I love organizing. Give me some cute storage containers, to-do lists, and a colorful planner and I'm happy. But by far my favorite tool for keeping organized is the Excel spreadsheet.

I use spreadsheets all the time at work to keep track of my different projects, and it makes sense to use them with my writing as well. If you're a writer then you're going to want to put your stuff out there for people to read. And that's when it becomes so important to keep good notes.

Below are my three favorite spreadsheets that I use the most. I've included the templates to each of them at the end of this blog in case you're interested. You can adjust the templates, delete and add columns, and mold them to suit your needs!

• Publication Records: You should know who has your work and all of the details surrounding its publication. This is your baby after all. You've worked hard on your writing and you don't want to lose track of your accomplishments and your pieces. This spreadsheet is also great for keeping tabs on the things that you've submitted. Sometimes it can take months for a journal or publisher to get back to you, and you don't want to forget about it or lose track of who to contact about your submission. You may also want to submit somewhere else and depending on the type of journal you've submitted to, submissions to other places while you're waiting may not be allowed.
• Submission Ideas: Every writer needs to keep putting their work out into the world. Your stuff deserves to be read! That's why every once in a while I take a day to research journals that I'm interested in submitting to. I use this spreadsheet to keep track of any important information that I find, like links to their website, submission guidelines, copyright agreements, and due dates for submissions or writing contests. I also like to use this spreadsheet to brainstorm pieces that might be good fits for each journal.
• Character Reference Guide: If you have a novel with a large cast of characters or are working on a couple of projects at once, then this spreadsheet can come in handy. Character traits should stay consistent throughout a story. If your main character's blue eyes suddenly turn to green halfway through the story, it could undermine your reader's trust in you as a storyteller. This is easily avoidable. Use this spreadsheet as your reference guide for all of those little appearance or personality details. So that when you're writing and you forget whether their eyes are blue or green, you don't have to guess or read through your entire novel to find out. This spreadsheet also forces you to focus on giving every character, even the side characters, a fully formed persona. Not to mention all of the story ideas that can pop up just by creating an intriguing character.

Whether it's from work, stress, or exhaustion, sometimes your creativity well runs dry. I realized just a couple of weeks ago that my story idea inventory was getting low. I didn't have enough creativity to think of new ideas, but I was able to fall back on a few tips to spur my writing brain back into action.

So if you've run out of ideas or are just on the lookout for new ways to inspire your writing, some of these tips may be for you too.

• Research a new genre. Sometimes all it takes is writing in a format you've never tried before to get the ideas flowing. What if that old novel idea of yours was turned into a graphic novel? A serial? Interactive fiction? A collection of short stories?
• If you're a history buff like me, I get inspired by looking at old photos or reading up on different historical time periods. I've saved my favorite pictures on my Pinterest boards.
• Other people are a great way to get new ideas, whether it's brainstorming with a friend or reading someone else's work. Pick up that book you've been meaning to read or peruse some writing articles to better your craft.
• Writing prompts never go out of style. Resurrect the old school activity of taking a picture prompt and free writing about it. Need some ones to get started? I've saved my favorite writing prompts and articles on my "Writing Corner" Pinterest board.
• Listen to music. If you had to write a story to go along with a certain song, what would it be? Visit my blog, Inspirational Writing Music, to find links to my favorite writing tunes.
• Research your own life. What were funny or pivotal moments in your life? Any interesting relatives or family history? What's your heritage and how has it made you who you are?

Hopefully if your writing well has been dry, these few tips will help you tap into a new source for ideas. Best of luck!