Struck by lightning: Brainstorming

You are probably quite familiarized with what brainstorming entails in the corporate world. It is a powerful collaborative tool frequently used to generate out-of-the-box ideas that, in turn, can be launched as fully-fledged projects. 

In the realm of academic writing, brainstorming is conceived as an essential stage of text creation. The task can be developed collectively, usually within research groups and in classroom environments, or on an individual basis. 

There are no secrets to brainstorming. It is bare thinking, random at first, that will eventually lead to the production of ideas worth exploring, extending or developing. Brainstorming takes time, but requires very few material resources: paper and pencil or a computer will do. Just find an adequate setting and jot down anything that comes to mind. The goal, as mentioned above, is to obtain a set of well grounded, interesting, worthy ideas to write about. Stick to your field of interest; don't lose sight of your research interests and allow your previous knowledge to play a role in the generation of thoughts. This last point is especially relevant since brainstorming in the academic world is aimed at producing relevant pieces of work that stand that provide insight into aspects that haven't been studied before, or that have been dealt with through different methodologies or from other viewpoints. Therefore, brainstorming in scholarly writing needs to be more informed than, for instance, in the corporate world of advertising and/or marketing.

Once ideas have been poured onto paper or screen, outcomes must be pondered. Some ideas will need to be sifted through; many will be discarded. Ideally, the result of a good brainstorming process should be a set of sensible thoughts that can bring to life an adequate academic text.