Brainstormed

It has been nearly Twenty-two years since I became disabled with a traumatic brain injury. Even so, I am still learning how my brain injury affects my body.

The disappointment and frustration are as fresh today as they were during my rehabilitation where I had to relearn everything from smiling, talking, to buttoning and unbuttoning shirts and even tying my shoes.

Anything that requires fine-tuned motor skills had become a struggle for me. Fine motor skills involve smaller movements performed by the wrists, hands, fingers, feet and toes. They involve smaller actions such as picking up objects between the thumb and finger, writing carefully, and even blinking. These motor skills work together to provide coordination.

It took over a decade for me to learn how my brain injury affected my eyesight, that’s when I learned I was statutorily (legally) blind. You don’t have to be a doctor or biology major to know that the brain controls the functions of every part of the human body.

But, the most surprising thing about a T.B.I. is how it affects my memory. My long-term memory is intact, but my short-term memory is shot. I can remember things as far back to when I was three years old and my family lived in Italy like it was yesterday. But, read a list of things to me, give me directions or play-by-play instructions and I’ll forget most of the information before you finish.

Not only do I have a hard time remembering detailed lists, I can have a hard time focusing on the order. It’s as if I’m stuck out in the middle of the ocean on a boat during a hurricane, the ideas and concepts keep flying by with the storm.

Brainstorm!

Brainstorming is defined as solving a problem or creating new ideas by having a discussion with others, or problem solving by exploring various ideas. For most creatives it is the first step in the process of creating.

It can breathe life into our creation or be the final nail in its coffin. Perhaps you’re like me, over the years I’ve learned creative outbursts and inspiration often occur at the most inopportune times: while driving and listening to the radio, during a pleasant spring or fall walk while leaf watching, during a last-minute fast food run.

And I hope I’m not the only one who has almost broken their neck trying to get out of the shower to jot down droplets of tranquil inspiration only found in an evening shower. It’s why I have a dictation app on my phone, often stopping on the side of the road to record memos and thoughts during a long bike ride.

When I get home I sit down and brainstorm the thoughts I recorded. For me brainstorming helps me to focus my thoughts.

There are different approaches to brainstorming for different purposes.

• Speedstorming: is great for small groups, each person has five minutes to produce three ideas and write them down on a piece of paper. Then pass the paper to the person on the right, he has five minutes to build on those ideas. The process continues for 30 minutes or until each person has contributed to each paper.
• Brain writing: this approach is similar, except each member develops as many ideas as possible before passing to the next person.
• Reverse brainstorming: this approach requires generating ideas that would hinder the goal achievement. Then reversing the ideas to identify and solve the problem.
• Content brainstorming key: utilizes a visual to illustrate how one thinks. A spreadsheet is used to determine: topic, audience and content structure. Participants write down as many ideas as possible to give a clear direction of the content.
• Team brainstorming: participants are broken into small groups where limited time to generate as many ideas possible and jot them down on paper or poster board. When time is up, each team presents their ideas to the larger group.
• Focus brainstorming: a no-brainer way to generate ideas for specific demographics. It utilizes each demographic within a company by separating them into groups to develop ideas specific to that demographic.

Focus!

The heart of brainstorming is the generating ideas to focus our audience, readers or target market onto a specific theme or idea we are trying to convey. It works like a laser by taking many ideas and focusing them all one specific point of relevance.

A writer’s primary objective is to be informative or entertaining, not wordiness. Years ago I heard author Jerry Jenkins say it this way:

“Learn how to say more by writing less.”

We all have ideas, everyone has a story. But, not everyone has the power to harness the power of the written word.

1. Learn the process.
2. Be coachable.
3. Be humble.
4. don’t get brainstormed!

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Truamatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at Spiritual Perspectives of Da Single Guy and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.