Writing Brainstorm Starters

Three Instant Ways to Get Your Creativity Going

By Wanda Leibowitz, published Nov 28, 2006
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A writing brainstorm is a great way to get over writer’s block, come up with a brand new idea for a piece, or just stretch your mind. In a writing brainstorm, you wake up the creative centers of your mind so that you can come up with great ideas that wouldn’t otherwise occur to you. This makes it a perfect tool for any scribe from a poet to a journalist. No matter what your preferred format is, a writing brainstorm can help you see the possibilities of the written word with new eyes.  Read on to learn writing brainstorm basics, and three practical techniques to start a brainstorm and help you do your freshest, most original work.

Writing Brainstorm Basics
For the most basic writing brainstorm, just write for a while without censoring or judging any of the thoughts that come to you, no matter how silly they seem. When you come back to your writing later, you’re bound to discover a few gems. The only difficult thing about a writing brainstorm is figuring out how to get going. A great starter for a writing brainstorm shakes up your thought processes so that you glide right over your usual obstacles, question your normal assumptions, and push the limits of your creativity to come up with some truly unusual ideas. Read on, and try out these NUMBER practical writing brainstorm starters. Any one of them takes just a few minutes, and can unlock a writing brainstorm that brings you your next great idea!

Takeaways
  • Concentrating on non-verbal expression can help you get hungry for the chance to write.
  • Try distracting your inner "censor" by putting on some music or a movie, and let the ideas flow.
  • Take a cue from the famous poet Tristan Tzara and do a "cut-up" to refresh your mind.
Did You Know?
Most periods of writer's block lasts between an hour and a week in duration. The longest case on record was when novelist Henry Roth felt creatively stumped for sixty years!
Resources
  • For some fun and a new perspective on the creative process, check out the homepage for artist Sheryl Oring's installation "Writer's Block."
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