Brainstorming Topics: 13 Great topics to Get Creativity Flowing

If you are looking for a new creative idea for your writing work, these 13 brainstorming topics could be a good place to start.

A brainstorming session can be a great way to get new ideas for a blog post or podcast. If you’re hoping to get the creative juices flowing so you can inspire your subscribers, or if you find yourself struggling with writer’s block and want to start thinking creatively again, brainstorming is the place to start.

There are many brainstorming techniques you can use to get the ideas flowing. Some of the more popular ones include:

• Listing or Bulleting
• Clustering or Mind Mapping
• Guided Brainstorming
• Group Brainstorming
• Brainwriting
• Rapid Ideation
• Storyboarding

Sometimes before you can begin brainstorming, you need the right central idea. Here are some brainstorming topics that can start the process. These topics are vague and open-ended on purpose because your mind can take you down many different paths as you explore them.

General Brainstorming Ideas for Those New to Brainstorming

If you are new to brainstorming, here are some ideas to get you started on the activity:

1. What Do You Remember About Childhood?

Childhood is something that has many different subtopics a writer could explore. You could talk about the emotions of childhood, or you could write about the responsibilities of childhood. This is an effective brainstorming starting point because everyone has a childhood. Whether it was a good one or a bad one, this is a universal topic that all writers can write on.

Because this is such a broad topic, you have many different paths you can go down for your brainstorming. Some ideas include vacations you took as a child, favorite toys you had, people who influenced you or were important to you as a child.

2. What Do You Think About Global Warming?

Global warming is another broad topic that works well as a brainstorming idea. You can explore your opinion, discuss the human impact on global warming, and discuss its economic, geographic, and political impacts.

As you brainstorm this topic, consider potential solutions you find. Add a section to your concept map that discuss solutions. You will find after completing this activity that you have multiple options to write about with this one broader topic.

3. What Is the Impact of Education?

Education is another broad topic that can work well for brainwriting activities. You can write about its impact on your life personally or its impacts on society. You can have a subtopic that explores some of the benefits of the right education or the drawbacks of a flawed educational system.

Education also gives you the chance to brainstorm techniques. What works in education, and what doesn’t? What is the role of the teacher and the student in education? The answers to these questions provide quite a bit of information that you can transform into articles and papers.

4. Explore a Social Controversy

Another effective brainstorming technique is to take a current social controversy and make it your central idea. Then, spend time exploring the who, what, where, when, and how surrounding this topic. You can share ideas to solve the issue or explore potential causes, depending on your goal for the activity.

If you brainstorm ideas for a blog post, this topic can be quite effective. You can engage with your audience well when you talk about something important to them, and social controversies tend to fit the bill well. You can also get quite a bit of engagement when using a hot-button topic like this.

5. The Impact of Pets on Your Life

Pets are something many people feel strongly about. If you have a pet, you know how close you can get to them. Consider using “pets” as the main topic in your freewriting activity, and then branch off with the different subtopics.

You can explore many things with this topic. For instance, you can look at the emotions you feel about your pet, or you can have a subtopic that explores pet care concerns. You can talk about ethics and costs, as well.

6. A Particular Culture

Is there a culture you would like to learn more about or know quite a bit about and would like to study further? This can be a great brainstorming topic. Start with the culture as your central idea, and then brainstorm facts about it.

What influences have you seen on the culture? What are some facts about it that are worth exploring? How has the culture changed? These are the ideas that can create the subtopics for your brainstorming session.

Brainstorming Topics for Students

These ideas might get you started by brainstorming a topic for a research paper or essay.

7. Your Favorite Historical Character

Is there someone from history that you enjoy studying? This could be your brainstorming topic. Put that character as your central topic, and then brainstorm and map about them.

You’ll find quite a few paths to follow with this idea. Start with biographical information as one branch of your mind map, then move to impact and political or societal views for additional branches. As you dig into the research, add even more to the map until you have a full picture of who they are and how they impacted society.

8. A Science Topic

Do you have a passion for weather or physics, or chemistry? Pick a topic related to science, and build that into your brainstorming session. You can delve deep into various aspects of the topic as you brainstorm.

This brainstorming topic works well if you need to write an academic paper. It also works if you are just interested in the topic in general.

9. A Piece of Literature

A final idea for brainstorming topics is to look more closely at a particular piece of literature. Place the work’s title at the center of your concept map, then build branches to talk about characters, setting, and plot. You can also explore alternate endings to get some creative writing in.

You can use this idea to get your creativity flowing if you write your work. Place the title or main plot point in the center of your graph, and start brainstorming. You’ll get quite a bit of work on mapping out your ideas if you work through this process.

Brainstorming Strategies for Marketing Professionals

Brainstorming in the professional environment happens all the time. Some of the best ideas come from group brainstorming sessions. If you need help getting started, rather than taking on a topic, consider one of these activities:

10. Bad Ideas First

If you’re looking for the next great idea with your group, consider listing the bad ideas first. This gives you room to state an idea that you think is bad, but it might actually be good, but it also lets you get all of your creativity out. Often, you will find some gems even within those ideas you think are bad. 

Remember, brainstorming aims to get all of the topics out. Some won’t be important to your writing or your project, but stating them is a good starting point. If you’re brainstorming in a group, letting them state all of their bad ideas first is a good way to break the ice and make people feel less inhibited about sharing their real ideas.

11. Break Down a Big Idea

In marketing, you often start with a big idea or promotion, but you need to find a way to get that idea or promotion into the minds and eyes of your target audience. You can use a brainstorming session to do this.

Start with your big idea as the central point. Then, have you or your team break it down into smaller parts. Soon you will come up with different avenues you can tap as you work towards reaching your audience with your main marketing message. 

Brainstorming Topics for Creatives

If you are creative in any industry, you know the frustration when your ideas run dry. Here are some brainstorming topics and ideas that can get your creativity flowing again.

12. Create a Mood Board

The mood of the creator inspires much creativity. Create a board where you can brainstorm about a particular mood. For instance, you can add adjectives, images, and colors you associate with that mood. 

Make this particular brainstorming activity highly visual—the more visual, the better. With the images and ideas on your board, you will have a starting point for your creative work.

13. Find an Inspiring Image

Whether it is something from nature or a work of classic art, find an inspiring image to start your brainstorming session. Put the image, rather than a word, at the center of your mind map or brainstorming flow chart. Then build ideas from it.

You may find inspiration for a work of fiction in this way, or you may find an idea for your piece of art. Using the beauty around you can easily inspire your creative side if you spend a little time thinking about what you see.

For more brainstorming ideas, check out our round-up of the best software for brainstorming.