Storm the gates! Storm the castle! Storm the… brain?
How brainstorming can pave the way to your success in creative writing.
There are many tools available to improve or enhance the creative process. Of course these improvements and modifications to the process look different for everyone, especially since there are so many mediums to use and platforms to create on. There is one in particular though that I had not taken seriously, until I took an online course for storytelling.
There was a portion of the curriculum that dealt with this weird thing where you write nonsense for fifteen minutes — words, phrases, names, objects, places. The second phase was to re-read it for half an hour.
Having the busy schedule that I have made that seem like a complete waste of my time.
All I can say is, never underestimate the random firing of neurons at work.
“The sorcery and charm of imagination, and the power it gives to the individual to transform his world into a new world of order and delight, makes it one of the most treasured of all human capacities.”
— Frank Barron
When I began writing my own content (prior to the online course I took), I wrote the first two paragraphs before I did anything else. No nonsense, no planning, I just wrote what I wanted. I didn’t think about anything ahead of time — I simply went for it.
Wall…
Wall…
Wall…
Cramps…
I had realized what I wanted shortly after I wrote those paragraphs. I wanted to create an epic that would span my lifetime. That idea was the epitome of biting off more than one could chew.
It was like when you’re at the gym, and you see the small group of really buff dudes yelling and making a scene for attention. Of course you lend them some, because it’s the most exciting thing going on during an otherwise boring workout routine. You notice that they are taking turns trying to lift a bar full of as many plates as are available on the rack.
Pfff. These guys. Silly.
While this is obviously unsafe for them, it is potentially unsafe for those around them, and also accomplishes nothing. Not a single one of those guys is going to lift that weight, let alone with proper form so that it improves their already bolstered physique. It was impossible for them to accomplish what they were trying to do — unless they attacked it differently and changed the scenario.
By removing six plates or so, they would be able to achieve improved success in their workouts and gain benefit from it. But what do I know?
Those two paragraphs that I wrote for my story sat in the same state for about two weeks before I could approach them again. I needed to change my writing methods, or I would have a hard time becoming a writer, and I would definitely never finish my book, let alone an epic novel saga.
I figured I could use some livening up. Since I was just beginning this writing journey, I knew there was a myriad of knowledge out there about writing that I needed to gain.
During the online course, I created a very short story about a pirate with a secret — a secret that made him different from most people, not just other pirates. I had juiced the idea ahead of time, knowing that I would likely be required to come up with some original content. It was a storytelling course after all, and I was excited about it hitting the page.
The first half of the course however had different plans for my story.
‘Brainstorm’, they said. ‘Develop’, they said. I didn’t want to do that… I wanted to get my ideas onto the page! (Come to find out that’s just terrible writing form — shame on me). I sighed as I sat down to perform the dreaded brainstorm.
What good was this really going to do? This is dumb.
Oh, how wrong I was.
“Creativity consists of coming up with many ideas, not just that one great idea.”
— Charles Thompson
I didn’t know it at the time, but it was the single most important detail that supercharged my thought process and allowed me to produce more innovation for my content in a single afternoon than I had for weeks prior.
So, here’s the method to the madness:
Grab a notebook or sheet of paper and a writing utensil that does not have keys on it. You could use your computer if you really want to, but I recommend the old-fashioned way for this step. There is something powerful about the connections your mind makes when you link your writing hand to your ideas.
Set yourself up for a strict amount of time. 15 or 20 minutes should do it. Feel it out, maybe you want more time, maybe you received plenty of inspiration with less. Sometimes it depends on the day and how you are feeling.
Take a specific area of your content that you know needs some assistance or development, and analyze it for that amount of time. Overanalyze it. Just jot down whatever comes to mind, no matter what it looks or sounds. A lot of times it won’t even be related to the content itself. Please, just do yourself the favor and try it.
Once you’ve reached your time limit, stare at it. It’s revolutionary, trust me.
Study the chaos that you’ve scribbled, in your fervent effort to produce vast output before the time limit ended. Give it about 30 to 40 minutes to really let the juices flow. Let it sink in. Some of it will be useless to you, yes. But it doesn’t have to be useless in general.
You will make some connections between thoughts that you might not have ordinarily arrived at. You may have created a new character concept, themed city or type of food for your lore out of nowhere. You may have surpassed a writer’s block that you’ve been fighting for ages.
You see? That wasn’t so bad, was it?
What you have done is more than simply apply a few minutes of your time to brain exercises. You have broken through a barrier that haunts most writers and have successfully surfaced on the other side with a degree of success. Remember, measuring your progress isn’t a matter of how successful you become or even how much progress you make, but whether you made progress, period. So, here comes the big question:
Did you?
Do you feel the burn? Did you gain something from this exercise, even if it only added minor details to your content?
If your project is important to you, your mind should feel flexed, and that’s a good thing. It will sharpen it for your future endeavors and help you with brainstorming and content creation in future sessions. Like the cool breeze on your sweaty skin after a long run, the feeling of accomplishment and hot muscles should make you feel great about your writing. Keep it up!
What tactics work for you when you are stuck in the muck? Have you had any epiphanies in the development of your own content that helped you overcome an obstacle? Shout out with your workout routine!
