Writing Process: Brainstorming Techniques
Managing a brainstorming session can assist you in coming up with fresh and original thoughts for your writing initiatives and tasks. Recognizing the advantages of generating ideas for writing and the numerous brainstorming methodologies can enable you to establish yourself as a writer. In this post, we define brainstorming, discuss its advantages, and provide a collection of brainstorming strategies for writers.
What is brainstorming?
Brainstorming is the method of coming up with new ideas or fixing issues. You can have some ideas as part of a group or on your own. Throughout a brainstorming session, participants generate a summary of random solutions to a specific problem. Then they settle on a single solution to the issue. Independent brainstorming sessions allow you to develop thoughts using different approaches. In any situation, brainstorming allows you to recognize a wide range of ideas and discover connections between them before arriving at a reasonable alternative.
Advantages of brainstorming for writing
Brainstorming can help you as an author in a variety of ways, regardless of the topic you’re focusing on. It essentially helps to evaluate a range of ideas and notions before beginning your next writing assignment. Here are some of the advantages of brainstorming for writing;
Reduces stress
You’re less probable to run out of thoughts in the middle of writing if you keep a brainstorming discussion. As a result, brainstorming not only saves you precious time afterward, but it can also assist ease the anxiety of not recognizing what to write.
Gets thoughts out soon
When you generate ideas early in the writing process, you have time to explore every idea that comes to mind before you begin writing. It will allow you to decide which idea strikes a chord with you the most, allowing you to use your time.
Facilitate organization
Thinking about a range of concepts before you begin writing lets you choose which topics are more essential than others or which should come first. As a result, brainstorming advances arrangements for the writing process.
Brainstorming Methods for writing
As an author, you have several brainstorming approaches at your disposal. Incorporating these methods can assist you to focus on a specific topic and improve your general skill. Here are some of the brainstorming strategies for writing;
Free writing
Allowing your views and ideas to flow freely onto a blank page or your computer monitor is a brainstorming strategy. Allocate a brief amount of period to only write and enter pages or files during that time. Fill in the blanks with whatever comes to mind. Instead of thinking about spelling or other grammar mistakes, concentrate on jotting as many thoughts as you can.
Looping
Looping is an extension of the free writing tactic. This process includes moving in “loops” from one free writing assignment to the next. For instance, conduct a 5-10 minute free writing activity and then proceed on to something else until you have a few free writing items. Finally, go over your distinctive ideas or words. Throughout this process, you might come across one of your recurring thoughts that you’d like to follow in an upcoming writing project.
Charts or shapes
Consider generating charts, graphs, and tables rather than a list of texts to discover different writing concepts if you have a graphic mind. For instance, you may use specific expressions or phrases relevant to the subject and organize them spatially in diverse manners, like in a diagram or grid. These spatial depictions can assist you in discovering connections between your thoughts.
Word banks
Consider generating or utilizing a word bank if you need a different phrase for your next writing task. Word banks are collections of words organized according to the term you require for your writing subject. This brainstorming approach allows you to discover words related to your subject matter without constantly adding similar words across your project.
Clustering
Clustering allows you to investigate how your thoughts integrate. When you’re out of ideas, compose a single subject in the center of a page. Then, emphasize the topic and consider an associated topic or concept associated with the core subject. Next, come up with another idea linked to the one you just came up with. Repeat these stages once you have a collection of concepts in the web-like document that stems from a central theme. Clustering allows you to perceive your writing ideas in a new graphic pattern. Find fascinating groupings of ideas and utilize the core terms for each as a beginning point for your upcoming writing task or project.
Objective and audience
Know the intent of your writing throughout your upcoming brainstorming process. Recognize what you like to accomplish, such as if you would like to notify or define something. Take into account your writing’s intended audience as well. Engage with your audience, what they require to understand, what they already comprehend, and the rational flow of details they require. It can assist you in narrowing down what you want to incorporate in your writing.
Listing
Apply the listing technique if you want to write about a specific topic or idea. Compiling a list of terms and phrases relevant to the subject you would like to write about is the listing strategy. For instance, while writing fiction stories, you can make a summary of specifics, storylines, or characters to add to your project. Make a point of not highlighting your future writing subject. When you’re finished with your list, group any list items together logically and title every group. And, for every group, form a statement to generate a subject or topic you would like to enhance. Expand on the topic statements to get a wider picture.
Journalistic queries
When looking for a fresh story concept or angle for an existing story, question yourself the five W’s and one H questions. These are the following: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Dependent on these questions, develop topic thoughts and perspective angles. With these queries, you can also decide how to approach each topic. For instance, write every question on a separate piece of paper and respond to each one in connection to your subject. Then, go over your responses to see which one you understand more or less. Make use of this to generate new writing thoughts. As such, continue to study and expand on ideas or aspects of expertise.
Researching
Think of going to your local library or writing facility to look through reference materials such as dictionaries or manuals. These publications can help you with your writing assignments by providing you with extra information. Assemble any details you can about existing or previous events relevant to the subject and utilize them to help you create your writing project.
Cubing
The cubing approach involves viewing your subject from six multiple angles or instructions. Write down your topic and explain, correlate, connect, analyze, apply it, and argue for and against it. Examine what you posted and see if any of your replies provide new insights into your writing topic. Distinguish any trends or topics you notice between the six paths and employ these strategies in your next writing.