Main Map
Writing Using
Mind Maps
  Visualizations are important
    A bulleted list is a very
abstract and rigid way
of presenting an idea.
    Visualizations help you take
very complex concepts and
condense them into something
that is much easier to understand.
    Often the act of creating a visualization
is enough to help you fully understand
your idea or issue.
  What's The Point
    It's a tutorial showing people
how they can use mind maps
to create blog posts.
  Outline
    Intro
    What's a mind map?
      It's whatever you want
it to be :)
      It's a visualization of a
brain dump.
    Why use a mind map?
      Basic Reason
        Any situation where you
want to jot down ideas
very quickly and connect
those ideas ina simple,
intuitive way.
        Less impedence between
your mind and your visualization.
      Examples
        Brainstorming sessions
          These also work well when
you are trying to capture all
of the ideas of a group of
people since they require
no formal formatting.
        Writing
          Outlines are what you
create after brainstorming,
not a tool for brainstorming.
Mind maps help with the
brainstorming part of the
process.
        RCA Diagrams
          Xmind has some great
tools that make it very
easy to create Ishikawa
diagrams.
      Believe it or not...
        You usually throw these things
away.
          But they're still
very useful.
    Ok, how do I
do it?
      0. You can use paper and pencil
or software. I prefer using
Xmind.
      1. Start with a main idea
that can link all of your
other ideas.
        Example: A cooking blog post
about a great recipe you
discovered..
          "Pulled Pork"
Blog Post
      2. Jot down ideas related
to this main idea.
        Example mind
map
          Pulled Pork
Blog Recipe
      Remember that you can use
any format that works for you.
      3. Use those ideas and loose structure
to create *something*.
        Document
          The mind map could be
your final document or
it could be used to create
your final doc.
        Decision
          Seeing all of your ideas
laid out in an intuitive
visualization can help you
make more confident, well-
informed decisions.
    Formatting
      Everyone's format will be
different.
        Don't sweat the format.
      The format is not formal. Use
whatever format that is intuitive
to you or the group of people who
are building the mind map.
    Tools
      Software
        Xmind
        Freemind
        Loads of other
software on iOS
and Android.
      My Documents
        The mind map that I
used to create this
blog post.
      Web sites
        Xmind.net has
a lot of great examples
of mind maps.
    Conclusion
  Tools
    Xmind
    Freemind
    Loads of others.
  Why use a mind map?
    Writing
    RCA Diagrams
    Any situation where you
want to jot down ideas
very quickly and connect
those ideas ina simple,
intuitive way.
    You usually throw these things
away.
      But they're still
very useful.
    I often use mind maps
when I have a lot of ideas
around a main idea, and
I need to see how everything
is related.
      Another example -
brainstorming ideas.
  How Do I create a mind
map?
    Start from a main
idea.