Brainstorming is a useful tool to have up your sleeve. The best time to exercise this is when you are trying to think of a new project to start, or if you get stuck on a project you're currently working on.

So today we're talking about how to brainstorm.

Method 1: Get it All Out

Our first method is the "get it all out" method. This is where you sit down and just write every idea that comes to your head. It could be a plot, it could be a tiny piece of worldbuilding, it could be just a character concept - get it all down. There's no 'bad' ideas at this stage.

One thing to keep in mind with this method: you do have to write it down. It may be tempting to just think through ideas and write down your favorites, but that isn't what the exercise is for. You never know what tiny crumb of an idea is going to be the thing that helps move you forward. Write it down: we can sort through it later.

Method 2: Mindless Tasks

I used to write a lot more when I was in high school. Why? Because I was tuning out math class by daydreaming. If you are the kind of writer that gets their best ideas in the shower, or while driving, cooking dinner, going on long walks - that is your hint that your brainstorming sessions lie in mundane tasks. Practice keeping a notebook nearby or having your phone record you talking out loud. (Just make sure you're being safe, especially while driving please!)

It wouldn't be a bad idea to those mundane times as a resource. Recently I got stuck on how I wanted a character's backstory to go and my first step to figuring it out was: "I'm going to go take a shower". It might feel counter-intuitive to walk away from my word document but I know I'll have thoughts in the shower that help me work through the questions.

Method 3: Rubber Duck Theory

This method is for specifically when you get stuck. Stop and explain your plot or character dilemma to something like a rubber duck: something that is just sitting there blankly for you to talk at.

Sometimes you'll find that just explaining and talking through the situation, you stumble upon an answer.

Those are three methods I use. How do you best brainstorm?

Happy writing,

Marina

Yesterday I brainstormed. Nothing new, I’ve been doing this for 20 years. What was new was the team’s amazing positivity. The room was filled with excitement and encouragement. The process was inclusive and engaging. The result was creative, fulfilling and infectious. 

All too often, brainstorming turns into a ‘no-can-do’ session. Ideas are killed before sentences finish leaving lips leaving the room hesitant and discouraged. Too often the ‘leader’ of the brainstorm has entered with the decision of the direction prior to the process even beginning. Worse is when a ‘leader’ enters with a ‘so, what do you have for me’. A brainstorm is supposed to be the sharing of collective ideas and opportunities, not a quiz - right?

To prevent your next brainstorm from turning into an idea rejection chamber, consider the following tips:

1.     Assign a captain – more important than this person being in a position of ‘power’ is that this person be outgoing, social and a natural guide. The pulse of the captain sets the tone for the rest of the group. The captain should be well versed in the project scope so that they can properly direct the team into a realm of thought that is on target.

2.     Define the goal – how will the success of this project be measured? Understanding the elements that will deem the solution a success sets the guidelines to a successful concept.

3.     Share information in advance – most brainstorms aren’t surprises. It is important to share critical project, competitive and industry research BEFORE the session. It allows the team to not only become familiar with the assignment but to enter the room with ideas. The brainstorm energy should be used towards brainstorming – not information absorption.

4.     All ideas count – this is a brainstorm. Not an exam. All ideas should be thrown onto a wall – which becomes a visual brainstorm. Too often an shared idea, that could have triggered ideas to yield five new ones, gets rejected thus ending its ability to evolve. It’s a brainstorm. Not a rejection-storm.

5.     Build from inspiration – we can all name a few ideas competitors have done that made us say ‘wow’. The trick here is not to mimic a successful execution but to learn from it. What was so ‘wow’ about it. What elements took that solution from the ordinary to the extraordinary? That process could provide the foundation of thought to take existing ideas into that realm.

6.     Invite a newbie – when the same team continuously discusses the same brand/product/item – the discussions run the risk of turning into a scene from Groundhog Day (it repeats). Invite one person from another project team to sit in on a brainstorm. It offers a jolt of fresh thought and fresh energy.

7.     Set a time limit – a three-hour brainstorm doesn’t yield three hours of ideas. It takes one hour of ideas and painfully drags the process into what feels like after-school detention (I’ve never had detention – its based on what I’ve heard). Set a time limit. It keeps the team in focus as they understand they have a set amount of time to yield an expected outcome.

8.     Nix Negative Nelly – some will embrace this format, some live on a diet of of snide comments and idea slashing. Remove this person from the process – forever. Try as we may, we all know people are who people are. Assuming this person is on the team because they do bring some level of merit, consider inviting this person to a streamlining session. This is the time spent sorting through the wall of ideas to identify ideas worthy of expansion. Perhaps then their idea slashing sword can be put to good use.

This process is tough to argue (except for Negative Nelly). The contrast of a positive brainstorm session to a critical one is obvious even to the greenest of team members. It is quickly embraced because it truly does yield better results. The more you practice it, the quicker it will evolve into part of your brainstorming DNA.