How the 'Brain Dump Method' Can Boost Your Writing Output

Not long ago, I used to crank out each article one at a time, set it aside, and edit it later. Recently though, I changed my writing game and started batching my articles. My current process is this: I would work on several articles (two or three) at once and then edit them when I’m done with all of them.

This practice has proved to be effective and has boosted my creative output twofold. The reason is, I found that being able to focus on just writing and get all the ideas out was liberating.

Here is how this method can help your writing process.

You boost your creative output

Writing and editing are two separate processes. When you write a story, you engage many parts of your brain, such as the frontal lobe, hippocampus, and Broca’s area. When you focus on just writing content, you use the writing part of the brain to maximum capacity. Doing so allows you to produce more content as you’re able to tap into creative flow. At the same time, this process puts tremendous pressure on your brain. That’s why you need to take a break from writing before you start editing your draft.

As you write, your goal is to tap into your creativity and let your imagination roam. To do that, you must hush your inner critic — the editing portion of your brain — as much as possible. During the writing process, different parts of the brain are at work — mainly the left region of the brain. But it doesn’t mean the right side of the brain, which is involved in logic and reasoning, isn’t engaged. Both sides of the brain communicate together as you write. But it is during the editing stage is when your inner critic wakes up. When you write your first draft, your goal is to let the left side of the brain shine. And since editing is achieved mostly by right-side of the brain, you don’t want it to interfere with your creativity as you write.

The key is to create a balance between the left and right sides of the brain. For this reason, keeping the writing process separate from editing will ensure your right brain — your inner critic — isn’t getting in the way of your creative flow. Doing so will allow you to boost your productivity and creative output.

You don’t overload your brain

Let’s face it: editing is a tedious process. Jumping right into it after you finish your first draft isn’t exciting. And you don’t have to do that. Writing by itself is an intense process, and you may find that after you finished your first draft, your brain is overloaded. This is another reason to do writing and editing on separate days or different times. This way you can allow your brain to recharge, and you work on each draft with a fresh pair of eyes.

When your brain is focused on exclusively one activity — writing — you can better tap into your creativity and focus on developing your ideas instead of worrying about how to structure your sentences. When I write, I’d much rather focus on just writing. Working on a few articles in tandem helps me get all the ideas out that are sitting in my mind. Without worrying about editing my draft, I can focus on just writing.

Here’s how to do it

The way I do it — I like to call it the “brain dump method” — is to create a draft for each topic idea. Then each day, I would work on filling in the content for each topic. Add substance to it as you build each article.

In essence, your brain will function as a conveyer belt dumping out all the content on the page. And you don’t even have to worry about the structure or formatting of each article. That will come later when you start to edit it. And not every story starts with a solid structural outline. You may want to build your ideas by freewriting. Just write down what you know and put down as much content as possible. Of course, you don’t have to finish each article in one sitting. You can come back to it a few hours later or the next day. Keep adding the information for each topic — it could be bits of research, a quote, or a personal anecdote, etc. — anything that will help solidify your article.

As you do that, keep your drafts organized in some kind of folder. I like to keep all my drafts on Grammarly as I type straight into the program, which helps me eliminate glaring typos as I write each draft. I also don’t worry about the structure or formatting of my articles while I write. Doing so helps me liberate my mind and direct my attention to writing. You may decide how you want to approach your writing process, but the whole idea is that you write a few articles at once. When you finish, edit them all once.

The takeaway

In writing, the more you focus on the actual writing process, the greater your creative output will be. Batching your content and writing and editing on separate days are great ways to do that. This method has boosted my writing output and helped me maximize my creative flow. Try this method and see if it works for you.