I haven't read through the whole thread, so I apologize if some already mentioned this. But I used to work at a writing center on a college campus, and we would help people with ANY step of the writing process, including brainstorming. So even if you don't have anything written down yet, you should still be able to go to the writing center for help.

I'll read through the rest of this later -- I have to leave for class myself right now! (First day of my semester!)

Take care