When I think about brainstorming, I think about allowing my mind to freely run the race of ideas that I may be considering turning into stories. Whenever I looked around for ideas about writing an article on brainstorming, I kept getting info on mind-mapping.

Not what I wanted at all.

To me, there are a few things that are important for brainstorming.
1. You should be able to write down everything that occurs to you. No idea is discarded at this stage.
2. You should be able to listen to music while doing this form of brainstorming. To me, keeping the music-loving side of my brain activated while I create is pretty important.
3. You should try this sometimes with another writer or two. I love to brainstorm story ideas with my writer buddies.

Recently, I brainstormed the rewrite I am going to have to do to Loran Rudder. I had a good English major to brainstorm with. We listened to cafe chatter, drank coffee, and wrote the whole story out in old-fashioned diagram form.

It was like having a light turned on in my head. It seemed so clear!

If you are looking to work out some story thoughts, try brainstorming.
Here is a cute and easy way to learn how to diagram: