The Unemployed Writer

Brainstorming? Oh man, boring. I know that’s what you’re thinking, but it’s not so bad. No really, just hang around for a minute or two. This can be fun if you make it fun. Besides you’ve got your confidence and your idea firmly intact, so what can go wrong

Brainstorming is an age old generalization that really just means “I go write random shit down until something good comes out”. In fact that’s what I like to say to people. I’m gonna write random shit down until something good comes out. Good ol’ IGWRSDUSGCO. How could you forget that? It’s a necessary step in almost every creative process unless you happen to be a master genius of your craft, in which case stop reading my writing right now.

There’s no where to start on this one. It’s an acquired artform, much like the rest of the process, but more so because everyone does it different. But there are a few basics that I can throw your way that everyone should remember.

First off, don’t ever actually stop brainstorming. You should have a list or a notebook in which you write down random ideas anyways. Just carry that around with you and instead of thinking on the world at large, just think on your story idea.

Think smaller, not big picture. The big picture is intact at this point. Pardon me for a second while I dilute myself to a corny circus metaphor, but imagine your novel as the entire circus. You just thought of the idea, which is a plan of sorts, saying where things will go. Now you need to brainstorm. You don’t start putting the circus together by putting up the main tent and then sliding poles underneath it. You need to think a bit. Where can the tigers go that they won’t eat the horses. Where will the carnies sleep. Where will the patrons wait in line. All of the details have to be thought out first, then you put the big tent up.

Same idea here. Think of the little stuff. Who’s your main character? Background? Motivation? Hopes and dreams. If she could have one wish what would it be. To be Ms. American Teen Princess…..anyways, you get the idea. Write from the inside out. Like cooking a turkey.

Keep it organized while your at it. If you don’t, you’ll find that all your awesome ideas are incredibly hard to find. Number pages in your notebook and keep a small chart on the back two pages with a table of contents saying what you’re doing on different pages. It’s a little time consuming, but trust me it’s worth it when all you need is to find the nationality you decided to make the next door neighbor’s hair dresser and you have to read through 80 pages of randomly scribbled notes.

Freewriting. Don’t just think of ideas and write them down. Try spitting out random thought after random thought in succession. It’s a great exercise anyways, but even better when you have a starting point. You’ll weed out a large portion of what you write as mindless excrement, but there’s always a few gems to be found.

Most of all don’t forget that it’s an open process. Don’t get stuck in routine. If you have an interesting method or idea, say slapping random words on a white board or taking character names from your DVD collection, go for it. Writers get to be as eccentric as they want. Comes with the meager pay and hungry winters.