Having a hard time putting together an essay? Looking for ways to grow as a writer? One exercise that I constantly return to is Thought Bubbles. Take a piece of paper, consider your topic, then begin unloading charged words by writing important ones down in random places on the page, then think about descriptives, atmosphere, etc. When you have your page filled with various bubbles, begin linking them, some of your words won’t relate to the others but most will. Once you’ve linked all of them in a pattern that makes sense to you begin writing.
I think you’ll be surprised by the results if you haven’t tried this method before. This method will bring you closer to your subconscious and give you some power and control associated with it. There are websites that use this bubble concept to organize the web, perhaps you have stumbled across them. You’ll see patterns emerging as you cluster certain bubbles together which is indeed a learning experience.