Comments on: Navigating the Idea Dump

By: Tamara

Tamara — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:20:01 +0000

This was an extremely useful post. I found it via Chuck. Thanks! Tamara Writer's Rainbow Tamara´s last blog post..NaNoWriMo word count: 27203

By: Zoë

Zoë — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:55:16 +0000

@ JenX67 – That’s a really interesting application of these ideas. It’s so easy to end up devoting energy to too many things, or to areas that just suck you dry, but I never thought of using these methods to look at that perspective.

@ Urban Panther – Well, now I really want to look! I’m with you on the software for the most part…it’s good for special occasions, but it doesn’t feel natural. When I’m getting my ideas out in the open, it needs to feel organic.

By: Urban Panther

Urban Panther — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:56:26 +0000

Oh, you so do not want a look into my mind! *grin* Not keen on using software, except at work where everybody and their pet chihuahua wants a copy. I'm still a pen and paper, gal for organizing my thoughts at home. I need to actively work with words. Helps me solidify my thoughts. Urban Panther´s last blog post..Grass and grubs

By: JenX67

JenX67 — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:13:37 +0000

I continue to apply your ideas to other arenas of my life. In this case, organizing the peeps it seems my steps are ordered toward or who I find myself pulled to or away from. Bloggers, family, friends. This list includes peeps I initiate dialogue with and who don't respond including anonymous bloggers and family. Weird, huh? I think doing this helps me focus on my energy on meaningful relationships - particularly among bloggers. I don't want to devote too much time reading blogs where I don't have meaningful dialogue. Likewise, with family or even friends with whom you are not functioning as your best self. I hope this makes sense. This applies to my writing, too, as I often write from relationship experience and memoir. JenX67´s last blog post..Books That Shocked the Cr*p Out Of Me and Other Useless Bits of Fodder

By: Zoë

Zoë — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:19:40 +0000

@ Jean – I have to admit that without the “convert to outline” feature, I would’ve thought AARGHHH too! I like making outlines, but only when they’re really rough. Strict outlines feel a bit suffocating, but the general organization helps for making a skeleton. I use them for longer writing pieces (nonfiction), or just to make a list of ideas that is easier to swallow.

@ Lisa – My friend recently suggested that I try outlining for a longer fiction piece I’m planning on starting, and it made me nervous…fiction and outlines? I think it will help me chart out a direction, but it’s important to remember that it’s far from being set in stone. A possible itinerary, if you will.

By: LisaNewton

LisaNewton — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 07:47:15 +0000

OMG, how cool is that. Plus, I love the idea of using the Table of Contents. A friend of mine has told me several times to use an outline and I have fought tooth and nail, but your post gives me pause again. I'll have to take a serious look at the idea again.............:) LisaNewton´s last blog post..Are Schools Really to blame for Poor Eating Habits?

By: Zoë

Zoë — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:37:25 +0000

@ Alden (again!) – I took this test a while back, to see how right/left-brained I am (and probably also to distract myself from a more important task ). http://mindmedia.com/braintest.html

According to this test, which is obviously infallible, I am 42% left brain, 57% right-brained. Interestingly, I have 1% that seems to be neutral (or comatose). The profile they described at the end was actually sort of on-target, so I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a few minutes of fun : )

By: Jean Gogolin

Jean Gogolin — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:34:53 +0000

Something about the way my writerly brain is wired makes me have the same reaction to a formal outline as I do to an algebraic equation: Aaarrrgghhhh! I've been writing long pieces -- magazine articles, CEOs' speeches and all manner of like things -- for decades and never outline except in the loosest way. But that's just me. Over time, it seems we each find what works for us. Jean Gogolin´s last blog post..Revealed: How the Financial Bailout Really Works

By: Zoë

Zoë — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:19:48 +0000

@ Carma – Hopefully this will dig up a pile of ideas that you had forgotten even existed. Once they start popping up, it gets much easier to write.

@ Matthew – Yea, I only really use the outlining technique for large accumulations of ideas. For smaller endeavors, it seems too restrictive.

@ Timothy – Great, can’t wait to check it out!

@ Daisy – It’s quite the convenient feature — thanks for recommending it! Although I’ll stick with pen and paper for idea dumps, this is a great way to make presentable maps.

@ Ken – There are lots of ideas that come up during the day, that I’ll act on right away or soon enough. But there are also piles of idea that slowly build up in my mind, that I don’t write down immediately because I think they’re too unformed or irrelevant at the moment. When I finally sit down and do an idea dump, it ignores any hesitation and allows my mind to unload anything.

Simply seeing the ideas on paper, instead of just floating through my mind, helps me view them more immediately and they feel more concrete. If the idea dump is a big mess, though, I like to take a second stab at it (navigating) so that it becomes accessible. Otherwise, I feel that anything I don’t address now will be confined to that paper, as a tornado of a mind map can be hard to digest after a few days’ distance.

Once these ideas are more tangible, the connections sprout up more quickly for me — and that is how I feel it improves the content of whatever I am creating. As I wrote to Alden, this method helps me when I specifically need to *focus* my ideas. Usually, that is with larger projects or just a build-up of ideas on a certain topic.

@ Mary – You are right, I am certainly more comfortable mapping by hand. As you express, the ‘prettying-up’ stage should be a time to refine connections and allow your ideas to shift around a bit. Like reviewing for a test, I feel that writing/drawing them again solidifies the ideas in your mind, making them more readily available.

I don’t think I’ll be using the software for my normal brainstorming, but it is useful for bigger projects when I’m creating a more long-term plan.

By: Zoë

Zoë — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:01:53 +0000

@ Alden – This is definitely a process that I use for large projects or to focus my ideas with a broad topic area (such as uses of new media). I wrote this series precisely to help people who need to focus their ideas that are crowding inside their minds, not as a technique to use on every small creative endeavor. Although, I do often use idea dumps before writing a post or article as a way to map out everything I want to discuss.

I think your process of inspiration holds true for many people (myself included). Everything we absorb, be it books, advertisements, radio, or blogs, has the potential to set off a trigger in our brains. Personally, if I accumulate too many of these triggers without acting on them, I need to do an idea dump + navigation process to bring them to a more tangible place. This series is aimed at people who find themselves in that position. For you, it sounds like that resonates for larger projects, when there are inevitably swarms of ideas.

@ Jody – Do you mean for the song-writing process? What is your method?

@ Monicarolevans – Mind maps helped me a lot for my thesis — sometimes you have all these almost-connections swirling around your mind, and when you unload them onto paper, the connections start to show clearly.

@ Mishi – Haha! That’s why I need to go through this type of process sometimes, because otherwise I may end up doing nothing at all with those ideas. Let me know if you come up with a mind map that you’d like to share!