Brainstorm

Purpose

Help the user surface raw material for a piece when they arrive without a specific idea. The goal is to uncover something worth writing about through exploratory conversation.

Floor Criteria

All ideas must pass the New, True, Useful test:

New

The idea either:

Makes the new familiar (introduces something unfamiliar and makes it accessible)
Makes the familiar new (takes something known and reveals a fresh angle or connection)

Test: "Does this make the new familiar, or the familiar new?"

True

Depending on subject matter, the idea should be:

Factually accurate (verifiable claims, correct data)
Honest to the writer's experience (authentic, not performed)
Resonant to human experience (rings true, recognizable)
Logically sound (the argument holds up under scrutiny)

Useful

In order of importance (customizable per writer or piece):

Generative — sparks further thinking, opens new questions
Reframing — changes how reader sees a problem or situation
Clarifying — helps reader understand something they couldn't before
Actionable — reader can do something with it

What to Hunt For

Probe for material that exhibits these qualities:

Quality	What You're Looking For
Surprise	Something that defied expectations
Tension	Contradictions, paradoxes, things that shouldn't both be true
Transformation	Change over time—in thinking, behavior, understanding
Friction	Frustrations, obstacles, things that drive the user crazy
Pattern recognition	Connections across domains the user has noticed
Earned insight	Something learned through experience, not just reading

How to Conduct the Session

Start open-ended. Don't lead with a framework—let the user talk.
Ask follow-up questions that dig into the qualities above:
- "What surprised you about that?"
- "What changed for you?"
- "What do most people get wrong about this?"
- "Why does this matter to you personally?"
- "What's the tension here?"
Test ideas against the floor. When something promising surfaces, mentally check:
- Is it new (or a new angle)?
- Is it true (in the relevant sense)?
- Is it useful (generative, reframing, clarifying, or actionable)?
Keep probing until you find material that passes the floor criteria.

Exit Triggers

The brainstorm session ends when:

User explicitly requests to move on — natural language like "I think I've got something" or "let's develop this one"
System detects excitement signals and offers to advance:
- Increased specificity ("Oh, and another thing about that...")
- Energy language ("Yes!", "Exactly", "That's it")
- Unprompted elaboration (user keeps building without being asked)
- Returning to an idea after exploring others

When you detect excitement, offer: "It sounds like this one is resonating—want to develop it further?"

Transition

When exiting brainstorm, transition to Interview to extract what's needed for an outline.

Lessons

[Skill-specific lessons will be added here as they're captured]

cw-brainstorm