I sat down to brainstorm for my essay, and now I have a page of random ideas, arrows connecting things, and circled words. It looks like a conspiracy theorist's wall. My professor said “turn this into an outline” but I don't know how. Do I just list things in order? What if I put the wrong idea first? A guide says: “Look for patterns. What ideas connect? What's the strongest point? Start there.” But my brain doesn't think in linear lists. How do I move from visual chaos to structured writing? 
