Remember back in gradeschool, when you were given a book and told to draw one circle with some main thing inside it, then to connect that to other related ideas in their own bubbles, which were connected to their own bubbles, and so on outward almost like a snowflake? Yep, that pesky little spiderweb can be used for a work not yet written, too.
Get a stack of paper. Write one area of your story at the top—a job, a character's name, an area. Write the central one in the middle of your paper, and start branching outwards! (I would think printing paper would work best for this, but you may prefer lined.) When you describe places or things, you may want to include a possessive (like "Charles's football jersey" instead of just "football jersey.")
If you're feeling adventurous, you could try to map out all the connecting elements of your story or article or paper or whatever on one sheet of paper. If you try that, make sure the actual thing you're writing is pretty short. You may find a posterboard better. Hanging the paper or poster on a wall to look at and write on might also help.
This is not the same process as Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake Method. His process is a specific method of structured planning, and I'm not going to violate his rights to his plan.
Personally, this bubble method has always made me cringe in disgust, but if you like it, go wild!
2 comments:
I've seen the method you describe called "Mindmapping." (I learned it at work, not school, and was resistant to it because it reminded me of tedious, pointless staff meetings!)
I find it useful when I'm stuck in a scene and I'm not sure how it's going to unfold. I think it's supposed to use a different part of your brain because it's very non-linear. So "Charles's football jersey" and "Dawn cries" could both get into the mix, regardless if one is and object and one an action, without worrying about which happened first or which is more important.
-Candace
Thanks, Candace. I hadn't heard it called that.
That's some interesting input on how it can be used, too.
Thanks!
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