Whether you are writing a news article, piece of fiction or short story you will need to have a topic and an idea of where you wish to take your writing. Brainstorming is a great way to come up with a number of topics and directions that you can take that topic. Here is a look at some of the ways people brainstorm for their writing topics.
Random Listing. Random listing can work when trying to narrow down or find a topic. To brainstorm by random listing you just grab a piece of paper and start writing down any idea that comes to mind. If an idea comes to your mind you just write it down as a possible topic. It might be hard to not think about the topics that you are writing down but when listing all you want to do is get as many ideas down as possible and then you can sort through them later.
Cluster Brainstorming. Cluster brainstorming is ideal for when you have a topic and want to expand on that topic for a paper or school project. To cluster brainstorm you start with a small topic such as cats and place it in a bubble in the center. You will then branch ideas off of cats such as food, shelter, vet care, toys and other topics. You continue to branch off of each idea until you have multiple ways that you can take the topic you started out with.
Each brainstorming style is unique and can really help to narrow down the topic that you wish to write on or to figure out a direction to take a specific topic.
