The Art of Brainstorming
As a novice professional author, I love learning about how other authors' minds work. I could spend hours diving into vlogs, blogs, and articles, studying new methods while trying to hone my craft, but one topic that never fails to capture my interest is the art of brainstorming.
The process is different for everyone, so there’s a whole trove of varying advice. I’m a firm believer in trying any tip, trick, or practice to produce creativity at least once, no matter how strange, because you never know what might stick.
I’m extremely lucky in that I don’t have to explore the caverns of my mind alone. It’s very much a joint effort between my wife and I and the conversation usually starts in one of our two favorite creative comfort zones—the front porch or the parked car in the driveway.
It always begins with the same line. “Alright, it’s time. We need to come up with a new story idea to put in the queue.”
What works for us is to have our ideas stockpiled. That way while I’m drafting, actively working on one project, the next one is waiting on deck. Writing comes much more easily when the fantasy world you’ve been actively building has time to really marinate. The protagonist’s voice is more tender and smooth and the words come out more flavorful.
But not every idea starts out good. In fact, for me, it’s usually the polar opposite. I think the beginning pitch when preparing for my first manuscript Cricket Diamond In The Rough was:
Wild child from piss-poor family. Lots of dysfunction. Lots of over the top moments.
You know the controversial theory that there are no stupid questions? I think the same could be said for ideas. No idea, no matter how simplistic, is a necessarily stupid one.
This same notion has been highlighted on the Office Ladies podcast with Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey in reference to how they and the writers came up with episode ideas for The Office. The rule is that during a brainstorming session, you’re free to throw ideas at the wall and no matter how ridiculous or downright dumb they are, no one is allowed to make fun of it. Every thought is valid because sometimes the ridiculous or downright dumb can end up being improved by being tamed down or revised and really end up working.
The brainstorming phase lasted for 15 years when it came to my first manuscript, Cricket Diamond In The Rough, that I am about to query with. For my wife and I it was undoubtedly a maximum labor of love, the pinnacle of a passion project. Before I felt comfortable taking the dive into drafting, we studied our asses off. The book spans from the 70s to the 90s so naturally we needed to know everything in between, learning about socioeconomics throughout those decades, media, fashion, politics and lingo. We had to have an understanding of what piss-poor looked like back then in the rust belt, which was just becoming the rust belt. We needed to explore family dynamics and dysfunction while still remembering the deep ties that bind child to parent and the loyalty and love that people can feel even through trauma.
I don’t think my next book will take 15 years. The goal is just 1 this time. 12 months to get what I’ve been planning in my mind for the last 3 years onto ‘paper’. Can I do it? I’ll let you know January of next year.
Oh, and if case you’re wondering, here’s a few keywords for the next book: ocean, wealth, 1950s, teenage boys, queerness, mutism, mental health, and mystery.
