October Novel Prep Challenge

I love the spaghetti analogy, QueenNormaJean snow?forgetit...
And I know I'm a day late and then some, but I love(d) the brainstorming session. I'll return to it because it's useful and helps me calm and center myself in my writing rather than worry about the endless possibilities. I've been writing down lots of wild, crazy, scary, fun, and weird things that come to mind–and most I discard immediately because as soon as they're on paper I know they won't work or there's something that doesn't feel right. I've been ending up with one to three good possibilities for whatever it is I'm trying to work out. And though I'll begin by working with my top choice, I keep any other options in a note somewhere visible so I'll glance at them from time to time–you never know when a wacky idea will make its way into your other plot points.

(Oh, no! Santeven Quokklaus, I'm talking like a plantser! Of course, we still have to see if any of this planning gets into my story. )

Yesterday I used my brainstorming time to figure out more of the role my MC's love interest will take in the story. Since kissing seems inevitable in my stories, Grincherella sees candle light I'm using the new love as a complication in the big bad ouchie climax. It's looking like I'm going to have an unhappy ending, though, and I don't like that one bit. Damn realism in fantasy stories! I'm hoping the characters (or my muse) will shake up these plans and give my MC some happiness at the end.

Anyone else care to share how they brainstorm? Anyone find mind-mapping useful? I've never understood that–for me it just takes up more paper.