def METHOD_NAME(self):
    """Return a dict representation for storing in yaml"""
    out = {'name': self.name, 'layout': self.layout, 
           'plots': [{'plot': p.id(), 
                      'category': p.category_name, 
                      'parameters': p.parameters} if p is not None else {'plot': 'empty'} for p in self.plots]}
    if self.layout == 'grid':
        out['grid_width'] = self.grid_width
    return out