Writer's Toolbox Reflection

This handout was given to us at the very beginning of our process. This is due to the fact that it revolves around the idea of creating a map/list of some sort in order to organize your thoughts and produce new ideas. This handout covered five of these ways to get your creative juices flowing, including:

• Mind Maps - We have done several of these in class. You start with the main idea in the center and from there branch out a good amount of words the central subject makes you think of. From there, more are branched off and so on. The words/phrases will gradually relate less and less to the theme, but good ideas come up that you never would've thought of before.
• Concept Maps - In this version of a map, it is started at the top of the page with the subject to be discussed and more bubbles are branched downwards. Where this differs from a mind map is that a proposition is required in between the two ideas. The example of this given was "living things" being branched off of "water" with "needed by" as the linking statement. This too can come up with many great ideas otherwise unthought of.
• Freewriting - This one, rather than a map, is a lot of writing. The thought is to never pick up your pen or lift your fingers off of the keyboard for around 10-15 minutes while simply everything on your mind is written down, preferably about the subject. After that time is up, looping is often done where the best idea from the first freewrite is taken and a new freewrite for another 10-15 minutes is starting with that idea as the subject now. This makes you write down the ideas that are sometimes subconscious. 
• Brainwriting - This is a concept mainly to provide for the shy people that may be in a group. It's much like brainstorming with multiple people, but instead a sheet of paper is passed around. This paper consists of multiple columns and rows in with 5 minutes are given and the person writes down the three best ideas she has and the paper is passed. The idea is to have other group members spitballing off of your ideas. 
• Word List - We have done many of these in our class as well. They are made very quickly by simply writing down every single word the subject causes you to think of. They can then be read over and you can find your favorites. 

Overall this handout was very helpful in showing me multiple options for visually mapping out my thoughts and creating a great idea.