Brainstorming BEFORE Writing

When I conducted a writing workshop at a friend's home a few summers ago, there were students there representing all of the major private schools in the Columbia, S.C., area. All of the students expressed that they "hated" to write and their glum expressions on their faces conveyed  that they would rather be anywhere during their summer break than there. What I quickly learned is that the reason they "hated" to write was because they really didn't have any writing skills. Their schools' teachers were assigning them book reports, research papers, and essays on vast topics, without teaching them where to start. They expressed that they would sit, frustrated and resentful, staring at the blank sheet of paper or at the computer screen. Therefore, when I gave them their topic, they first learned one of the key skills required to write - brainstorming. Students had liberty (yes, freedom) to write anything and everything that came into their minds regarding the topic - be it frivolous or ludicrous. I asked them to put some words down that would help the readers experience their writing - words that conveyed sight, sound, taste, smell, touch - if applicable. "Really?" they expressed. Writing wasn't supposed to be fun, but suddenly they began to see that it could at least be somewhat enjoyable. They shared the words - nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs - they were coming up with some enthusiasm, seemingly amazed that the more they wrote down whatever came into their brains, the faster their brains came up with more words. From their brainstorming list, they learned to zero in on some words, or ideas, that would help tell their story. They then created an outline for their story, and eventually began pulling from the words/ideas to write that first paragraph. Those initial brainstorming words stimulated other ideas as they wrote. By the end of our writing workshop three days later, students were proudly sharing their finished works. And, when asked if they still "hated" writing, their comments were much more positive. They learned that brainstorming, just getting words from our brains to the paper, is the essential first element to good writing.

As Edith Wharton said at the end of her autobiography, A Backward Glance, "... there are always ... new books to read (and I hope, to write), a thousand little daily wonders to marvel at and rejoice in ... The visible world is a daily miracle for those who have eyes and ears;"