Invention is a dynamic, recursive process influenced by the rhetorical situation of audience and purpose, the writer's long-term memory, and the text which has already been produced at any given moment. Most heuristics are concerned with the generation of ideas, that is, content oriented. However, the relationship of form-oriented planning to the generation of ideas needs to be explored. The general form that a writer selects for a piece of writing exerts a powerful force not only on shaping what has been generated, but also on causing further generation. Our understanding of rhetorical invention has been enhanced by neurological research which has investigated cognitive mapping, neural excitation, and synapse jumps. Future studies of rhetorical invention will make use of protocol studies and videotaping techniques, furthering our knowledge of what good writers actually do, and seem to be headed toward an increased use of cross-breeding to generate questions for heuristic systems. In addition, there will be an increased interest in understanding the cognitive basis behind the practical heuristics, and in using heuristics in the classroom. (HOD)