We all have our own way of writing mnemonics, so this is just a suggestion. Perhaps it will make sense to some -- others may find it ridiculous. : )

In the past, I read Tuttles, "Learning Chinese Characters." They had a good plan for remembering the tones in our mnemonic stories. Just include a specific type of person for each tone:

First Tone: tell a story about a giant
Second Tone: tell a story about a fairy
Third Tone: tell a story about a Teddy Bear
Fourth Tone: tell a story about a dwarf

I don't use this method all the time, but sometimes it fits easily, is fun to picture in my head, thus making it a bit easier to remember.

I used Tuttle for my first several months of studying characters. While their method is logically sound, I hated their mnemonics, and stuck to using the book for their study order, stroke order diagrams, and definitions (the latter are often lacking, though, due to their excessive simplicity). However, I believe bart uses Tuttle's system for his shared mnemonics, so you'll run into some. Once there are enough mnemonics in the system, it'll be great to have Tuttle-themed mnemonics for most characters so that the users who like Tuttle can choose to see Tuttle-style mnemonics when they study.

OK this explains some of the insane mnemonics I've been running into... stuff that made me kind of worried for people's sanity.

Well, if we're honest, we're all a little insane to begin with -- if we have the nerves/patience/audacity to study Chinese. : )