Brainstorming That Works
A Guide for Writers Who Want Better Ideas
Writers love to argue about process—and brainstorming is one of those tools that gets both praise and pushback. In a previous post, I wanted to share reasons mentioned by those who don’t support brainstorming as a pre-writing idea, so I explored why brainstorming doesn’t always work
But here’s the truth: for some writers, brainstorming can be a powerful way to unlock creativity—if it’s used intentionally. Not only do I recommend it to some writers, but I’ve used this method myself.
So, let’s take a closer look at how to brainstorm effectively, and how to make it work for your writing style.
What brainstorming can do for writers
At its best, brainstorming gives you permission to explore, a bank of ideas to draw from and momentum to move forward. Let me elaborate:
Permission to play without pressure. The whole idea behind brainstorming is to write down your thoughts without judging yourself. You can bring that childlike freedom to toss anything out there as possibilities. There are no right or wrong answers. So, we give ourselves permission to be silly and to think outside of the box.
Surprising ideas you wouldn’t get through logic alone. When we take that pressure off and allow ourselves to dream and be creative, we can be rewarded with unique ideas, plot twists, or a different way of looking at a story. Fiction (life) is not logical. Trying to logically plot a story by what might really happen leads to tons of roadblocks, but during brainstorming where anything is possible you open up possibilities that can lead to a surprisingly great idea
Momentum when you’re feeling creatively stuck. Just changing our focus from writing and trying to force a scene to making a list of ideas, drawing a web, or using post-it notes, helps us to think and see differently. When we see various options, it helps us to move forward.
A bigger pool of material to draw from later. We might go with one idea, but as we begin to write it, realize that a scene or storyline is not working. If we brainstormed various possibilities, it’s easy to go back to your brainstorm of ideas and see if another route might work better.
The key is to approach brainstorming with structure, curiosity, and follow-through. I think that writers don’t really know how to brainstorm or what to do with all those ideas once they write them down. Think of following the steps below as you begin and end your brainstorming sessions:
1. Set a purpose for your session
Random brainstorming often leads to random results. Before you start, define your goal:
Are you developing a new story idea?
Exploring character motivations?
Solving a plot problem?
A focused question like, “Why does my antagonist fear change?” will generate more useful ideas than a vague prompt like, “Think of stuff that can happen next in my novel (or scene).”
2. Use constraints to fuel creativity
As I mentioned in my previous post, setting limits can force your imagination to wake up and get to work. There is something about human nature that when we are forced to get to work, we suddenly get inspired. Many of my college students tell me they wait to complete their research papers until the night before they’re due because the stress forces them to work better. So, try these self-imposed constraints:
Time limits (10 minutes of rapid ideas)
Theme limits (Only explore ideas about regret or forgiveness)
Structural limits (Brainstorm just the midpoint twist)
These constraints help you go deeper instead of wider.
3. Include visual or sensory triggers
Ever have the experience of visiting a place with a certain scent or sound and it reminds you of a different time or of a special person? A humid building reminds me of my grandmother because her condo in Argentina would have a musty smell that wasn’t unpleasant when mixed with other perfumes and odors of her home. Scents, sounds, and visual images can quickly trigger memories and thoughts.
You can use sensory triggers to spark your imagination. Pull out images, music, or objects that relate to your story. Brainstorming with visual or emotional cues can help unlock nonlinear ideas—ones that come from mood and tone, not just logic.
Try mood boards, Pinterest collections, or even a piece of music that captures your story’s emotional core.
4. Group and Label Your Ideas
Once you’ve got a list or a really cool idea web, don’t stop there. This is where the work begins. Start noticing patterns:
Which ideas feel connected?
What themes are repeating?
What could become a character arc or scene?
This is where brainstorming becomes story-building. For example, let’s say you’re brainstorming your protagonist’s motivation. You might write down:
She wants to escape her small town
She’s afraid of turning into her mother
She secretly loves the boy next door
She’s hiding a criminal record
She wants to win back her father’s approval
Once that list is done, organizing helps you figure out how it all fits together—or what’s just noise. Maybe the first three are related (She loves he boy next door, but she fears that if she stays in her small town, she’ll turn into her mother, so she chooses to run away from love.), but the fourth and fifth don’t really fit in.
Highlight or color-code ideas that might fit together. If you brainstorm using digital tools, they might have ways to use color or icons to group similar ideas.
Look for patterns or repetition also. If you wrote “wants to be seen” three different ways, maybe that’s your core theme. If most of your plot ideas involve betrayal, that might be a subconscious motif to explore.
Brainstorming is helpful only if you take the time to study and evaluate what you’ve written.
5. Talk it out (even if you’re alone)
Some of our best ideas emerge when we speak them out loud. I’m sure at some point in your life, you’ve done this, even for a short time. You drive around looking for a restaurant and you talk to yourself – “Pizza sounds good, but we ate that last week. Maybe I should find a place that has healthy salads and eat healthy for once. My jeans are fitting way too tight lately.” Speaking out loud helps us make a decision.
Try recording yourself talking to an imaginary friend about a character’s motivation or conflict, story idea, or plot problem. Keep talking (set a time limit, 5-10 minutes)—even if it’s messy, repetitive, or unclear at first. Eventually circle in on something that clicks and explore that further.
After you’ve exhausted your ideals, listen to what you’ve recorded. Jot down the ideas or lines that surprise you. Sometimes you’ll hear the exact phrase that belongs in your book.
This process—sometimes called “verbal looping”—can bypass perfectionism and trigger breakthroughs for many reasons. First, it’s faster than writing, so your inner editor can’t keep up. Also, spoken language tends to be more natural, vivid, and emotional. Lastly, it’s nonlinear—you can jump from one idea to another as your mind tends to want to do, follow associations, and come back later to other ideas.
Verbal looping can feel weird at first—but it’s surprisingly powerful. Many authors say their best character insights or story turns came from simply talking through the problem with no agenda and listening to what emerged.
Treat brainstorming as draft zero
Your brainstorming session isn’t the end—it’s the compost pile (which is the reason this technique gets criticized). Dig through it later, pull out what’s rich, and start shaping it into something alive. Even if 90% of what you came up with doesn’t get used, the act of writing it down creates creative momentum.
Not every writer loves brainstorming. And not every writing problem can be solved by generating more ideas. But it’s a tool that helps many writers because it frees them to explore and expand options rather than limiting themselves to what “should” happen in their story.
Creativity isn’t a straight line—it’s a process. And brainstorming, when used intentionally, can be one of the stepping stones that gets you closer to the story you’re meant to tell
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