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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wolf1066" data-source="post: 5179453" data-attributes="member: 88680">I write up large amounts of notes in Word, tables of all sorts of details in Excel, for big projects I create databases.  I compile lists of stuff that people have, backgrounds, relationships, time-lines, jot down notes of ideas that come to me.I have a rough idea of big picture in my head and I fill in the details as they occur to me.  In the meantime, I plan the next couple of days ahead - the characters are employees, so they have to go where their boss dictates, which sets them in the right place at least - and then work out who else they will meet when they are there, what situation they've walked into etc.  I write up copious notes on what there is to see and divide it up into difficulty levels, write up handouts for each level, have scripted bits for some of the NPCs, pictures, maps.  If part of the big picture is likely to be visible, I put it in - like they are at this place so they will get their first view of that, they won't understand the significance yet but it's there.All this goes into the notes for the upcoming couple of "days" in game time. Then we play and the players roll their dice, they get whatever information their rolls dictate (handouts) and they get as far as they can before the gaming session ends (3 hours including a break for cigarettes and coffee) and I have all the notes that were used in one pile.Afterwards, since everything is on file, it's a simple matter to go through, delete all the bits that they missed, add in any additional spur-of-the-moment stuff that came out of the game (because I know what the NPCs are likely to know - I've spent that much time on their backgrounds - I can easily ad lib if the players surprise me so they may end up with some information early or out of sequence if they ask the right questions of the right people)  This creates a new file that is a journal of the night's gaming - and well over 70% was already written before I sat down.With the journal quickly sorted - less than an evening, typically - I can then spend the rest of the two weeks before the next game night writing up where things are heading next based on what happened in the previous session - thus creating my notes and around 70% of the journal.The journals are necessary, given we only play fortnightly - prevents players and me from forgetting what happened.  Even more necessary after the last session as we have to skip one of our game nights so it's going to be four weeks between games.I'm going to try some of the mind mapping programs mentioned.  I've used MS Onenote at work and it is a great program for storing large amounts of interlinked info in different formats in one place - trouble is I don't have the budget to get a copy for home.</blockquote>

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