How to Use Brainwriting for Better Ideas and Collaboration

Key takeaways

• Brainwriting is a group brainstorming technique where participants write down ideas silently and build on others’ contributions.
• It promotes equal participation, reduces bias, and encourages deeper creativity.
• The 6-3-5 format, which consists of six participants, three ideas each, and five-minute rounds, is the most common structure.
• Brainwriting works for writers, content teams, and creatives who want structured collaboration and more original results.

If you’ve ever left a brainstorming session frustrated because just one or two voices dominated the conversation or the ideas felt repetitive, you’re not alone. Traditional brainstorming sometimes rewards speed over substance, leaving quieter contributors unheard and great ideas unexplored.

That’s where brainwriting comes in. This silent, written approach flips the typical brainstorming dynamic: Instead of shouting out ideas, everyone writes their ideas down, then passes them for others to build upon. The result is a fast, fair, focused way to generate a large pool of creative, well-rounded ideas.

Whether you’re a student refining an essay topic, part of a content team planning a campaign, or a creative writer shaping a story concept, brainwriting can help you think collaboratively without groupthink getting in the way.

Table of contents

• What is brainwriting?
• Why use brainwriting?
• How to use brainwriting step by step
• Brainwriting examples
• Brainwriting vs. other brainstorming methods
• Brainwriting best practices
• Common mistakes to avoid
• How Grammarly can help with brainwriting
• Brainwriting FAQs

What is brainwriting?

Brainwriting is a structured group-brainstorming method where participants write their ideas down individually before sharing them. Others then add, revise, or expand on those ideas in multiple rounds, leading to a wide variety of refined concepts.

A standard brainwriting session follows three main stages:

1. Write: Each participant silently writes two or three ideas on paper or in a shared document.
2. Pass: After a few minutes, they pass their list to the next person.
3. Build: Each person reads the previous ideas and adds new ones or improves what’s there.

The most popular version is the 6-3-5 method, created by Bernd Rohrbach in the 1960s. In this setup, six people write three ideas each during five-minute rounds, producing up to 108 ideas in just half an hour.

Brainwriting can be flexible, too. Teams might use shared digital boards (“brainwriting pools”) or rotate between stations (“brainwalking”). No matter the format, the goal is the same: inclusive, written collaboration that sparks new thinking.

For writers and content teams, brainwriting is especially useful early in the prewriting process. It gives everyone space to contribute freely while still creating a structured record of ideas to refine later.

Why use brainwriting?

Brainwriting benefits both solo creatives and teams by making idea generation more democratic and less biased. Here are six reasons why it works so well:

Encourages equal participation

Traditional brainstorming often favors the loudest or most senior voices. Brainwriting levels the field by giving everyone equal time and space to think and contribute.

Example: In a content meeting, a quieter team member might contribute standout title ideas on paper that they wouldn’t share aloud.

Reduces groupthink

Because ideas are generated independently before being discussed, brainwriting prevents early bias or convergence. This can prevent strong ideas from being disregarded or overlooked.

Example: While brainstorming a group economics project, each student’s idea is completely unique. A few of the students share that they never would have thought of the ideas their classmates had suggested.

Boosts quantity and quality of ideas

Silent writing helps people think deeply, while multiple rounds of idea sharing build momentum. Thinking outside the box becomes easier when everyone can build on one another’s ideas without interruption.

Example: A six-person team brainstorming email subject lines produces more than 100 refined ideas in 30 minutes.

Improves creative focus

Without the noise of open discussion, participants can think clearly and avoid distraction. This allows for brief spurts of deep concentration.

Example: Writers spend five minutes generating story hooks before passing them along for tone or plot suggestions. Within those five minutes, each writer explores their idea deeply, with no pressure to explain or justify it.

Reduces fear of judgment

Because brainwriting is often anonymous, participants often feel more comfortable contributing bold or unusual ideas.

Example: A new hire on a marketing team might suggest a unique campaign angle they’d hesitate to share in person because of their junior status.

Supports remote and asynchronous collaboration

Brainwriting works perfectly in hybrid or remote setups. It’s a way to leverage the distance between remote colleagues and classmates for better ideation because the distance naturally lends itself to brainwriting.

Example: A global content team uses a shared document to brainstorm over 24 hours, with each member adding new angles and building on others’ suggestions.

You can also enhance this process by brainstorming with AI to generate additional prompts or variations between rounds.

How to use brainwriting step by step

Here’s a simple five-step process for running a brainwriting session in person or online.

Step 1: Define a clear prompt

Start with a focused, specific question. A specific question makes it easier to contribute in a thoughtful, helpful way.

Example: Instead of “How can we improve engagement?” try asking “What strategies could boost newsletter open rates among new subscribers?”

A clear prompt helps participants generate relevant ideas and prevents confusion.

Step 2: Generate ideas silently

Give everyone five minutes to write down two or three ideas without discussion. Use paper, sticky notes, or a shared doc.

Example: Each participant lists three blog post topics for a productivity campaign.

Facilitator tip: Remind everyone that quantity matters more than quality in this round. Suggest that participants just write freely, jotting down everything that comes to mind.

Step 3: Pass and build

Have participants exchange their ideas so others can expand, refine, or remix them.

Example: One person’s idea for a post on “Remote Work Burnout” might inspire another person to suggest a post on “Balancing Productivity and Mental Health.” These could turn into two separate blog posts, or one could become a section within a larger post focused on the other.

This stage ensures collaboration by setting people up to build on existing ideas rather than feel like they have to start from scratch.

Step 4: Repeat for several rounds

Continue passing and adding insights for three to six rounds, depending on the group size. Each round layers fresh insight and perspective onto existing ideas.

Example: By round four, a single original concept could evolve into a detailed content strategy.

After a few rounds, you can introduce other brainstorming tools to push ideas even further.

Step 5: Review and evaluate

Gather all contributions, cluster similar ones, and identify the strongest concepts.

Example: A team narrows 60 title ideas down to a top five for testing.

Brainwriting examples

Academic example

Scenario: A seminar group is brainstorming thesis ideas for a research paper on environmental ethics in AI development.

Each student writes three topics, passes them around, and adds evidence or counterarguments. By the final round, the ideas all have a sharper focus and stronger support.

Professional example

Scenario: A remote marketing team is developing subject lines for an email campaign that aims to encourage expired members to resubscribe to their service.

Each member writes three ideas in a shared doc, then builds on others’ suggestions for tone and clarity. The result is a shortlist of polished, high-impact lines generated asynchronously.

Creative example

Scenario: A group of fiction writers is developing stories for an anthology of flash fiction about moments everybody has but nobody talks about.

Each participant writes a basic premise and passes it on, and others expand it with character arcs, twists, or emotional stakes. The collective output becomes a pool of imaginative story concepts.

Brainwriting vs. other brainstorming methods

Brainwriting offers unique advantages compared to other popular brainstorming methods.

Brainwriting best practices

• Start with a specific question. Focused prompts yield better results.
• Keep sessions silent and short. Five-minute rounds maintain energy and inclusion.
• Aim for quantity first. More ideas create more opportunities for innovation.
• Build on others’ ideas. Add, adapt, or refine to increase depth.
• Rotate ideas quickly. Movement fuels creativity and prevents stagnation.
• Use shared digital tools. Collaborative docs make tracking and versioning easier.

Common mistakes to avoid

When you’re leading a brainwriting session, be sure to avoid the following pitfalls:

• Using vague prompts: Specific questions give people direction to generate relevant ideas.
• Starting discussion too early: Silence keeps ideas unbiased. Allow participants sufficient time to think and write in silence.
• Running too few rounds: Ideas need time to evolve. The larger the group, the more rounds you may need to reach valuable conclusions.
• Skipping the review step: Collect and refine results immediately. Do not move on to a subsequent round without finishing each round’s review.
• Critiquing ideas mid-session: Hold feedback until all ideas are captured. This way, each participant has time to develop their ideas and additions to the fullest.

How Grammarly can help with brainwriting

Brainwriting unlocks diverse, creative thinking. Grammarly makes it easier to organize, refine, and communicate those ideas clearly. Here’s how Grammarly fits into each step of the process:

• Before the session: Use Grammarly to polish your prompt and make it specific and actionable.
• During ideation: Grammarly supports clarity and structure as participants capture ideas in shared docs.
• After: Use Expert Review for content feedback or Reader Reactions to test how new ideas will resonate with audiences.

Together, Grammarly and brainwriting help teams turn raw creativity into writing that’s cohesive, polished, and ready to share.

Brainwriting FAQs

What is the purpose of brainwriting?

It helps groups generate more and better ideas by allowing participants to write privately before sharing.

Is brainwriting better than traditional brainstorming?

In many cases, yes. Brainwriting minimizes bias, promotes inclusion, and generates higher-quality ideas, especially in writing teams.

Can brainwriting be done remotely?

Yes. It works well in shared digital documents, allowing participants to contribute asynchronously.

What is the 6-3-5 method?

The 6-3-5 method is a structured form of brainwriting where six people each write three ideas in five minutes, then pass them on to each other for review and development over six rounds.

When should you not use brainwriting?

When a fast, spontaneous discussion is needed, such as when a small team is making a decision in real time, brainwriting typically isn’t the most effective choice.