New writers:
A brain board can be helpful for those of you who feel like you’ve got more ideas swimming around in your head than you can handle.
It’s as simple as creating a new Google Doc (or similar) for each idea.
In each document, type up everything you’re thinking about the plot, characters, and world. For nonfiction, type up all the information you want to cover in the book.
This is not the time to be concerned about grammar, formatting, promotion, or design. In theory, no one but you is ever going to see this document. Just focus on getting the ideas recorded so that you can come back to them as needed.
When done without judging or second-guessing yourself, this can be a rather freeing and exhilarating process. As I’ve discussed in the Brain Board lesson, it helps you create a dumping ground for your notions and then have an origin point you can look back on as you are preparing your premise and following the other steps in the book development process.
Even if you don’t touch an idea for years (like me!), having it recorded somewhere means you don’t lose it and can start delving deeper into it whenever you’re ready. And as you think of new characters, creatures, events, and details that fit that world, or additional topics you want to include in your nonfiction, you can add them to the file and return to working on your other projects.
Happy brainstorming! ♥♥♥
