BRAINSTORMING LIKE A BOSS - Techniques and Tools

A Writing Craft Workshop from RWA Conference 2019

Falguni Kothari and Nisha Sharma

What is brainstorming?

·       The process of generating creative ideas and solutions through intensive and freewheeling group discussions

·       The process can be as holistic or logical as you want it to be

·       Ideal will be to have a group to bounce ideas off, which is why critique groups and writer communities play such an important role in a writer’s career

Why is brainstorming important to writing?

·       Whether you’re writing your first manuscript or your 200^th book, every writer needs to come up with ideas

·        You need to have your brain firing on all cylinders at will because DEADLINES

·       You must have an idea of where to start, what comes in the middle and what happens at the end

·       Even if you’re pantsing, you must have rudimentary knowledge about your story, characters and setting, and of course, the plot

But what if you don’t have access yet to such groups, or have the time to reach out? How do you brainstorm when you’re alone?

Exercises (solo)

-        Write a letter to your main character

-        Interview a character in your story

-        Create a fight scene between your antagonist and protagonist without any dialog

-        Create your character’s genealogy

-        Start a Pinterest board that includes setting, character descriptions/clothing, and images that represent elements of conflict

-        Ask the question game. What if? Finish each ‘what if’ sentence with the opposite of what your character would want

-        Freewriting and Galumphing with a list of random words (noun, adjective, verb)

-        Read a poem and write a narrative that goes along with it

-        Occupy yourself with mindless activities like washing vessels, walking, showering and let your mind gallop free with ideas

Exercises (partner)

-        Write down a theme, a character, and a setting (thirty seconds), then switch with a partner. Free write using those elements for 5 minutes. Share your work

-        Pretend you are your character, going to a therapy session. Have your friend be the therapist and ask questions about your choices

-        Grab a packet of post its, and after sharing each other’s premises, write whatever words come to mind. Take turns writing on post its, going back and forth, and sticking them to a wall (or each other!) When you run out of words, gather them up, and use your post it pile as prompts

Technology Resources for Brainstorming

-        Scapple- an app by the creators of Scrivener

-        The Brainstormer- provides trigger words/situations/scenarios to help you get ‘unstuck’

-        Mindnode- a mind-mapping tool

-        Lists for writers- provides writer prompts and lists for brainstorming elements of a story

-        A novel idea- A place to write your ideas if you’re stuck in an inconvenient location

Printed Resources for Brainstorming

-        Fool-proof Outline- Christopher Downing

-        Ultimate Novel Planning Workbook- Worksheets for Writers

-        Writing the Breakout Novel- Workbook

-        GMC- Deb Dixon : a book for plotting and for elements of a novel, but can also be used to understand story (use this in tandem with the List for Writers app for best results!)

-        Fire up your writing Brain - Susan Reynolds

Falguni and Nisha’s Tips

-        Start with a character. Develop a character completely before writing a story. Free character guides are available online if you want to use a template (Google: ‘character sketch/template for novels’ to find the one that suits your needs)

-        Start with a setting. Google Maps, Pinterest again for bucket list locations, or local news

-        Start with the title. This one is a bit more organic that has to do with the concept you’re dreaming about

-        If you’re stuck in the middle of the story, back up 30 pages. You got off track 30 pages or less before the point of disaster. Rewriting from an earlier point will help you get control of your novel again

-        If you’re stuck halfway through, it’s also a good idea to remind yourself what your character’s goal, motivation, and conflict is. Create a Punnett square (or Google a GMC grid) and take some time to reflect on where you’d like to go

-        It’s also a good idea to think about what your character is most afraid of, or what would be the worst thing to happen to the couple in your story, and make that happen

-        Each heroine should have a strength and a weakness, and each hero should be some form of/embodiment of that weakness, and vice versa

-        Read outside your genre for inspiration: this includes memoir, non-fiction, screenplays and poetry

-        Write out of order! Scrivener is a great tool that can help you reorganize your book using the index card function, if you’re tech savvy and want to try this method

 

Nisha Sharma

-        Twitter/Instagram: @nishawrites

-        Website

-        ‘The Takeover Effect’- Avon Books

-        ‘My So-Called Bollywood Life’- Crown Books for Young Readers

Falguni Kothari

-        Twitter/Instagram: @AuthorFalguni

-        Website

WRITING in the AGE OF AMAZON

These days, the advice writers, writing blogs, Twitter, Facebook author groups, writer's conferences, author/agent/publishing panels, your neighbor's grandmother's niece's dog walker's writing guru gives is to WRITE FAST AND PUBLISH FASTER.

Get a book out every three months and beat Amazon's algorithm. Which is fine if you're a fast writer and confident of the quality of the product you're putting out. But what happens if you're not?
Does the slow writer need to pack up shop and move to Tahiti in hopes of securing a neverending muse? Does he need to compromise on his end product? Does anyone even care what the end product is anymore? Evidently, bad writing and bad editing has become so much the norm that its actually a shock to read a really good book these days. 

I've been plagued with these questions these last few weeks. I even got lost in the rat race for a bit, trying to churn out pages, make ulcer-inspiring deadlines, shmooze with agents and editors who all seem as confused by the changing book market as me...until I asked myself what I hoped to accomplish with my writing?

Did I simply want to become an author who beat Amazon's algorithm? Why do I write? What do I hope to accomplish at the end of a book?

I won't deny being a bestseller would be appealing. But do I want that at the cost of my end product...not to mention my sanity? I don't think so. What I want most is to find a few patient readers who'll love my book and the care I've taken to bring it to life. 

This is not writing advice. This is just me remembering what I love about writing is...to simply write.

EDICTS of EDITING

So, I've been editing a mammoth manuscript...again. I feel I've been editing this manuscript for a long, long time. And everytime I do, it somehow gets bigger instead of smaller. Maybe I should quit (editing) while I'm ahead, hm? Anyway, let me take you through my editing process. First you...

Once that's done...and this is ready...

And you think OMG this is sooooo pretty. How can I hack it up? Murder my own babies? Cut them up, shred them, delete them, eat them? Nahiiiiii!

But I must. Nahiiiii!

I HAVE TO...

So, I gather my courage (and the brain that's swollen from the fact that I wrote that whole freaking (pretty) manuscript ALONE) and just do it. 

Whew. Done. You'd think...

WTH? That's...that's...no different. In fact, its stupid. So you do it again...and again...

Until you (think) you've got it right. You finally chiseled the pages, chapters, paragraphs, lines, words and punctuation in perfect sexy shape.

You take a day or two to admire it...just stare at your words...your work and hold it and squeeze it and fall in love with it all over again...Before the publishing madness takes over your life. :)

Very much for reading!

The Write Club: members only.

Writing is a lot like boxing. 

The day you decide to become a WRITER is the day the gloves come off. You, my friend, have now opened yourself up to all manner of criticism and advice. Yes, praise too, but that doesn't come as easily as judgment.

A WRITER must train hard. Build core strength and muscle and endurance. Learn to think on his feet. Take a punch...in the gut, the heart, the face. But more importantly, deflect the punches that could knock him off his feet. Most of all, the WRITER must develop abs and skin of steel.

Then, comes the time to throw the hat into the ring and expose your soul to the world. 

Scared but hopeful, a WRITER enters the boxing ring (aka the PUBLISHING WORLD) and faces his OPPONENTs (insert : EDITORS, REVIEWERS, CRITIQUES) sometimes with sometimes without gloves on (insert: w or w/o an AGENT in his corner.)

The WRITER must apply the lessons learned skillfully, sometimes all in the same match. Plot, hook, structure, goal, motivation, conflict...pow pow pow.

Then pray his skills are solid and fate is on his side. Or else face THE KNOCKOUT PUNCH (insert: REJECTION.)

And when TKO comes to pass, the WRITER, like Mohammed Ali, must struggle back to his laptop, bloodied and bruised but stronger than ever, and have another go at the championship...or die typing!

Do you have what it takes to be a member of 

THE WRITE CLUB?

(all images, GIFs and YouTube videos borrowed from the Internet.)