Brainstorm Until It’s Not Fun Anymore

In our preliminary brainstorming sessions for the current work in progress, the ideas were coming out faster than we could jot them down. We couldn’t help but come up with tons of good ideas, like there simply were no other kinds of ideas. The recent brainstorming sessions, on the other hand, have been characterized by phrases like, “But I don’t think that will really work,” and “Not that we would actually want to do it that way.” The few ideas that we did feel good about were things we’d already come up with at least twice, according to our notes.

This is a signal that it’s time to stop brainstorming. Early on, everything is wide open and there’s lots of room for ideas. But the more you flesh things out, the more constraints are piling up. Any really new idea that you throw in will be the enemy of something else that you’ve already decided you like. If you aren’t sure if you like your story that way, then by all means keep storming your brains. But if you have a good basis for a story that you’re looking forward to telling, then move on to another step in the process.

For us, that means laying out a rainbow. So that’s what we’ve been doing, although we’ve broken with tradition by using the dining table for this one rather than doing it on the floor. (Our helpers are far too enthusiastic about rainbows, alas. Plus, floors lack much to recommend them, ergonomically.)

And — it worked! Being able to visualize the flow and structure of the story immediately shook loose a new set of good, usable ideas for us. They’re not only good, they’re compatible.

Working with a partner makes brainstorming much more fruitful and enjoyable, but don’t overuse it. Documenting and visualizing your progress is always helpful, and it becomes essential when you have a partner to communicate with.