Brainstorming Tips

Whether you write short stories or the next great epic novel, certain brainstorming activities can spur creativity.  The next time you need some new ideas, try these tips.

1.     Quantity matters. Gather lots of ideas, more than you’ll use; keep an open mind to all ideas; press on to get as many as possible; this will stretch your mind and take you to places you might not go otherwise

2.     No judging during brainstorming. There are no bad ideas here, no wrong ones.

3.     Write everything down. This validates the idea and keeps you from forgetting it. After all you may use it later.

4. Build on other ideas and tweak the ones you have.

5. Use randomness. When brainstorming, try landing your finger on a random page in the dictionary or encyclopedia. This may take you in a direction you never considered before.

6. Brainstorm with a friend. The old Biblical advice of “two are better than one” applies here!

7. Swap ideas. Sometimes the first ideas are cliché. Swapping ages or traits may take you in a unique direction.

Let me show you how that last one can generate ideas.

Protagonist:               Female 40                  Nurse

Antagonist:                Male 20                     Professional singer              

Now let’s see what we come up with when we swap some of these:

Protagonist                Male 40                      Nurse

Antagonist                 Female 20                  Professional singer

Swapping a few of the traits came make a huge difference.

Here are some other traits to include in the characterization, but don’t forget to swap some!

Mannerisms

Physical Impairments or Enhancements

Quirks

Religious Beliefs

Hobbies

Accent, Speed of Speech

Talents

Personality Traits

What other ideas do you use for brainstorming? Please share with us!