Creative Process

Sep. 21, 2010

Steven Johnson: Where good ideas come from

“Chance favors the connected mind.”

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Aug. 30, 2010

Experimental Writers vs. Conceptual Writers

Economist David Galenson posits that there are two types of writers: experimenters, a group that includes Dickens, Twain, and Virginia Woolf; and visionaries, such as Melville, Fitzgerald, and Hemingway. Experimental innovators are seekers. Their most basic characteristic is persistent uncertainty about their methods and goals: they are typically dissatisfied with their current work, but have [...]

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Aug. 6, 2010

Innovation and Risk

“The core skill of innovators is error recovery, not failure avoidance.” — Randy Nelson of Pixar Studios

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Jul. 29, 2010

A Writer on Monday Morning

Buzz Bissinger vents his self-doubt on Twitter.

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Jul. 19, 2010

Stephen Fry: What I Wish I Knew at 18

This video runs about 32 minutes, so save it for when you have a moment. A half hour with one of the world’s great talkers. (Copped from Frank Chimero.)

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Jul. 16, 2010

Starting Over

Finishing one book, starting another

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Mar. 29, 2010

Dickens’ Outlines

Dickens’ notes are a rare opportunity for a young writer to watch a master at work.

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Feb. 17, 2010

Henry Miller’s Eleven Commandments

Commandments 1. Work on one thing at a time until finished.2. Start no more new books, add no more new material to “Black Spring.”3. Don’t be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand.4. Work according to Program and not according to mood. Stop at the appointed time!5. When you can’t create you [...]

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Jan. 31, 2010

The Anxiety of Finishing

The unease of publishing a book that is flawed.

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Jan. 28, 2010

The Importance of Shipping

Seth Godin advises: What you do for a living is ship

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