You sit down to write with a blank canvas in front of you. You want to create something that captivates your readers and helps them achieve their goals, but you don’t know where to start. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many writers struggle to brainstorm ideas for writing, and the process can feel daunting. However, you can break through the walls with some guidance and unlock your creative potential. This guide will give you valuable insights on a step-by-step guide to brainstorming ideas for writing. 

One practical way to brainstorm writing ideas is to use a spreadsheet AI tool. This clever technology can help you organize your thoughts and discover new ideas that can help you create a more compelling piece.

Table Of Contents

• A Step-by-Step Guide to Brainstorming Ideas for Writing

• 9 Best Practices and Tips for Better Brainstorming

• Common Challenges You Can Face While Brainstorming (and How to Fix Them)

• Make Decisions At Scale Through AI With Numerous AI’s Spreadsheet AI Tool

A Step-by-Step Guide to Brainstorming Ideas for Writing

1. Dump Your Thoughts Without Judgment

This first step is all about letting go. Think of it as a free write, or a brain dump, where you're not filtering your ideas or worrying about writing the "right" thing. The goal here is quantity, not quality. You need raw material before you can shape anything meaningful. 

Here's How To Do It

Set a timer for 10–15 minutes. Open a Google Doc, notebook, or spreadsheet. Write down every thought that comes to mind around a broad theme, don't filter, don't delete. If you're writing an article on productivity, dump anything you associate with those routines, books I've read, habits I hate, tools I use, etc. 

Key Tip

Use prompts like:  

• "What’s something people always ask me about?"  

• "What do I strongly agree or disagree with in my niche?"  

• "What’s a problem I’ve solved recently?"  

Where Numerous Comes In

• If you're using a spreadsheet to brainstorm, Numerous lets you:  

Type Prompts in Plain English, Like:  

• "Group similar rows by keyword or topic."  

• Automatically tag ideas as listicles, how-tos, personal stories, or opinion pieces.  

• Filter my ideas in real time, so I'm not overwhelmed by 30 scattered thoughts.  

So instead of sorting ideas manually, Numerous helps you shape your brainstorm as you go, turning chaos into clarity.  

2. Choose and Expand the Strongest Idea

Once my brainstormed list is ready, it's time to zoom in. 

Here's How To Do It

Scan my ideas and pick the one that feels the most exciting or valuable to my audience.  

Ask

• "Does this solve a real problem?"  

• "Could I add a personal story to make it more relatable?"  

• "Is this something people would want to share or talk about?"  

Once I've chosen it, I start building a simple outline:  

• Intro: What's the hook or core question?  

• Body: 2–3 key sections or angles  

• Wrap-up: What should the reader do or remember?  

Pro tip

Your strongest idea isn't always the most original; it's the one you can execute well and enjoy writing.  

Where Numerous Supports You Again

• With your chosen idea now in the spreadsheet:  

• Use Numerous to create a rough content outline using a simple prompt like:  

• "Turn this idea into a blog outline with intro, key points, and CTA."  

• Or generate headline variations, pain-point angles, or FAQs to include in the piece.  

This reduces the mental load and gives you a fast writing structure, which is especially helpful if I'm working on client deliverables or blog content in bulk.

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9 Best Practices and Tips for Better Brainstorming

1. Use a Timer to Get Ideas Flowing

Creativity thrives under structure. Set a timer for 10 to 15 minutes and do some focused, pressure-free brainstorming. Time limits help you get ideas out quickly without overthinking or editing mid-process. Why does this work? It forces you to move fast, silencing the inner critic, and sparks flow. 

2. Keep a Centralized Vault of Ideas

Don’t brainstorm once and forget it; capture ideas anytime they strike. Create a central place to store ideas, such as a Notion page, Google Doc, Notes app, or spreadsheet. Include short thoughts, half-formed titles, story angles, and interesting questions. 

Pro tip

Use Numerous in Google Sheets to manage your vault by automatically tagging topics (e.g., “SEO,” “personal story,” “how-to”) and grouping similar ideas with prompts like, “Cluster all ideas about productivity and focus into one list.” 

3. Use Prompts, Templates, and Tools to Spark Thought

Sometimes, your mind needs a nudge. Use idea starters like “10 things I wish I knew about,” “What nobody tells you about,” or “Why I stopped and what happened next.” Look at Reddit threads, Quora, Google auto-suggest, or book chapter titles in your niche. 

How Numerous Helps 

Feed these ideas into a spreadsheet and prompt numerous people to sort them into potential blog formats and identify which ones match “trending,” “evergreen,” or “how-to” angles. 

4. Mix Analog and Digital Brainstorming

Sometimes pen and paper help you think more freely. Start messy on paper, then transfer ideas into your digital system for tracking and tagging. This avoids the trap of perfectionism and lets your ideas evolve before organizing them. 

5. Say It Out Loud or Record Yourself

Talking through ideas activates different parts of your brain. Record a voice memo where you “explain the idea to a friend,” then transcribe it later. 

Why it Works

Verbal thinking often unlocks more profound clarity than silent writing. 

6. Don’t Judge Ideas While You’re Brainstorming

The idea that seems weak now might become gold later. Don’t delete, filter, or overthink while writing ideas, just get them down. Editing is a separate step from brainstorming. 

7. Revisit and Reframe Old Ideas Regularly

Go back to your idea vault once a week. Look at previous notes through a new lens. Ask: “Could this be a list post instead of a story?” “Is this still relevant now?” “What new example or personal story could I tie to this?” With Numerous, you can highlight old rows and prompt “Give me three fresh content angles for these outdated ideas.” This brings new life to thoughts you might have forgotten. 

8. Set Your Environment for Creative Thinking

Turn off distractions. Put on music, go for a walk, or switch locations. Sometimes a change of

Setting leads to new connections and breakthroughs. 

9. Use Categories to Keep Ideas Organized

Don’t let your brainstorming list become a brain dump forever. Categorize by: Topic (e.g., productivity, creativity, health), Format (e.g., listicle, how-to, opinion), Audience type (e.g., beginner, expert, freelancer) In a spreadsheet: You can add dropdown columns or use Numerous to classify rows automatically based on keywords in the idea description. 

Numerous is an AI-powered tool that enables content marketers, Ecommerce businesses, and more to do tasks many times over through AI, like writing SEO blog posts, generating hashtags, mass categorizing products with sentiment analysis and classification, and many more things by simply dragging down a cell in a spreadsheet. With a simple prompt, Numerous returns any spreadsheet function, simple or complex, within seconds. 

The capabilities of Numerous are endless. It is versatile and can be used with Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. Get started today with Numerous.ai so that you can make business decisions at scale using AI, in both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel. Learn more about how you can 10x your marketing efforts with Numerous’s ChatGPT for Spreadsheets tool.

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Common Challenges You Can Face While Brainstorming (and How to Fix Them)

1 “I Don’t Have Any Good Ideas.” 

This is the most common block and often the least true. 

You’re probably judging yourself too harshly when trying to brainstorm writing ideas. You may even be trying too hard to be “original” immediately. You haven’t warmed up your thinking yet and are judging ideas before they form. 

Fix 

Start by brainstorming bad, messy, or obvious ideas and get them out of the way. Next, consider the following prompts: *What am I curious about now? What problem have I solved recently? What’s something people always ask me about?* With Numerous, you can list your thoughts in a spreadsheet, even scattered ones, and prompt “Group related rows and suggest stronger variations of each.” This helps you spot hidden potential in “average” ideas.  

2. Perfectionism During Brainstorming 

You try to come up with polished, final-quality ideas before starting. 

Why It Happens

You’re afraid of wasting time. You compare your first draft to someone else’s final draft. You want the perfect idea before writing a single word. 

Fix

Separate brainstorming from editing. Tell yourself, “This is the idea collection phase. I’ll shape them later.” Set a timer (e.g., 10 minutes) and write continuously without backspacing. 

Pro Tip

Even pros write 5 “meh” headlines before landing on the good one.  

3: “Everything Feels Overdone.” 

“Why write this when it’s already been said a hundred times?” 

Why It Happens

You're overwhelmed by content saturation, and you forget that your voice, story, or angle can make it unique.

Fix

Add you to the topic: your lesson, mistake, belief, or twist.

Ask

How would I explain this to a friend in my own words? What’s a personal story or metaphor that would make this different? With Numerous, you can take a generic idea like “How to Stay Focused” and prompt  “Suggest five personalized angles using life experiences or common frustrations.” Now it’s not just a tip list, it’s your take.  

4. “I Have Too Many Ideas and Don’t Know Where to Start.”

Why It Happens

You’ve collected a lot of ideas, but haven’t prioritized or grouped them. You feel pressure to pick the perfect one. You’re worried you'll “waste” time in the wrong direction. 

Fix 

Group similar ideas into the theme. Create a quick scoring system: Which one solves a clear problem? Which one feels exciting to write today? Which one could turn into a series? With Numerous, add a column to your spreadsheet called “Priority” or “Potential” and prompt “Rank these ideas based on how useful or original they sound.” Let AI assist in choosing your strongest direction.  

5: Low Energy or Feeling Uninspired

Why it happens: Mental fatigue, Burnout, Lack of creative stimulation 

Fix

Step away from the screen. Take a walk, journal, or read something outside your niche. Brainstorm with a friend or colleague; collaborative thinking often unblocks new ideas. Revisit past ideas and try reframing them with fresh angles. 

Bonus Tip

Change your environment. A café, park, or different room can help shift your mindset.  

6. You Don’t Know What Format to Write In 

Why it happens: You have a great idea, but no structure. You’re unsure if it should be a blog, story, listicle, or case study. 

Fix

Reframe your idea multiple ways: Could this be “5 Tips For…?” Could this start with a personal story and teach a lesson? Could this be a comparison post or a problem-solution format? With Numerous, paste your idea and prompt: “Suggest three content formats this topic could work for.” This helps you see structure faster, so you can confidently move forward. 

Make Decisions At Scale Through AI With Numerous AI’s Spreadsheet AI Tool

Numerous is an AI-powered tool that enables content marketers, eCommerce businesses, and more to perform data classification tasks many times over through AI, like writing SEO blog posts, generating hashtags, mass categorizing products with sentiment analysis and classification, and many more things by simply dragging down a cell in a spreadsheet. 

With a simple prompt, Numerous returns any spreadsheet function, simple or complex, within seconds. The capabilities of Numerous are endless. It is versatile and can be used with Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. Get started today with Numerous.ai so that you can make business decisions at scale using AI in both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel. Use Numerous AI spreadsheet tools to make decisions and complete tasks at scale.

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