How to bridge inspiration gaps with brainstorming

What is brainstorming?

Brainstorming is the process of coming up with new ideas, solutions, or questions. Before you begin writing, brainstorming can help give you an idea of where to start. Waiting around for inspiration to hit can cut into your precious writing time; by brainstorming intentionally, you’ll be able to use methods that fire up your creativity at a moment’s notice.

How brainstorming can improve your writing?

Some writers prefer coming up with their ideas as they write them down without planning ahead of time. Although this process works for some people, it can lead to unnecessary frustration and time-consuming edits. By making brainstorming your first step, you’ll save time in the end and have better control over how you incorporate your ideas. Knowing what you plan to write before you start makes the writing process easier and faster without sacrificing the quality of your work.

Brainstorming ideas and methods

Choose a brainstorming method that fits your preferred learning style and the topic of your writing. While you can use each method for the same topic, you might find yourself drawn to one or two. There’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to brainstorming—find what fits best for you and start putting your pen to paper.

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Lists and bullets

One of the easiest ways to start brainstorming is by writing down your ideas as you think of them. Add each word, phrase, or short sentence related to your topic to a bulleted or numbered list. You’ll likely end up with a good amount of filler words, but you’ll be able to narrow your list down to find the best ideas. Once you’ve created a thorough list, you can start using each bullet as a jumping-off point for your writing or try another brainstorming method to dig even deeper.

Free writing

Similar to creating a list of ideas, free writing is a way of brainstorming by writing down whatever ideas come to you in the moment. For effective free writing, put your thoughts into a narrative form. If you have trouble starting because of writer’s block, set a timer and make yourself write until the time ends. The first few sentences you write might not be eloquent, but as you continue to write down your thoughts, you might stumble on to your next brilliant idea.

Questions and answers

Once you’ve brainstormed some ideas for your writing, try coming up with questions to explore each idea even further. The questions you write down can be directed toward yourself or to a character in your writing. Answering these questions will help illuminate aspects of your writing you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.

Mind mapping

If you’re a visual learner, mind mapping might be the best brainstorming method for you. Start by putting your main idea or topic in a circle in the center of a piece of paper. Moving from the center, add more ideas that branch off from your main topic. From those secondary ideas, continue adding related ideas to form clusters. This brainstorming method helps form the eventual structure of a piece of writing by organizing ideas into groups.

Word association

Starting with a word related to your main topic, write down a second word that comes to mind. Look at your new word and come up with a word related to it, continuing this process until your run out of ideas. This method helps spark ideas by moving you in a slightly different direction with each step.

How to turn brainstorming into creative, impactful writing

Once you’ve worked through enough brainstorming methods to generate an abundance of ideas, you’re ready for the next step in your writing process. Transform your brainstorming session into a compelling draft by organizing your ideas into an outline. When you start writing your next piece, you’ll have a clear guide to follow throughout the process.