Listing/Brainstorming
OK, let’s be honest here for a moment, I think of brainstorming as a broader term than just listing; BUT, stick with me and my obsessive use of commas, many students I have taught fall back on the “list” when they are brainstorming, so that is why I put them together.
Why do we often go straight to making a list when we are brainstorming?
What exactly is a list? A simple definition would be: a grouping of connected items written consecutively, traditionally one after the other in order. If you are like me and spend a lot of time typing at the computer, this is often the time to insert bullet points:
But
Can
Your
List
Be
More?
You could structure a list into columns, think of the classic pros and cons list. You could try variations on this with one side of your page being a thin section where you write some keywords or ideas and then the other side of your page being more ordered. See the included table image!
I may have been a bit hungry when I wrote that table but, nonetheless, making little charts for yourself on the computer or on paper can shift your mindset. The example could have me splitting items into categories and starting to think about how I want to classify and define items. Or perhaps I could use this as a way to build an extended metaphor?
What other ways could you brainstorm and make a list?
CAUTION: Try not to get bogged down in picking a way to start. If you are, . . .
4 - Does your list have a lot of nouns?
6 - Maybe you want to revisit the blank page?
7 - Maybe just thinking about lists made you want to start writing without the constraints of order so how about going back to freewriting?
9 - Maybe this type of ordering isn’t enough and you want more structure with outlining?
