How I Use FileMaker #2

And here’s the second way I use FileMaker Pro… as a database to house all my book information — character names and attributes, lexicon, location names, etc. The database isn’t complete yet, but this will save me so much time when I need to go back and find a character’s eye color or back history or if I’ve used the character name already.

This is the book list. Similar to the book list in my royalties report but not related. I didn’t want to futz with trying to tie the two together and it’s not like it takes much to fill in the information.

Click the Book Info button and the database flips to a new layout (pretty, huh?) with the book’s copyright information.

Click the Full Info button and now I have all the copyright info (yes, I know it’s redundant but I did it like that anyway) along with a list of characters, lexicon (I love creating words), locations, and settings (basically world notes).

If I want to know more about a particular character, I click the Info button next to their name. This page tells me all the books where this character has appeared, the character’s descriptions, and any back history or notes about the character.

And finally the Go To Character List button takes me to a full list of my characters. Easy, at-a-glance reference for which names I’ve used.

So that’s my setup. Again, something of a PITA to get started but a MAJOR life and time saver once I have all my books entered. I plan to revisit many of the worlds I’ve created. The trip will take a lot less time if I don’t have to re-read an entire novel to get reacquainted with my worlds and my characters.