During the Idea stage of the DISTILL process,
it's important that you start brain-dumping your ideas somewhere.
There's no way to know exactly what the most important
information is unless you've managed to map out all the
possibilities in one place. Do not, however, start
eliminating topics and sections for your Guide. That happens at a
later point in the process. Try to map out exactly what the most
important points of interest will be throughout your Guide, and how
your different ideas interconnect.
Continuing with the "6-pack" Guide we referenced within the
previous section, information an author may drop into their
brain-dump on that particular topic include:
- Specific workout routines that directly impact the abdominal
region.
- Foods that should be avoided.
- Recipes that will help bust fat.
- Fun sports that may also help work the abdominal region.
- Workout safety concerns (proper ways to lift something,
etc).
Again, do not delete things. List them out, link
things together, dig as deep as you possibly can into a subject.
Everything goes.
Start asking yourself some of these important questions, and
start writing out the answers:
- What are the most important points associated with my
topic?
- Why are each of these points important? Why are they more
important than others?
- What should everyone know about these points?
- How do these points help people to achieve their goals more
quickly?
- If these are the main points, then what exactly can I break
these points down into to help our readers better understand the
grouping?
- If I were to read this when I got started, would these
sub-points be where I started?
- Should this information be provided in a procedural, or linear
list for the readers?
- Does this information make more sense in a more non-linear
format?