Mind mapping or semantic mapping is a visual technique that aids in exploring connections between seemingly different entities. It's a useful technique to generate a big-picture view of a story - to help organize and explore characters relationships and their impacts on each other, as well as plot points and subplots, and to generate new ideas that may have otherwise gone unexpressed and unexplored. It is also helpful in keeping track of the big picture in a complex story.
The basic constructs in a mind map are bubbles, lines, and characteristics. A bubble holds a topic (character, plot point, theme, etc.) Lines radiate outward from a bubble. The lines link to other bubbles (topics,) or to characteristics about the topic. Color is sometimes used to order topics by their relative importance. Some people also use size - a bigger bubble for example, mean that the topic inside is more important than surrounding bubbles. There are no hard-and-fast rules in mind-mapping. The technique is meant to help the writer explore possibilities related to the story being written.
The example mind-map below explores some of the characters in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Notice that Augustus Gloop, Mike TeeVee, Veronica Beaureguarde and Veruka Salt are all tied to the antagonist bubble (because they are all antagonists in the story.) Temptation is a characteristic of the antagonists, and Charlie is tied to the antagonists in the story through his own characteristic of temptation (he is tempted by chocolate.) Charlie is tied through his core values (characteristic) of "pureness of heart" to Willie Wonka (who is not always good, but who values goodness in children,) as well as through a characteristic of isolation. Charlie is isolated because he is poor. Willie Wonka is isolated because of a self-imposed exile due to theft of his fabulous chocolate recipes by former factory workers. This mind map could be expanded to explore the storyline and themes. For example, what about the Oompa Loompas? Or Charlie's parents, or other parents in the story? How do the songs relate to the characters and the story?
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| Mind Map of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory |
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