We are all busy. We all have jobs, families and responsibilities. Our time is precious. Writers often have to scrounge the time to write. That time is even more precious. So when do you fit in the time to brainstorm what you will write next? How do you brainstorm when you have no time to do it?
The first answer is to have a trade-off. Use some of your precious writing time to come up with ideas. Yet, you can find some more time if you combine activities. You can consider ideas while doing your workout, you can think of ideas while you are cooking your meals.
Use the tools you have to brainstorm ideas. My phone has a notes feature, but I use Microsoft 365. I can use Word on my phone. The beauty of this is that I can dictate to Word and get ideas down on paper, so to speak. That’s the way I find time. I can do that while I’m working, making my dinner, and so on.
Do this often. Think of an idea and commit it to paper, whether digital or physical. That way you have a list of ideas to write from. Then all you need do is pick one and run with it.
I know what you are thinking. That’s easier said than done. It’s not as hard as you might think. When I wake from a dream in the morning, I write it down on my phone. That way it isn’t lost. Often dreams are nothing at all, but sometimes, they give us the seed of an idea. The same is true for daydreams. If you have a day dream, write it down, if you can. Record yourself telling the dream.
Dreams, night or day, are ideas tossed up to your conscious mind by your unconscious mind. Accept them. See if they will work for you. Record them, so even if they don’t work right away, they may do so in the future. That’s what is beautiful about the idea of writing down your ideas as they occur to you. They may be helpful later on.
Of course, they may never produce anything of importance. But anything you come up with is worthy of writing ti down. This is a time consuming process if you were to sit down to brainstorm. Doing it at odd times while you are doing something else, makes it easier to get good ideas.
So should you think you don’t have time to brainstorm, think again. You can dictate ideas to your phone anywhere. Then when you have a larger block of time, you can work on it and begin the writing process on the idea.
As long as the idea is in a recorded state, you will have it ready for when you might need it. So anytime an idea comes to mind, record it even if you have no use for it at that time. You may find it useful later on. Good luck and keep writing.
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