Brainstorming For Ideas

When I was little I wondered how rain was formed. I remember coming up with the solution that “God held out a big bucket of water and released it upon the earth”. As myopic as this belief is am certain a few of us believed this concept back then, lol. Well we grew up and science taught us how rain is formed. The steams on earth evaporates to the atmosphere which in turn forms cloud. When the cloud is heavy it let’s down as rain.

Brainstorming could be likened to rain. Just as the vapour evaporates from earth and forms the cloud, so also ideas are gotten from around you to the cloud, which is your mind. When this idea is fully framed it rains down as products or as a content writer. However, brainstorming is forcing the rain of idea to fall by conscious inducement. Simply put it is the process of generating ideas.

Brainstorming can be done individually or as a group. In this episode, I would be discussing this two processes.

Brainstorming as an individual

To start brainstorming as an individual you need to get familiar with yourself. Where does you inspiration come from? What time or place do you normally draw inspiration? These questions are vital. Or are you spontaneous like myself. Ideas flowing at will, when I take a walk, listen to a song or even see something. Irrespective of how the inspiration comes the process of brainstorming remains the same.

First step is Build your Cloud.

Your cloud is your storage. It can’t rain if there is no vapour in the cloud. For effective brainstorming spend time to build your storage. When you have decided what you want to write about, spend time learning about that subject. Ideas are generated from what you already know. Whenever you feel blank or trying to write but just can’t flow, it’s a pointer that your cloud is empty. Fill it with books and other relevant materials.

Second step is Have a container.

When it starts to rain if you don’t collect it, it evaporates once more. It would be a waste of time if you are not able to store the ideas that fall. Once ideas start dropping, don’t waste time, get a notepad or something to write with and start writing. Don’t stop until the flow stops. At the initial stage the ideas would appear crude and unpleasant, write it down still. With time it would be refined.

Third step is Waiting for it.

The rain sometimes doesn’t come in a hurry. There are times it starts as droplets while at other times it rains cats and dogs. When you start brainstorming don’t expect all the ideas you need to fall at a go, sometimes it does but most times it doesn’t. Don’t feel discouraged when it doesn’t come speedily. As you engage in it constantly it would become a normal way of life.

Brainstorming as a Group

The whole concept of InkGeniusng was born in a group brainstorming session. One idea gave birth to several others. As the famous saying goes “two or more good heads are better than one”. Get involved in brainstorming sessions with fellow writers even none writers as well. Instead of spending all your chat time discussing about random stuffs why not brainstorm about the content you want to publish?! In brainstorming as a group two things should be noted(it could be more)

One. Create an atmosphere for brainstorming session.

Intentional and deliberately initiate a session. Are you writing and you got stuck or you just can’t get started? One of the best ways to get ideas is to initiate a session. Ideas follow the direction of those seeking it. You could ask a question, for instance, I intend writing about a particular food (well don’t know why it came to mind) and am stuck, I simply message a friend, “bro am writing something about jollof rice, how is it prepared?” this just kicked started a brainstorming session. As simple as A. B. C. His reply leads me to ask one more question which leads to yet another. If am not satisfied enough, I resend the message to another friend and the circle starts all over. At the end of the day, an article is just a step away. That is the power of brainstorming as a group. But a lot of people fail to utilize this.

Two. Know your Circle.

Imagine I want to learn the art of flying an airplane, instead of going to meet a trained pilot, I consulted a pharmacist. Would I be able to fly?  Of course not possible. Flying an aircraft is not her field, however even if the pharmacist knows how to fly, that knowledge can’t be compared to the one coming from a pilot. Brainstorming as a group is similar to this. There are topics that are general, like the jollof rice but there are others that are specific and tactical. For you to get effective results, identify your circle before joining the brainstorming. For instance, don’t expect to see me brainstorming with scientist on molecules and balancing of chemical equations, it would be a futile exercise. To save time and energy chose wisely and stick to it.

Brainstorming is crucial if you intend to create contents. Spend time to carry it out. Constantly feed your cloud. Don’t just stay idle, read books, listen to tapes and videos that are pertaining to the kind of contents you intend creating. Know your strength and source of inspiration, they are effective for brainstorming.

What key factors work best for you about brainstorming and do you agree with the ideas raised in this post.

This was written by  who blogs at Young But Gifted. He’s a published writer, teacher, penpreneur and a motivational guru. Connect with him for more awesome posts.