I'm trying to "get it", using BrainStorm. But it just doesn't happen to me. Many people here are so enthusiastic about BrainStorm, being surpassed in popularity only by Zoot.

But I find it quite confusing - mind-splitting - to have my "model" split up in all these "pockets", where I dig down into a hole, and have to crawl up again to dig down into another hole. If you understand what I mean.

It might sound weird, but I feel somehow frustrated that I can't get flying on this product. And I seem to be the only one in here who just haven't got the point in using BrainStorm. I'm really reluctant to skip it, as I'm still living in anticipation that one day I'll be enlightened and the discover virtues of BS.

This is not really a question, but just a comment, expressing my frustration, reading all the great times you all had with BS. I envy you!

Regards,
Peter.

This is not really a question, but just a comment, expressing my frustration, reading all the great times you all had with BS. I envy you!

My first reaction is to say that there are some really beautiful women out there that not all men would appreciate. Likewise, creative work is a very personal issue and I am sure no approach will please everyone.

So I think the issue is not really whether you appreciate Brainstorm but whether you have found a tool that "is made for you", i.e. supports your own way of working.

My second reaction is to clip a few paragraphs from a recent exchange at the Brainstorm Beta list; interestingly, since noon today I have been using exactly this approach and working like mad on a text I was assigned just yesterday, for delivery on Thursday; honestly, as I am already very busy, if I didn't have a tool like Brainstorm to work with, I would have refused the job.

[DT stands for David Tebbutt and AD for Alexander Deliyannis; it gets rather technical, but I think you'll get the point.]

DT> I used to hurl everything in at the same level. Made easier with Magic Paste, of course. Just rummaged around, grabbing what I wanted.

DT> Then scanned the material looking for themes. If I were writing an article, I might have Intro, Good quotes, a heading for each major theme and Conclusion. I'd list these at the very top of the model above the gathered material.

DT> I'd mark the first entry under one of these topics and throw (now, I sometimes use throw copy) all the relevant entries. Throw copy shows all the thrown items in the main list as namesakes.

DT> The advantage of throw is that the main list shrinks, the advantage of copy is that you might want a topic under more than one heading. Maybe just use copy if you suspect something might be needed elsewhere - eg in the intro and one of the topics.

AD> I personally always throw copies; then I add a heading called "Material" or "Reference" or whatever and throw all the original notes in there. This way, while I'm editing, I can just slide back to the original notes to check the context. Also, when editing a specific entry, I will usually turn Namesakes Off, so that I maintain my original notes intact.

AD> After the main editing work, I may also check whether there's some material that I ended up not using at all (it won't have namesakes).

DT> The nice thing about the above approach is that you don't have to ctrl select and rely on shift drag, you can just rattle down a list, throwing whatever takes your fancy.

AD> Yes, I love this process! That's probably the main reason I turn to Brainstorm all the time. If I'm feeling creative I work on the structure and content; if I'm not, I just start looking for the reference material to magic paste. Either way, the work advances.

alx

I would concur with Alexander. Your personal workstyle will determine if you find Brainstorm a useful tool or not. For me, Brainstorm works best when I'm not creating too many levels... that is, I don't dig too many deep holes to climb in and out of. My models tend to be small and very focussed on one topic at a time... well, except for my work map model, which is a list of all my current projects with sub items for each project describing the current status and next steps.

If you haven't already done so, I would suggest you try opening multiple windows of the same model. I think Graham has a great screen capture (that may be viewable at the www.brainstormsw.com) that shows how you can use multiple windows effectively. And don't forget the aerial view, which shows your whole model in outline form. Anytime you feel overwhelmed by your model, type Ctrl-B and you'll be transfered to the aerial view. Double-clicking on any item in aerial view will take you to that item.

But, if all this still doesn't work for you, don't try to force it. Find something that works better for you. There sure is a lot to choose from.

Steve Z.

Peter,

It may be a concept thing, I tried Brainstorm a couple of times, got hopelessly lost, and gave up. At least in part because I was expecting an Outlining tool, which Brainstorm isn't. For me, Brainstorm is more a grabbing data in a disorganised manner and then re-organising it tool.


So I think there are two problems with Brainstorm, the first is graspng the concept - and the videos on the web site are a great start. The second is getting up to speed with the ways of moving data around and the different ways of viewing the data. Once you can throw text around in Brainstorm without needing to think about what you are doing, it becomes a very fast and flexible tool.

Being able to split the model into pockets is one of its strengths because it allows you to see several parts of the same model at different depths at the same time - if you see what I mean.

But it does take a bit of getting used to.

Good luck:-)

Graham