OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
Mind Maps are a fantastic way to get your thoughts down and organised, as well as spark the creative process. They can be used to free associate ideas for your novel, to organise chapters, to brainstorm ideas and to ‘brain dump'. I have used mind mapping since I was taught it for Psychology – it actually uses a similar structure to the brain so it helps you remember things. I have also used mind maps to achieve outstanding exam results, as well as the basis for my creative books and products.
So what is a mind map?
It is essentially a version of information generated around a subject. In the example, I am creating a teleseminar on how to create your own Author 2.0 plan. The central topic goes in the middle of the page and then the spokes become the key points from that topic, and from those spokes, more detail emerges.
Mind maps can be words, pictures or phrases, colourful or not, done on software or drawn by hand, about your work or your play or your psychoses. They can be done in 10 minutes or can be a work or art compiled over months.
As the very basic level, mind maps are a tool for you to use to achieve a result.
Recently, I was reminded of how useful Mind Maps are for authors by Tom Evans, The BookWright who uses them in his excellent course, Unleash The Book Inside (review to come on that!). Another great author who swears by them is Roger C Parker who integrates the templates into his Published and Profitable website. This blog is all about helping you and I believe mind maps are a fantastic creative tool!
Here is a great video on creating hand drawn and creative mind maps:
Software for Mind Maps
I like pen and paper best as I have oodles of journals full of them, but others swear by the different mind mapping software and books out there.
FreeMind – free mind mapping software by the excellent Sourceforge
iMindMap (looks great – but beware auto-playing video).
This is from Tony Buzan who also wrote the books on Mind Mapping – his “About” MindMap is lovely!
There is also Mindjet Mind Manager .
Enjoyed seeing your mind map on Author 2.0. Every time I see another map it helps me improve my own. It inspired me to improve my teleclass template I use.
One question did you mean to write “beward” in your post or was it to be “beware?”
Glad to see your mind map. BTW, could you evaluate our open source mind mapping software, XMind?
I use Personal Brain (http://www.thebrain.com/) to map all my projects, including writing. Once you get used to the habit of mind mapping, you’ll wonder how you ever managed to get anything done without it.
Great article!
Tom Evans (The Bookwright) and many others also use our website at http://www.biggerplate.com to share their mind maps with thousands of other mappers!
Biggerplate hosts a large selection of user generated mind maps available to download for free. Come take a look!
Best wishes
Liam Hughes
Founder: http://www.biggerplate.com
Fabulous post! I love mind maps. They are a great way to look at a problem or a project in a new, visible way, especially of you use pictures and color as suggested. I did an entrepreneurial mind map a few months ago just to help get my ideas out of my head. It helped give me grater clarity about what I wanted. http://thedreamingcafe.com/2009/06/08/an-entrepreneurial-mind-map/
Thanks, again!
Sandy
Great mindmap Sandy – I have something similar for my business and am now developing them for my novel in progress.
Thanks, Joanna
Great blog – you might be interested in this video which talks about the difference between Mind Mapping and Brain Mapping – http://www.thebookwright.com/2009/12/02/mind-mapping-vs-brain-mapping/
as well as this example of a Social Media hyperlinked Mind Map – http://www.thebookwright.com/2009/12/08/social-media-mind-maps/
I just met Tony Buzan this week and learned more in 1 day about Mind Maps that I have picked up over the last 5 years