Technique: Clustering
Clustering is a brainstorming technique outlined in Gabriele L. Rico's excellent book, Writing the Natural Way. It's a wonderful way to dig deep into your subconscious for ideas and connections that you might not normally be aware of. Clicking on the cover image of the book will take you to Amazon.com if you are interested in reading an excerpt or more about it.
Basically, when you cluster, you begin by placing an idea, word, or phrase in the center of a blank piece of paper then drawing a circle around it. As words and ideas come to mind, you quickly write them down in connected streams or links flowing from the center circle. You write any and all things that come to mind without censuring yourself, you write until you feel an internal pause, a shift, a feeling that you have written enough for the moment.
Next, you begin writing about your original topic, about another idea that sprang to mind during the clustering process, or perhaps about something that's not even reflected in the cluster but that seems to be jelled in your mind, ready to burst out.
Here are some poems and song lyrics inspired by the clustering process.
Short Writing Exercise
Try out the technique of clustering with this short exercise. In the
middle of an unlined sheet of paper write the word "HAPPY."
Circle it, think about the word and what happiness means to you, then write down any and all words that occur to you. After you have clustered your initial thoughts, start writing. It can be as long or as short as you'd like.
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