Hello there, fellow researchers,
I’m playing catch-up in terms of writing about our readings. I’d prefer not to skip to the present straight away because I’m really into some of the concepts from the first week. Bear with me while I take you back.
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Two of the concepts that have stuck in my mind these last few weeks are Knight’s concept of writing-as-thinking and Luker’s Bedraggled Daisy method. I am aware that there are acute differences between the two methods, but I find that both of them are based off of the same action: putting pen to paper.
I find brainstorming most effective when I am combining writing, drawing and swearwords (which belong in their own category). I tend to use the two methods interchangeably but I haven’t found one to be better than the other. As a matter of fact, I have found that since the act of writing requires a pause after each thought so that I can actually capture it in a comprehensive form, my hand has never quite been able to catch up to my brain. Even at my best, I still lose track of at least one idea.
At least, I did – until now.
Richard’s post about Channel 16 (and an errant re-run of Mad Men that I saw two weeks ago) inspired me to start thinking about methods of communication and I realized that I had completely neglected what I suspect used to be an amazing brainstorming tool. I’d like to announce that I’ve started using voice note recorders on all my various devices to capture my thoughts before they fly out of my brain. And yes, this does mean that I’ve become one of those tools who talks into their cell phone like it’s a mic.
In my opinion, the best way to put thoughts in order is if they’re all there. Listing my potential research interests into a recorder requires less self-consciousness and I don’t stop after each one to question whether or not it might be a suitable topic. I just talk until I’m done and then transcribe them. After I see them all laid out on paper, it becomes easier to draw connections and overlaps between ideas. It’s also reassuring to know that I can play the sound clip back if I need to.
Now, if only I could pay someone to do the transcribing for me…
Yours in research,
Laura
§ Researchophile § 
Hi Laura,
That’s actually a pretty amazing method of brainstorming. That way, you can record things as they come to you, and then listen to it multiple times, with the option of reworking it afterword. It’s way better than my method of attempting to write it down, then getting distracted from my original ideas while I try to word things correctly.
Hi Laura,
Your method does not make you a tool at all! It seems as though Luker is quite the fan of unconventional tricks to prepare for writing at the computer. I am eager to get a copy of Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren’s “How to Read a Book” as per Luker’s suggestion. Creating an index for ideas or data while you read has never officially occurred to me. How often do I get inspired or informed by a particular section of an author’s work and simply dog-ear the page? Then, when I am desperately trying to remember specifically where and what the author said, it seems to be lost forever? The writing of an index is a useful idea but I imagine it would be difficult to do on a busy subway so I think your voice note recorder is the perfect solution.
– Vanessa