Brainstorm I have a vivid memory of having been taught tu use a technique called brainstorming... This technique was taught us in High School... I suspect that this may be one of the ways we confuse the purpose of writing. in order to start the process of writing an an article or an essay. Do you think that brainstorming is essential to the process of writing? I suspect that you have a different way to go about writing when you ... Write. How does one know what one wants to write before one does? Isn't that the idea of a classical composition? The idea exists as a germ in the mind ready to be developped as an idea in an essay? Or an article?