The Deadly Art of All-Night Brainstorming, Part 2: Your New Best Friend.

If you’re a GM, ideas come at you like weather. Drizzles, dry spells, and thunderstorms can be expected. The flow of ideas is also as unreliable and tempestous as the weather. What you want is a process that harnesses those mistimed flurries to when you need to go.

I used to start my session prep by sitting at the computer and just starting. You could imagine how uneven this process could be in terms of both motivation and creative energy. Sometimes, it was the easiest thing in the world –my head rich with ideas, I sit at the computer and record all my notes and thoughts in record times. Sometimes, starting out was difficult, but it became easier as I knocked a few things down. And yet other times, the whole affair was a disastrous non-starter. I’d sit in front of my computer with my brain totally smooth and unengaged.

What I determined is that I wasn’t going to sit at the computer until I knew I had ideas. Sitting down in front of the computer to type up campaign notes was just a die toss any other way. Determining that need, I also determined that I required a way to record ideas. It couldn’t be on anything I was likely to lose, so paper/notebooks were right out. It had to be on a computer, and it had to be in a format that is easy to use that doesn’t slow me down (so word processors where completely out).

Mind-mapping software to the rescue! If you haven’t heard of mind-mapping before, there are some good places to get info. Here’s the quick summation from Wikipedia:

A mind map is often created around a single word or text, placed in the center, to which associated ideas, words and concepts are added.

Mind maps have many applications in personal, family, educational, and business situations, including notetaking, brainstorming (wherein ideas are inserted into the map radially around the center node, without the implicit prioritization that comes from hierarchy or sequential arrangements, and wherein grouping and organizing is reserved for later stages), summarizing, revising, and general clarifying of thoughts. One could listen to a lecture, for example, and take down notes using mind maps for the most important points or keywords. One can also use mind maps as a mnemonic technique or to sort out a complicated idea. Mind maps are also promoted as a way to collaborate in color pen creativity sessions.

Mindmaps can be drawn by hand, either as ‘rough notes’ during a lecture or meeting, for example, or can be more sophisticated in quality. Examples of both are illustrated. There are also a number of software packages available for producing mind maps (see below).

The field of mind-mapping software actually has quite a few entrants. As far as I know or care though, there are only two. FreeMind and MindMeister. They are both excellent, they both work together, they are both free…well, MindMeister has a premium account for extra features, but it’s pretty cheap and could be worth the cost.

We’ve got our software now, so what are we going to do with it? We use it.

Ok, please. Stop. Pelting me. With dice.

The basic process for brainstorming with FreeMind (we’ll use this because it unqualified free and runs on everything) is simple: Start with the subject matter in the central bubble, and radiate out with topic matter as you go. Quagmired with no ideas? Populate the first few bubbles with questions. How? Why? Where? What? Then, you start answering them.

Something I like about brainstorming with this app is that it is structured but non-linear. That is, you’ll have multiple hierearchies of thuoghts and information, but you can easily add it any order as you think about it. This was always my prime frustration with using word-processing software –you either spewed ideas and went back to them later to order and format them, or you wore your keyboard’s up and down keys to nubs, adding in details where they fit.

With FreeMind, you can drill way down into one subject, but if you think of something non-related, you can easily add it without screwing up the order of what you have. Plus, with FreeMinds export options, you can with a few clicks turn that messy array of bubbles into word processor or HTML-ready outline. Then you’re ready to rock and roll!

Next up…Filling your head with ideas. Likely and unlikely sources of inspiration for GMs.

Similar Posts:

•      The Deadly Art of All-Night Brainstorming, Part 1: The Sea of Thought
•      A note on session notes.
•      A Few Moments with Freemind