A Cure for Writer’s Block – Mind Mapping
Mind Mapping it is a great exercise for starting the writing process or getting past writer’s block. Mind mapping is also known as Clustering or Chunking information.
The reason this method works so well is that it ties into the way your memory works most effectively, by grouping information.
By following these steps, you will make the writing process more manageable and you will become more efficient.
How Mind Mapping Works
1. Take a blank piece of paper, and in the middle, write down a word that describes the general subject you planned to write about.
2. For 30-60 seconds max, write down everything that comes to mind or is connected to your keyword. Write it as fast as you can and NO EDITING.
3. Take the words that you wrote down and start to group them into an outline.
4. Take your outline and being writing sentences that expand on each point. This is where you can edit out words or topics you wrote in step 2.
5. If you need more ideas after the first 4 steps, take words from your initial list and, on a separate piece of paper, Mind Map those key thoughts and add the information to your outline.
As long as I have been a writer, I have found Mind Mapping is one of the fastest and easiest ways to start the writing process. It helps to get everything out on paper first and then start organizing information into an outline.
In fact, I wrote this entire article on Mind Mapping by mind mapping the content. In 30 seconds I was able to write down 8 words related to the subject and 10 minutes later, ta-dah – this article was done.
You can mind map just about any word or idea, and it really gets the process rolling. When it comes to writing, one of the most difficult challenges that we face is getting started.
So I hope that this helps. Put it in the action. Do not get stressed. Just let it flow and you will be off to a great start in terms of the writing process.
Be Free!
Ken Budka
Training Coordinator
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Comment by Charlie — September 18, 2009 @ 10:24 am
Nice content indeed! i will visit as often as i can.
cheers
Comment by migraine solution — September 18, 2009 @ 8:28 pm
Thanks for reading this article and for adding your thoughts to this post. To add some clarity for the comments that Charlie posted:
Write down your subject or topic on a piece of paper. Circle it.
Focus on it for 30-60 seconds and write down every related thought or word that comes to mind on that same piece of paper.
Use these words to create an outline to write a rough draft.
Comment by Ken Budka — September 24, 2009 @ 4:28 am