Saturday, April 2, 2011

B is for Brainstorming

This  challenge is harder than I thought it was going to be! Just coming up with topics... Maybe I'm just lame though.


Anyhow, brainstorming!

"Brainstorming is easy. All you need is a little electricity, some mental fog, just to set the mood..." -my roommate

I do most of my brainstorming in bed at 2/3 o'clock in the morning. It doesn't include any electricity, but it's no wonder I have a hard time getting to sleep. But there's something about trying to get to sleep that just brings out all the ideas. Lucky me I have a notebook by my bed to write down ideas. Though half the time I'll feel lazy and tell myself I'll remember my idea in the morning... and never do.

I've come up with some of my best stuff that early in the morning. Like I needed an idea for the new beginning of the novel I'm editing because one of the characters drastically changed from the beginning to the next time we see him. I had the hardest time coming up with an idea that wouldn't call for a complete re-write of the first 50 pages. But then one night, while laying in bed and trying to fall asleep, I came up with it! And it changed nothing but the conversation! The setting was the same, the characters was the same, the scene ended the same, it was just the conversation that needed to be re-written.

I also come up with ideas while listening to music. Certain songs, or even an album, will spark a full idea for a novel. I love moments like that.

So, what do you guys do when/where do you brainstorm? What works for you?


Laters!

4 comments:

  1. I don't really sit down to purposefully brainstorm. I do often find myself more full of ideas when I'm unable to write, i.e. I'm stuck at work or something :D But the ideas just seem to come randomly. I don't do flow charts or butcher's paper spreads or anything :D

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  2. I found you through the A-Z Challenge.
    gigglelaughcry.blogspot.com

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  3. Sometimes the best ideas come to us when we're thinking of nothing at all. Oh, and a tape recorder might work for those middle of the night great ideas. he,he
    I found you with the 'surprise me' button. Great start on the A to Z Challenge. I'm a new follower and would love to have you check out my take on the Challenge, comment and follow if you'd like.
    I'm at:
    http://oaklawnimages.blogspot.com/
    Kathy at Oak Lawn Images

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  4. I use brainstorming quite a lot when revising for exams and just writing down general ideas really, it is a rather useful tool to use. Although we have to call it mindmapping as apparently its not right to call it brainstorming, which is abit stupid.

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