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Writing Your Book or Screenplay

Translation

On the live stream last Sunday I was asked advice on how to start writing.  The best advice I have is to begin with a Mind Map.  I love this book by Tony Buzan: The Mind Map Book: How to Use Radiant Thinking to Maximize Your Brain’s Untapped Potential

Check out this video of Tony on Mind Mapping too.

Here’s an example of a mind map:

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FAKE is a comedy I wrote that I’ll be directing btw.  See how I took “Angela Shelton” and covered the various focal points?  You can do that for your story too.  Put your story theme or working title in the center and cover all the elements via the mind map technique.  When I make a mind map about a screenplay, book or article, I usually go clockwise.  I’ll make a mind map for each act of the story too sometimes.  It helps with staying focused, especially when you have a long list of notes and ideas.  Linear notes can make you lose your place or get nervous if you have dyslexia.  Also instead of fumbling through a stack of notes, you can refer to your mind map.  Drawing pictures or putting key words in triggers your brain to recall the whole story you had in mind.  For example when I draw a little RV with a “SFAS” inside it I know that’s where I tell the story of Searching for Angela Shelton. You can use mind mapping for so many different things from writing to relationships to how you’re planning the next 10 years of your life.

I make a mind map when I do speaking gigs to0.  A mind map helps you stay focused and on point but allows you to go off on a story and then come back to the next point.  I highly recommend getting Tony’s book and jumping off into the world of mapping your mind!

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Thanks for reading! Please comment on my blog and let me know how I can help you, inspire you or just make you laugh. I'm listening. Feel free to email me at angela@angelashelton.com and let me know what you like (or don't like). To keep in touch, connect with me @ Facebook | Twitter

Tagged as: screenplay, Writing

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  • Kara J.

    There’s a program I use to map projects at work called “FreeMind”. It’s not as pretty as a handwritten mind map, but it’s still fun to use. It’s free, open-source software that’s available to anyone who wants to use it.

    http://freemind.sourceforge.net/

    Thanks for the book recommendation.

  • http://angelashelton.com/ Angela Shelton

    Thank you Kara!

  • dancingbaglady

    BTW – I ordered the book and can't wait to get the juices flowing.

    I have this whole tug a war with my holistic approach, spending my days in a corporate, A personality male dominate, linear thinking rewarding environment.

    Once I rebelled against mapping my business process improvement project in a linear pattern and mapped it out as a barnyard, mud slinging pigs and all. Results? Best proposal we ever delivered to senior leadership.

    They stare in bewilderment and think, “she's crazy.” Yep, I say “CRAZY GOOD!”

  • dancingbaglady

    BTW – I ordered the book and can't wait to get the juices flowing.

    I have this whole tug a war with my holistic approach, spending my days in a corporate, A personality male dominate, linear thinking rewarding environment.

    Once I rebelled against mapping my business process improvement project in a linear pattern and mapped it out as a barnyard, mud slinging pigs and all. Results? Best proposal we ever delivered to senior leadership.

    They stare in bewilderment and think, “she's crazy.” Yep, I say “CRAZY GOOD!”

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    [...] and did some googling to find out what everyone else who has my dilemma has done.  The answer, a mind map, a throwback to all the English and writing classes I wrote about last [...]

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