What are some good brainstorming / idea programs (preferably tailored towards writers)?

Question

A few friends and I write comic books. No, nothing professional, it's really just a hobby. Since I can't even draw a straight line, I'm the writer. So, here's my question:

Does anyone here know any programs that facilitate the writing process? It'd be a plus if they targeted comic book writing. I'm not looking in any way for something as pedestrian as 'Comic Book Creator', but an actual writing tool.

Being a starving student who does this with friends to burn time, I really can't fork over any money for this. If all the applications are shareware, I'll have to look for other alternatives (read: adding to my already unwieldy stacks of paper. I wouldn't be completely adverse to a torrent, and to be honest if I did torrent it I would undoubtedly buy the program later to support the company).

Thanks!

Answer 1

The best way to brainstorm is with a plain old black and white marble notebook and a pen. Fill it up with ideas. Anything - no matter how silly they sound. Drawings, maps, even cut out articles from newspapers and magazines and paste them in. Sit at the mall and write descriptions of crazy and different people you see. Just fill it with ideas. When it's full, sit down with it and a couple different color markers. Cross out any ideas you wrote when you were completely delirious and not responsible for your actions. Then try to write some short stories based on some of the better ideas. Try to piece the ideas together - maybe two or three ideas can add up to one story. Then when you have a bunch of stories, see if there is anything there that lends itself to a longer work. You might be very surprised. There is a much more direct correlation between the hand and the paper than there is between the hand and the computer screen. Many successful authors like Nelson De Mille still write longhand. Save the money you would spend on the magical computer programs. A notebook from the dollar store is the best brainstorming tool in the world.
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They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.

Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.

Pax - C

Answer 2

the best programs are the ones that connect your brain to your fingertips.

Make notes, any crazy ideas. Maybe they can grow.

Build a web. Put down a central idea and then other thoughts, circle thoughts and draw lines, and you have a web.

stream of conciousness, or free writing. Set a timer, and write what flows through you.