The first time Susan practiced clustering, the book she was studying gave her an assignment to write a story about the word “fence.” Her first response was, “There isn’t any way. What would I write about that?”
Susan was right. Anything is impossible when we don’t know how. She couldn’t write words she didn’t have. Following the book’s instructions, she began to write what she did know—whatever words came to mind. The book said all words were acceptable, no matter how weird they might seem. She could do that.
After writing “fence” in an oval on the center of the page, she drew ten tentacles outward like spokes on a wheel. Above each one, she wrote the first associated word that came to mind. From each of those words, she drew more tentacles for other words and phrases that expanded each area of thought.
Susan let her mind go. She imagined possibilities. She explored new worlds where she had never gone before. In less than fifteen minutes, the magic happened. She had an idea that she just had to write about.
Let your mind go. Imagine possibilities. Explore new worlds, and soon the magic will happen—a great idea to write about.
