Excellent insight on the value of mind mapping for everyone, not just for writers, on Nick Duffill's blog, Beyond Crayons.
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The bottom line is this: there is more information in the lines of a map than in the words. The connecting lines in a map are the body language of its words. Body language that does not match the spoken word is instinctively and immediately recognised as deception. Sometimes we don't know exactly why we think the other person is trying to fool us - it's just a hunch. Perhaps this is blindsight at work, reading their body language without conscious effort, and sending alarm signals about inconsistency.
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As a writer, your skill in structuring your writing is more important than the words you use. The structure is everything; once you have the structure, your work is 80 per cent done.
This explains why bestsellers rile literary critics. A novel becomes a bestseller because it's a wonderful story – the story (the plot) is the structure. The words may be pedestrian, but the story is a winner. :-)
If you're writing a short piece, the structure must contain Who, What, How, When, Where and Why.
If you're writing a novel, or a nonfiction book, the structure gives you the bones that you need. Without the bones, your 100K words are just a shapeless mass that no one, not even your mother, would want to read. :-)
If you're not already using mind maps, start today. A mind map well done is the task mostly done.
