How I Start a Book Project Using a Zettelkasten
Researching and writing books is, to say the least, a mood. It takes time, gets rerouted, provides super highs, and super lows. And yet, despite writing’s inherently wily nature, I find the process to be somewhat repeatable. More often than not, the steps below are what I take once I have a book idea (as you'll see, somewhat, but not entirely, in order):
- Create a "Notes" file
- Copy/paste main notes from my zettelkasten related to the topic into my “Notes” file
- Make reference notes for each book I read on the topic, bringing relevant findings into my "Notes" file
- Group together all notes that speak to one another
- Break the "Notes" file into individual chapter files (once it gets too big)
- Convert new research findings into single-idea main notes for future use
One this to keep in mind is that the above (and what I'll talk about below) happens after ideation takes place inside the zettelkasten. In many ways, this is as much a result of working with a zettelkasten as it is a leveraging of it.
Before going forward! I wrote a book on writing with a zettelkasten called, A System for Writing, itself (like every other piece of writing I generate) written using a zettelkasten. You can purchase it here.
Creating a "Notes" file
The first thing I do when starting a long-form writing project is create a "Notes" file. This "one long file" acts as a sandbox, a place where information, thoughts, title suggestions, rough TOCs, epigrams, good ideas, bad ideas, quotes, concepts, questions, and notes-to-self live together in playful symbiosis. Calling it "a dumping ground for ideas" wouldn't be off-base. It's an active, dynamic file with lots of additions and lots of things moving around. This files tends to get pretty big.
Searching my zettelkasten for relevant notes
As soon as I've got a "Notes" file, I search my zettelkasten for main notes that speak to my topic. It doesn't matter if they speak directly or indirectly. Anything that seems relevant enough gets copy/pasted into the "Notes" file. I also look to see what connections were made inside these notes (and for what reason), the most relevant of which are brought into the “Notes” file.
Having this stuff in front of me, all in one place, provides “text matter” off of which I can build, play, and respond.
Making reference notes for new research
Book-length projects have thus far always required more than what's stored in my zettelkasten, which means more research, usually in the form of reading. (FT For the sake of simplicity, I'm only referring to reading. But jkjkjk I don't only read books)
Every book containing relevant and/or significant insights gets a reference note. A reference note is, in a sense, a personal index, a place where references to everything that caught my attention while reading can be stored. While the formatting of my reference notes has changed slightly over the years, the basic structure is the same:
- Top: Title of the book
- Left: Page numbers
- Center: Short blurbs on what I found on each page
- Right: The topic each blurb speaks to
Lately, I've been adding a column linking the main note the reference became. The whole thing looks something like this:
Rethinking Context
Citation: Duranti, A. & Goodwin, C. (1992). Rethinking context: an introduction. In A. Duranti & C. Goodwin (Eds.), Rethinking Context: Language as an interactive phenomenon (pp. 1–42). Cambridge University Press.
| Page | Note | Note | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Context can change moment to moment, and can do so as a result of the reader's experience. | [[4_3b2a2a1b Context can change moment to moment]] | #context |
| 6 | Context is not created from scratch | [[4_3b2a2a1c Context is not created out of thin air]] | #context |
| 6 | Not all readings will be accepted as valid / There is a social element to reading | [[4_3k1a1c2c Not all readings will be accepted or resonate]] | #reading #context |
| 9 | Because the focal event is so prominent, context is often disregarded or unnoticed | [[4_3b2a2a1d Context is often hard to discern compared to the focal event]] | #context |
Not everything that catches my attention need be related to the topic I'm working on. I cite anything that speaks to me for whatever reason, knowing that I can suss out later what's relevant to my current writing project. Remember: working with a zettelkasten isn't only about the project at hand. It's about future projects, future writing, future thinking.
Grouping together ideas that speak to one another
At some point during my reading, I go through my reference notes and bring into my "Notes" file any material related to my topic. Whatever gets brought in is grouped under a temporary heading with its familiars (the other ideas they speak to already in the “Notes” file). This is where it gets interesting.
Let's say I'm researching reader-response theory. Any ideas, information, thoughts, questions, quotes, etc. that speak to defining what a “text" might get shuffled under a heading like, “What Is a Text?" Material that speaks to how meaning is created might go under the heading, "How We Create Meaning." Material that speaks to the role of the author might go under the heading, "The Role of the Author." The point is to organize all my text matter (aka the ideas, information, thoughts, questions, quotes, etc.) under headings that make sense of the time being (these can and will change). This allows me to A. start to make sense of what I’ve been collecting, B. get a sense if what I’ve been collecting is interesting, and C. figure out if what I’ve been collecting makes sense together, and if so how it might be organized, and where it might show up in the book.
Grouping ideas together begins the process of synthesizing seemingly disparate ideas. It's where formlessness morphs into form. Genesis, and all that.
Breaking the "Notes" file into individual chapter files
Most of my time working with the “Notes” file happens at the beginning of the writing project, which can last anywhere from a few months to a few years. Eventually, though, this file (or subsections within this file) become too unruly to work with. Too many headings with too much text under each one. Now, it's time to break it up.
If I’m lucky, and each heading, along with its respective copy, clearly corresponds to chapters, I’ll copy/paste each one into its own file, giving them suitable (and temporary) file names. Additionally, rough TOCs will get their own “TOC” file. Book title ideas will go into a “Book Titles” file. Everything gets a number, so the files in the sidebar stack in order I want. Then, I archive the “Notes” file. Its job is done.
Rarely, however, is the process so smooth. Headings, like the ones mentioned above, do not always correspond to chapters. Often they represent subsections within a chapter, copy for the introduction, copy for the Afterword, copy for an appendix, copy for the back cover, throwaway copy, footnotes, subtitles, you name it. I do my best to put everything I can into a chapter or section file that makes the most sense. But, this is not always possible. Some material in the "Notes" file may feel too thin (not enough being said / no real points being made), or it may speak to a topic somewhat adjacent to the main topic, in which case its placement remains unclear.
In situations where only a few sections are ready to be transferred to their own chapter files, which leads to me working out of both the "Notes" file and the individual chapter files, I'll add a note under any sections int he "Notes" file have have been excised reminding me to stop adding new copy in the "Notes" file. Something like:
Know Your Audience
MOVED TO [[4 Know Your Audience EBTB 1]]
This is enough to let me know if I have more to say on this topic, I should do so in the linked file and not in the “Notes” file.
Converting new findings into single-idea main notes
Writing with a zettelkasten is not only about sourcing ideas from your from your stash of rhizomatic connections. Over the course of the writing, new information and insights will inevitably come into focus. As best I can, I try to feed any new interesting ideas into my zettelkasten by converted them into single-idea main notes. I do this regardless of whether the idea/insight was relevant to the book I'm working on or not. The zettelkasten is for present and future self. Do your future self a solid.
Find your own way
I've been writing and hanging around writers for the better part of thirty years. None of us share the same system. Not even among the few who use a zettelkasten. The above is just how I do it. The way I've done it for the past fifteen or so years (minus the zettelkasten aspect, which has been for the past six). I'm not sure if what I've discussed is helpful. Writers-in-training often want to know how writers-for-life do things. Hopefully the above gives you an idea of how at least one writer works with a zettelkasten to get the party started.
There's a lot to be said about giving people something to do before or while you're giving them something to think about.
Ultimately, you'll need to find out what works for you.
If there's any general advice I can give, speaking in a broad terms as possible, on how to organize your book-writing workflow it'd be this:
- Source ideas from your zettelkasten (or whatever note00taking system you use).
- Put what you've gathered in a central location (i.e., a file), so you can see how it all looks and reads together.
- Organize these ideas into topical sections as best you can (add headings to make things clear).
- Bring in new information and ideas from your research into the file in the form of copy, links etc.
- Organize this new material among the other material, adding new topical sections if needed.
- When the file gets too big, break it up into smaller files (i.e., chapters).
- Begin working out of the individual chapter files. (This will help draw your attention away from the book as a whole and into the aspects that make up the book. Zoom in and out as necessary).
- Know that everything can and will change, so practice non-attachment.
- Be sure and send to your zettelkasten any new insights you gathered from your research (for future use).
Good luck and have fun!