Five of my writing coach clients are starting new books this spring. That means that I’ll get to engage in my absolute favorite writing coach activity—brainstorming. The brainstorming, however, will look different with each project, because the projects and indeed the writers are, well, different.
My two memoir authors will require the least brainstorming because we’re clearly not developing plotlines or characters. On the other hand, there’s always room for brainstorming about how to create a powerful scene, which life events to include in one’s memoir, or even how to organize the book in the first place.
I will get to go to town with my three novelists. Correction. We will get to go to town. Brainstorming is nothing if not a joint activity.
The dictionary defines brainstorming as “a group problem-solving technique that involves the spontaneous contribution of ideas from all members of the group” as well as “the mulling over of ideas by one or more individuals in an attempt to devise or find a solution to a problem.” I describe brainstorming book ideas as an exchange during which we each build on the others’ concepts until we get to a place that neither of us would have ever reached alone.
Essentially, brainstorming book ideas amounts to interactive conversation that can range from lively problem-solving sessions to downright relaxed idea exchanges. When I was visiting Northern California’s Tahoe area a couple of years ago, one of my friends overheard a brainstorming session I was sharing with a writing coach client, Barbara Hinske, who at the time was working on her eighth novel with me.
“You sounded like you were gossiping,” my friend said. And in a way we were, a practice we still maintain. We chat about the people in her novels (she’s about to start #12 and #13), why they do what they do, and what might make more sense in terms of characterization and story. We explore how to add in more tension, more romance, and how to shake things up with the unexpected. In short, we cover all the elements that a cozy romantic mystery needs to work. Eventually, once we’re happy with the content, we move away from brainstorming and focus on language.
The initial brainstorming I’ll be doing with Jeff Hutcheson, whose novel Going Barefoot is days away from going live, will focus more on the new book’s overall plot. While this second novel in his Lost Key Mystery series will feature the same characters as the first, the main character won’t be Bailey this time, but rather her best friend who played a minor role in the last book. In addition to figuring out what makes her tick, we have to nail what kind of clandestine activity will drive this storyline.
When Art Samson—the author of We’re Going Down, an aviation novel based on historical fact and Art’s professional experience—and I talk about his next novel, we’ll likely sound like two professionals conversing about possibilities and testing out ideas on each other. While we will undoubtedly touch on whether certain activities make sense in terms of the characters he’s developed since this novel takes up where the last one left off, we’ll first need to hit on the broader strokes. Since this next novel focuses on airline safety and how the lessons learned in that arena could positively impact other industries, including medicine, we’ll undoubtedly be referring to news stories and social trends as we trade plot ideas and work our way up the brainstorming ladder.
Talk about productive fun on so many fronts! I can’t wait!
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