Mind mapping reflection – Book writing

Challenge

I like to smell the scent of books, reminding me of relaxing by the fireplace, Christmas, but also

lying on the beach by the sea. I like to carry books in my handbag, although my back deform

into a question mark under the weight of the bag. Moreover, I like to write books. I have already

published several short stories, an e-book I wrote back in my early years of studies, and I

currently work on finishing two more books, which have been incomplete for a long time

already. However, not until recently, I realized that words are not enough, and writing a good

book is a project like any other project, e.g. in the business sphere. It is not enough to force

yourself to sit down at the computer, begin to write and rely on the fact that, unlike traditional

typewriters, Microsoft Office Word will allow you to rewrite chapters easily. It is not that

simple. In order to succeed and to create something of value, relevant practices and tools need

to be used. When reading back one of my unfinished books, I found out that things do not work

on each other, some passages do not make sense, the characters in the story appear from

nowhere and their history and motives are unclear. Therefore, few months ago, I decided to

start a new book, but this time using mind mapping.

Selection

Book writing is a process where both sides of the brain need to be employed - to be creative

and to analytically make the plot logical. That is why mind mapping is an ideal tool for this

purpose. It is a tool, which visually structures ideas on a large piece of paper or white board and

then help sort them analytically according to the relations among the ideas around centre

concept. In literature world, this tool is often used for business and non-fiction book, however,

even the fiction must have its own rules, and the fictional world and the narrative must work

and evolve in a logical way. Therefore, I used mind mapping to sort out readers’ opinions,

create criteria of the book and take me from book idea to a detailed book outline. For me it is a

colourful diagram, which enabled me to see my book, without even being written.

Application

To find out, what is to identify the opportunity, I have searched out which books are currently

the most popular. In order for a writer to succeed, he must grasp a popular subject, but at the

same time work on something what he alone would like to read. I focused on fantasy young

adult literature for girls. Then I read many annotations of these books, stories and fanfiction

written by the readers themselves, reviews and discussions about books and their plot on

literature blogs etc. to get to know the readers’ (stakeholders’) opinions and ideas. I have written

down ideas about the characters and the plot, ideas how readers would like the story in their

favourite books to really evolve, what passages the readers liked and what they missed. I wrote

all these information on sticky notes and then grouped them around the focus of my book

(young adult fantasy) in the centre of big piece of paper. I found out, the ideas could be divided

to four groups - the fiction world and its history (mark red), characters and their motives (mark

green), the plot (marked blue) and then ideas (concrete passages), which could be further

divided to eight chapters (marked yellow). Then I marked the connection between the chapters,

plot, characteristics of the fictional world and characters. Then I created the design criteria,

which the book/plot must meet to satisfy the readers’ demands. After creation of the mind map

and the criteria, I create mind maps of single chapters on other separate pieces of paper.

Insight

Many people do not write books because they do not know how to start.  I know how to start

and I am exciting to start (because writing is my way of procrastination from other duties), but

mostly I end up with writing without even knowing, what the next page will be about. I do not

want to waste my time further, writing something that I will rewrite all over because I did not

think about it correctly. This tool produces a detailed chapter outline with the criteria the book

has to satisfy. Therefore, it helps to create a plot, a fictional world and a history of characters,

but also to present all this through the chapters, which entertain the reader and fit logically as

well. As I said, I liked writing. However, this was even more fun. Now only the hard work

remains.

Approach

I realized that mind mapping was an excellent way to organize the readers’ ideas and my book

as well. Now I have a map to get me from the first to the last page of the book with the criteria

the book has to satisfy. I would apply this tool the next time as well. I did not use white board,

only the big piece of paper, but it sufficed for the purpose. Some software for this exists as well,

but I thing that paper and pencil is more appropriate for this to engage the creative part of brain.

This way I will not miss any idea, ruin any plot or forgot any character. Moreover, I will perhaps

finish this book in a reasonable time period and satisfy the needs of readers of young adult

literature.

