Where do you plot your characters storylines?

[Kaysea]

I used to carry around a small school book in my handbag to write down story lines that came to me out of the blue,  persona's that demanded I write their stories immediately,  or even characters that suddenly popped into my head from the ether.

Now I have a sona demanding to be created, and everything is in a jumble in my head.  His history, his family everything tumbling around.  I'm gonna have to sit and draft everything out long hand to allow it all to ferment.

How do you plot storylines/characters?

A loose-leaf folder?  Notebook? Laptop or PC?  Or even a dictaphone?

[Vix]

That depends on where I am.
I usually have a notebook with me and copy down stories or notes about characters while waiting for just about anything. I've also done that while riding in the car (only when someone's driving, though I've thought about purchasing a small tape recorder to get down ideas while I drive).
At home I use my laptop and have a file of "possible personas" in my documents section. This includes a list of name suggestions (though when I start writing a sheet, I'm just as likely to say that none of those suit and to go to a name generator), sheets for NPCs I've written for with notes about what I've already disclosed for them, and sheets saved as "unnamed harper" or whatever the character is, in persona sheet format and with bits filled in as I know them.

[PastMember]

Perhaps unsurprisingly, most of my ideas come to me at work. This is because my work is unendingly dull and my mind branches out for something interesting to do, so it bombards me with stories and characters. :jg:

If something really spectacular occurs, I quickly pull up an email and type it down and mail it to myself so I can remember it later and flesh it out.

Of course, sometimes the only stories that my mind likes to tell me while I work are fanfictions so chock-full of Mary Sue goodness that I'd never in a million years think of sharing them! :jg:

[Patrick]

I have a notebook I use to write down all my creative ideas, so if I don't have access to my computer I put it down in there.  When I'm at home my ideas go right onto a word document, and I fiddle with them there.

[Cali]

I keep everything in my head, I'm too lazy to write stuff down  (hence me having 3 very fleshed out and post happy NPC's, I'm too lazy to write out their persona sheets and make them PC.)

[Yvonne]

I keep everything in my head, I'm too lazy to write stuff down  

Hear hear! ;) I do the same - everything stays in my head and gets tumbled around until I'm happy with it. Ergo, it sometimes never comes out!

[PastMember]

LOL I do the same thing as Cali and Yvonne.  I go with what's in my head and keep all my thoughts there.  When it comes time to write, I pull it all out and jumble it around a bit until I find something I like. LOL  

[Jane]

I'm a bit more like Amanda.  Since sitting here on the computer most of the day I jot little character notes down in emails and save them in a folder (actually called '02-ListsProjects' so it sits correctly after 01-Posts and before 03-Characters; but you already knew I had issues about organisation).

Plots might come from anywhere, but they mainly stay in my head, except for the riverboat ones.  Since they affect the whole crew I jot them down in the forum so the other writers can comment, add, be warned(!) ...

[Dana]

In my head mostly.  It tends to help if I write down my thoughts using the computer though.

[Rochelle]

It depends on where I am, but I always have at least paper and a pen on me, preferably a notebook or two where I jot anything that comes to mind. When my computer's on I'll brainstorm, and I also have a tape recorder that I sue, but only when no one else is in the house or I have a really great Idea that I have to get out and don't have enough time to write it.

I do a substantial amount in my head too, but I try to jot it somewhere in case I forget, although I sometimes forget where I wrote it and have to redo things!

[Roxanne]

When I was going to school, I would have stories written in between my notes. It was rather interesting to see them when I went through all my old school notebooks.

Now it's mostly in my head and lately I've been so busy with getting ready to go back to school teacher stuff, I haven't had time to think of anything else.

[Avery]

I do work in my head constantly, for both game characters and my novel work. If there's pen and paper handy (and I usually try to carry some), then I use that to note down important things, and if there's a computer it always gets typed up and emailed to myself.