10 Brainstorming Techniques to Boost Your Writing Skills
Free writing
Set aside some time for writing and spend that time just writing and filling out pages or word-processing documents. Focus on writing down as many ideas as you can by the end of your allotted time.
Looping
Take the freewriting technique one step further with looping. In this method, you move from one free writing exercise to the next in a "loop". During this process, you may discover one of your recurring ideas that you want to pursue in your future writing project.
Charts or Shapes
If you have a visual mind, consider creating charts, graphs, and tables instead of lists of phrases to explore new writing ideas. These spatial representations can help you find connections between your thoughts.
Word Bank
If you are looking for a variety of words for your next writing project, consider creating or using a word bank. Word banks are groups of words based on essential words for your writing topic.
Clustering
Clustering gives you the ability to find out how your ideas connect. When you run out of ideas, write a single topic in the middle of the page. Then, highlight the topic and think of a related topic or idea and connect it to the central theme.
Purpose and audience
During your next brainstorming session, consider the purpose of your writing. Also, consider the audience for your writing. Doing this can help you figure out what you want to share in your writing.
Listing
The listing technique involves making a list of words or phrases related to the topic you want to write about. When you're done with your list, group any list items together in a logical way and create a title for each group.
Journalistic Questions
When you're looking for a new story idea or angle for a particular story, ask yourself the five W's and ones H's of journalism. Generate topic ideas and possible angles based on these questions.
Research
Consider visiting a local library or writing center to browse reference texts such as dictionaries or guidebooks. Using these books can give you additional information related to your writing projects.
Cubing
With the cubing technique, you approach your topic from six different angles or directions. Write your topic on a piece of paper and describe, compare, associate, analyze, apply , and argue both for and against it.