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!