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Learn to Love Taking Notes
stumping ourmembers and guests by giving reader and the author. The main drawback in
very specific questions related to our meeting. world-building is that you can become lost in
I learned just as much from the experience as your own creation and forget to write the story
they did. itself. Brainstorming should ultimately be about
Perhaps the best time for me to take notes is creating the environment you want for your
when I’m brainstorming. I love brainstorming, speech or essay. I learned that If you’re spending
and as someone who writes in multiple genres, too much time brainstorming, you’re probably
brainstorming is a must in most situations to overthinking what you want to do on your
help clarify what it is I want to write. Unlike project. By taking the time to create the main
other forms of note taking, brainstorming is points of my story or speech, I was able to flesh
much more freeform, allowing greater out my goals much more succinctly.
flexibility but also eventually While I can’t always tell you that there are
needing a way to organize ways to enjoy note taking, certainly there are
one’s thoughts into a coherent many benefits to using this skill. As our Club
story when the details Secretary, for example, I’m able to take part in
are hashed out. For the direction of my club by recording the events
example, world- of our executive committee meetings. And that’s
building is one of perhaps the biggest takeaway. By taking notes for
my favorite activities yourself, you ensure that you retain information
as a writer of science fiction for a longer period of time so you can improve
and fantasy. Many elements go your skillsets, whether that be as a student or an
into creating a milieu that is employee. By taking notes for others, you ensure
exciting to that the group remains on track and accountable
both the for their actions. And by using note taking as a
means to create a speech, you make it possible
to keep the speech on-topic by creating bullet
points for your subject matter, thus making it
easier for your audience to follow along.
VOICES! | MARCH 2023 41
