Brainstorming is one of those writerly activities that I generally use as a treat for myself. It’s fun, rewarding, and full of possibilities, but it’s also work that seriously needs done in my writerly life.
Often times I’ll brainstorm for a few minutes here or there when I need a break from another writing activity – such as researching agents, editing, writing, proof-reading, or looking stuff up.
There are multiple different ways to brainstorm, but some of my favorites include:
- Finding a brainstorming buddy and throwing out random ideas
- Looking up writing prompts on Pinterest
- Thinking through aspects of a story and trying to come up with a completely different twist than expected
- Writing down all the crazy story-ish thoughts that pop into my head
I’m currently not planning on actually beginning to write another story until I have at least several dozen more queries sent out, but all the advice I read/heard on the querying process said you should work on writing another book while awaiting feedback. That’s because it will help the waiting seem to go faster, which does make sense.
The thought of beginning a new book is exciting and spurs me on to hurry up with querying. It’s so exhilarating to think of creating a whole new world. I haven’t started a new book since November 2015, so it feels like it’s been quite a while.
As things stand, I have four ideas I’ve been tossing around to work on next, and I’m not even sure if I’ll end up going with one of them this time. For now, I’m not pressuring myself to decide. Instead, I’m enjoying the freedom of knowing that I have endless possibilities stretching in front of me, and the brainstorming I do now will probably be used sometime.
What kind of story would you choose to work on next? Spies, Princesses? Musicians? A mystery with the setting of Hawaii-meets-the Swiss Alps? A contemporary where a very non-Native American girl lives in a tipi? A camping adventure gone wrong? See, the possibilities are really endless….
Noveltea 
Brainstorming is so much fun! My sister and I were playing a game together last night, and the topic of conversation the whole time was trying to pick a character’s name (or coming up with random things they would say). I just drafted an “editorial calendar” for myself, and one of the things I decided was to mix projects so sometimes I’ll be editing and other times I’ll be writing. 😉
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Oh! That sounds like fun! =)
And yay for mixing projects. That sounds like a good way to get stuff done without getting too worn out from focusing on one project for too long.
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Working on another project while you’re waiting definitely helps. XD A non-Native American girl living in a tipi sounds super cool. ^ ^
storitorigrace.blogspot.com
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Yay! I’m glad you like the idea. I haven’t gotten very far with a plot for a book like that, but I have been tossing around the idea for several years now. =)
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