bird by Bird Book, condensed to the minimal format above
4. Close the Vault and don't open it again until next week
5. Spend the remaining time breaking down your chosen element into tiny, specific actions
This ritual does something crucial: it gives your "what if" brain a designated time to play while protecting your "get it done" brain from constant interruption.
The Method In Action: A Real Example
Let me show you how this worked for my friend Marcus, who was paralyzed while planning his fantasy novel.
Marcus's Shiny Idea Vault (a chaotic mess) contained:
- Seven different magic system variations
- A complete alternate timeline where the protagonist makes different choices
- Fifteen character backstories
- Three different political structures for his fictional kingdom
- Detailed worldbuilding about a religion that might not even appear in the book
Marcus's Bird by Bird Book (one index card) said:
- Current scene: "Dessa discovers her brother lied about the market attack"
- Details: in the kitchen, she's angry but also scared, she finds the torn letter
- Next scene: "Dessa confronts him at the harbor"
- Today's goal: Write the moment she finds the letter through her initial reaction
During his weekly ritual, Marcus felt overwhelmed by a new idea about how the magic system could work differently. Instead of stopping his current chapter to revise everything, he dumped 500 words about it into his Vault, then returned to his simple index card. The new magic idea would wait. His current scene wouldn't.
Over three months, Marcus finished his draft. His Vault grew to 40,000 words of ideas, notes, and possibilities. His Bird by Bird Book never exceeded 100 words at any time.
Why This Combination Works
The Dual Notebook Method succeeds because it acknowledges a fundamental truth: writer overwhelm isn't about lacking organizational skills—it's about trying to hold too much in active memory simultaneously.
Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird" philosophy teaches us to shrink our focus to something manageable. The Shiny Idea Notebook technique gives all those other ideas a home so they stop screaming for attention. By combining them with strict rules and rituals, you create a system that works with your brain's natural tendencies rather than fighting them.
Your Vault lets you be expansive and exploratory without guilt. Your Bird by Bird Book lets you be focused and productive without fear of forgetting something important. The weekly ritual ensures neither side takes over completely.
Your First Steps
Ready to try this? Here's how to start:
1. Today: Set up two notebooks (physical or digital—your choice)
2. Right now: Write your current scene's one-sentence summary in your Bird by Bird Book
3. Immediately: Dump everything else that's in your head about your story into your Vault
4. This week: Write only what's in your Bird by Bird Book; add new ideas only to your Vault
5. Next Sunday: Perform your first Vault to Bird ritual
The relief you'll feel when you realize you don't have to hold everything in your head at once? That's not just psychological—it's practical. You're not ignoring the complexity of your story. You're just refusing to drown in it.
The Permission You Need
Here's what I wish someone had told me earlier: You don't have to figure out your entire story structure before you start writing. You just need to know what happens in your next scene.
The Dual Notebook Method gives you permission to be both a dreamer and a doer—just not at the same time. Your Vault protects your creativity. Your Bird by Bird Book protects your progress. The ritual protects your sanity.
Your story is too big to hold all at once. That's not a weakness—it's normal. Stop trying to plan the whole bird. Just figure out the next feather.
Now close this article, set up those two notebooks, and write one sentence about your next scene. Everything else can wait until Sunday.