Famous novelist Ernest Hemingway once said, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
Writers wish that could happen when they set out to complete a news story, article, or even a blog. Several years ago an article in Forbes magazine reported on a study that found almost 80 percent of people experience what is known as writer’s block. Often times, the biggest challenge is starting a piece. That is a major issue for practitioners in PR and advertising, especially when the boss told you there is a noon deadline and it is already 9:00.
Rather than becoming stressed and unproductive while waiting for inspiration, consider using one or more effective brainstorming techniques to get your mind going. Here are four brainstorming approaches that can get you started when you work by yourself.
Free Association
This approach has its roots in psychology, but it is an excellent way to generate ideas in communication writing. Good Therapy noted that free association encourages someone to assemble as many ideas as possible. It is much like a focus group. There is no right or perfect answer. Begin with the general topic and then make a list of concepts that you visually or verbally associate with the topic.
Mind Mapping
This is similar to free association, but it involves creating a chart that connects words. Sometimes this concept is called “cognitive mapping” or “concept mapping.” There are several software programs that help with this technique, but you can just as easily use a pencil and paper. According to Mindmapping.com, start with a word that indicates the main topic and draw a line under the word or a box around it. After that, draw a line that is attached to the box and a word on the line that is associated with the main word. Repeat that process several times. Then, draw lines with words associated with the second level lines. The chart can become complex with more lines that branch from the other words, but it depends on how much brainstorming is needed for your project.
Questions
Another form of brainstorming is to ask questions about the topic. The Grammarly website says questions are a good way to engage writing. It involves asking as many questions as possible about a topic. This also is a good tactic to use to help fill in information gaps after you have tried other brainstorming tactics.
Listing
A final technique for individual brainstorming is to create a list of ideas. As ThoughtCo. indicates, this type of idea generation is very simple. The company suggests setting a time limit for your list. That will ensure you list enough ideas, but with a deadline in mind. PR and advertising are time sensitive careers, so having a time limit is part of the business.
There are other ways to begin a writing project, but the four brainstorming techniques discussed above are good places to start. Also, some techniques work better than others for some writers. Use the approach that is best for you. Developing a brainstorming system that works will help improve your creativity in writing.