McCutcheon Pam - The Writers Brainstorming Kit: Thinking in New Directions

And thanks to Pam, for cooking up the concept for The Writers Brainstorming Kit and inviting him along for the ride.

Finding another person or three to share ideas with is one solution, but there are a couple of problems inherent in that. First, others arent always available when inspiration or the creative urge strikes... and people have a tendency to be a bit peeved if you wake them at odd hours to listen to your latest brainchild. Second, others have a tendency to become enamored with their own ideaswhether you find them useful or notand veer off on unusable tangents. If theyre writers, it might become even more difficult as they take fire from their own ideas and spin out scenarios that ignore your needs. The ideal situation is to find a better way of brainstorming with yourself.

Thats what The Writers Brainstorming Kit is all abouta way of using random concepts to trigger new associations in your mind, to break out of your conventional linear mode of thinking and take flight in new, unexpected directions. So, give it a try. No matter whether you need help with getting started, creating a story from scratch, breaking through a block, adding depth to a character, or finding a new plot twist, shuffle the cards, and let them help you create something fresh and different.

Whatever method you choose, get started brainstorming!

As the late Paul Gillette used to say, a novel is a story about a likable or interesting character who overcomes seemingly insurmountable obstacles in search of a worthwhile goal. Ms. Dixon expands this to suggest that major characters should not only have meaningful goals, but should also have strong motivations for wanting those goals (which make the characters likable and the goals meaningful). And, of course, they must conflictthose seemingly insurmountable obstaclesthat prevent your characters from reaching their goal. Well give you some quick and dirty explanations of her method here, but highly encourage you to read her book if you want more information on the subject.

As you can see, we didnt confine ourselves to just one aspect of the word on each card, but tried to provide both positive and negative roles to define heroes or villains as you choose.

To create a dominant impression for a new character using this system, draw two cards. Next, look up the first card and select a descriptive noun from the Role/Pursuit category, then choose an adjective from the Trait category of the other card. For example, lets say you chose A (Animals) for the trait and 4 (Giving) for the role/pursuit. Looking at the options under these cards, you might come up with a kindhearted nurse, a wild missionary, a bestial volunteer, or a xenophobic philanthropist. So, you neednt be concerned that only fifty-two cards will limit youthese four characters all came from the same two cards, yet they are vastly different.