Gathering Ideas For Writing: Brainstorming

Posted by qpen on July 27, 2009

Previously, we discussed Keeping an Idea Book and Writing In A Journal and FreeWriting, today we will be discussing:

Brainstorming

Brainstorming means listing all the ideas that come to mind associated with at topic. The ideas can be listed as words, phrases, or even random sentences

Let your mind range freely, generating quantities of ideas before eliminating some. You can brainstorm in one concentrated session or over several days, depending on how much time is available.

Brainstorming has two steps:

You make a list, and then you try to find patterns in the list
You then group your list into categories

Set aside any items that do not fit into groups. If an area interests you but its list is thin, brainstorm on that area also.

If you run out of ideas, ask yourself questions to stimulate your thinking. You might try exploratory questions about the topic, such as:

What is it
What is it the same as
How is it different
Why or how does it happen
How is it done
What caused it or results from it
What does it look, smell, sound, feel or taste like

These are called Journalists Questions and by using them forces you to approach a topic from several different perspectives.

Next time we will be discussing: Mapping

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