Objective
In this lesson, you will learn how to use brainstorming to
find, sort, and develop ideas for an essay.
Introduction
Imagine that you are ten years old. You lie on your back next to 2 or 3 other
friends, and you all look up at the clouds in the sky. You remark that one of
the clouds looks like a horse riding through the sky. "It looks like a
horse with the head of rabbit!" one of your friends responds. Another person
chimes in: "No, it has two humps. See? And there is the same kind of animal
right behind it. It must be a caravan of camels moving through the desert!"
You and your friends are off and running wild with your imaginations, seeing
all sorts of creatures and objects in the passing clouds and constructing stories
about them.
Can you remember a similar sort of experience when you let your imagination
run free? If so, you were brainstorming. And even if you were just being silly,
you probably came up with some new and surprising ideas! Because brainstorming
allows for freedom of thought and often jump-starts imaginative activity, brainstorming
can be a really helpful way to develop ideas for your writing.
What is brainstorming?
Brainstorming taps into aspects of creative thinking that we too often push
aside when we sit down to write. Has this scenario ever happened to you? You
have to come up with a topic to discuss in a paper or in class, but you tell
yourself with every idea, "That thought is silly! It's not 'serious' enough.
It would never work!" In other words, we spend a lot of time censoring
or editing ourselves. However, brainstorming depends on an different assumption:
that "silly" ideas often lead to good and interesting ideas (like
those of the cloud-watchers described above).
While there are various brainstorming techniques, they usually involve the same
basic process: the use of "free association" that is, of a spontaneous
flow of ideas. The trick is to let thoughts run their own course in order to
build or better yet, spark new and interesting ideas and images.
[Ideally, brainstorming occurs by talking with others, but you can also brainstorm
on your own. Since most of the time you'll probably brainstorm on your own,
this lesson focuses on individual techniques. However, there are some suggestions
for group brainstorming at the end of the section.]
Basic rules for brainstorming
1. Quantity over quality: The point of brainstorming is to generate
as many creative ideas as possible in order to come away with one or more
really useful ideas in the end. Think fast and keep idea short. You can always
flesh out details later.
- Every idea is a good idea: If the main point of brainstorming is to spark
as many ideas as possible as a way of developing strong concepts for your
writing, then every possibility has value, even those ideas that might initially
strike you as silly or outrageous. Withhold your judgment until later stages
of the process when you will go back and evaluate the list of points.
- Stranger can be better! In fact, not only should you withhold judgment
about seemingly outrageous ideas, you should encourage them when brainstorming.
After all, the strangest, most unfamiliar ideas might provide the best sparks!
Remember that the word "strange" refers something that is unfamiliar.
When you are trying to develop ideas for writing, unfamiliar, or new, points
are just what you want.
Putting the rules in motion: steps and strategies in the brainstorming
process
Brainstorming helps generate ideas, and you can follow some general
procedures to put your creativity in motion. However, an important part of the
process entails sorting through and evaluating your ideas.
1. The tabula rasa: Brainstorming begins with a blank slate.
Since the logic behind brainstorming is to develop free, or spontaneous, associations,
you need to begin the process on a literal and figurative "clean page."
- You will need some blank paper. Make sure that you have enough paper on
hand to record ideas as they keep coming. A bound notebook works well, but
loose pages can be even better since you will be able lay them side-by-side
or rearrange them in different orders when you are done so as to compare
and connect ideas.
- In addition to blank paper, you want to start with an open mind. Think
of your mind as a chalkboard that has just been wiped clean and it ready
to record all sorts of new ideas. Do not try to decide in advance what you
will put down on paper.
2. Set time limits for each session. It's a good idea to give yourself
a time limit before you begin. If you reach the end of your set time and you
find that you are still on a roll, you can always continue. But, in general,
there is a point at which you will be best served by stepping back and evaluating
the ideas you have generated. (Remember: you can always begin another session
when you are ready.) As you become more comfortable with the brainstorming
process, you will get a better idea of the session length that is most productive
for you. You might begin with sessions of fifteen minutes.
3. Free association. You have a pile of empty paper in front of you.
You have opened your mind to any and all ideas that pop up. You have set a
time limit for your brainstorming session. Now you are ready to go.
- Start with a main issue. You can begin your session by writing down a
basic issue or idea you want to address. For instance, you might summarize
the assignment or paper topic.
- Jot down thoughts quickly. And now, you're off and running! Write down
whatever comes to mind. You do not need to use complete sentences to record
your thoughts. Of course, one of the real thrills --and challenges!-- of
writing entails transforming thoughts into words so that you can communicate
ideas. But that part of the process comes later. Right now, the key is to
come up with ideas and to record them in an efficient manner.
- Try different patterns for recording your flow of ideas. It might seem
that the most logical way to jot down your ideas is by beginning at the
top and continuing down the page as thoughts come to you. That sort of "linear"
pattern is fine, but don't be afraid to try other techniques, like clustering
and drawing. (If you'd like to take a look at information about other invention
methods, go to Chapter 3, Lesson 3: Invention Methods.)
Instead of beginning at the top of the page, begin in the middle and develop
different clusters of associated ideas. And don't feel limited to words
and phrases. Use drawings or graphics if they help you to develop and remember
new ideas.
4. Evaluate and sort. This handbook includes sections that explain
some of the ways to develop ideas that you generate by evaluating, organizing,
and connecting them. (See Chapter 3, Lesson 15: Developing Ideas
and Lesson 17, Techniques for Expository Writing: Tools of the Trade.) Those techniques
can be used as part of the brainstorming process as well.
- In general, you want to take some time after each brainstorming session
to review your record of ideas. If you were lucky, you came up with some
new and interesting thoughts during your session. But, if not, do not worry:
now you have a chance to process your thoughts and to look for interesting
connections that you may not have initially recognized. As you look over
the list, your review might produce a whole new set of ideas.
- Mark up your record of thoughts: circle points that seem worth keeping;
cross out ideas that seem like dead ends; draw lines between points that
connect; move different sheets of paper around to see new juxtapositions
and relationships among different points; add new ideas and points as they
occur to you during markup.
5. Repeat. Now that you have generated some new and interesting ideas,
you may want to start a new brainstorming session beginning from a more focused
point.
A brainstorming example
Now that we have identified the general rules
and steps for brainstorming, let's look at an example of how the process might
work.
Let's say your assignment involves discussion of symbolism in F. Scott Fitzgerald's
novel, The Great Gatsby. How could you start to brainstorm?
Once you have gathered enough blank paper and have decided on a time limit
for your session, you might begin by putting the issue at the top or in the
center of a blank page:
Gatsby and symbolism
Now just let the associations flow and jot them down as they occur:
"mansions - cars -Daisy - daisies? - flowers? - 'gray land,' dust along
road - wasteland - eyes of Dr. Eckleburg - glasses, no nose - meaning of eyes
in wasteland? - are we always being watched"'….
As you can see, this process of free thinking and free association will lead
you to some real, solid ideas that you can use in your writing project. Once
you've brainstormed, review your work, and decide what you want to take with
you, one step beyond the initial brainstorming session. For example-- going
back to the Gatsby brainstorming session above-- you might decide that
the symbol of the glasses and the idea of "are we always being watched"
have the most potential. So, you might begin again, with this at the top of
your page. When you've finished, you'll find that you have a focus for your
essay (what the eyes symbolize in the novel), and it's possible you'll have
some central points around which to build your essay.
Exercise
If you have an essay assignment coming up, and you're not sure what to write
about, practicing the method of brainstorming will help you. Put some kind of
keyword or starting point at the top of your page. Now, using what you've learned
about brainstorming, give yourself a five-minute time frame, and begin to brainstorm.
After you've finished the first round, find the most compelling item on your
list, and begin again-- this time with that item at the top of a new page.
If you don't have an assignment, follow along with this example. Let's say
you have a research paper that is going to be due in a couple of months, and
the topic needs to relate-- in some way-- to the issue of information technology..
You have no idea what to do, and you don't have a topic in mind. Take five minutes,
and brainstorm. Then, begin again; use the most interesting item from your first
brainstorming session, and put that at the top of your page.
Summary
Although brainstorming might at first seem wasteful ("Why spend time and
energy recording ideas if I am going to discard most of them?"), the process
is usually well worth the effort. Brainstorming often leads to interesting,
strong ideas and to more organized writing. Even if brainstorming begins with
the 'chaos' of random associations, the process of sorting through and evaluating
the points helps identify and organize useful points.
  
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