Take Back Your Creativity Teaser: Idea Generation & the Zero Sum Assumption

Launch day is approaching! Take Back Your Creativity launches on March 20th. To show you what it’s about and some of what it covers, I thought I’d whet your appetite with some teasers for the first three Fridays in March. Enjoy!

(This is from Module 2: Increasing Creative Output. It’s a subsection of Idea Generation, & is titled The Zero-Sum Assumption.)

One of the things that can keep you from generating more ideas is the zero-sum assumption. That is, assuming that there’s only a finite amount of ideas that you can have, and that every time you use an idea, that’s one less idea for you to use later.

Not true! Ideas are more like hydras. You take care of one, and all of the sudden there’s seven more in its place. It can sound counterintuitive if you haven’t tried it yourself, but I’ve found that hoarding ideas actually makes you less likely to have more ideas in the future.

Instead of hoarding your ideas, use them relentlessly. At this point, it doesn’t matter if it’s a great idea or a mediocre one, because nobody else has to see it if it’s mediocre. Just use them all to some point – even if that’s just writing the idea down. If you get halfway through that novel and decide that it’d work better as a short story, or that it just isn’t that great of a story idea, don’t feel obligated to finish it just for the sake of finishing. Just shelve that idea and work on something else.

The less ideas you work on, the less ideas you have. One of my theories is that not working on ideas sends a subconscious message to yourself that your ideas are worthless. Whatever the reason behind it, it works – stop hoarding your ideas, forget the zero-sum assumption, and use them all instead.

If you want to be notified the minute Take Back Your Creativity goes live, and get a discount code, be sure to sign up for the mailing list:

Or, you can read more about TBYC over at the official website.

http://twitter.com/OneGiantStep Gillian Duffy

I have to say that, since I first heard of this from you a couple of weeks ago, I hadn’t realized that this was exactly what I was doing! Hoarding my ‘good’ ideas for later. Why? I have no idea other than your theory that I must have thought I would run out! I have since started using my ideas and guess what? My writing is better…b/c I’m writing about the good stuff!! Thanks Michelle!
http://www.wicked-whimsy.com Michelle

I’m glad I could help, Gillian! I realized this…phenomenon? that sounds dramatic, but whatever – in my own life when I was like “But I’m using all these great ideas for guest posts! I won’t have any ideas for myself!” but I kept using them anyways & found myself with even MORE ideas than before.
http://www.istheresomethingmore.net/ Jeanine Byers Hoag

Oh my, that was awesome! I love the permission to capture an idea in some way, give it a go, and if it doesn’t pan out, no harm/no foul.

I have more ideas than I can ever manifest and I think what stops me is the fear that this will be just another thing that never gets finished, which makes me a loser (big giant “L” on the forehead). So having permission to start something just to see where and if it goes, or just to write down the possibility, even if it never gets actualized, is huge!

Makes me think you might know a thing or two about *things that don’t get finished*.

Thanks!
Jeanine
http://www.wicked-whimsy.com Michelle

Yes! I think it’s so important when dealing with ideas to realize that not all of them are meant to fully come into being, or when they do, they don’t necessarily look like you first envisioned them. And that is totally, absolutely, amazingly okay.

I think it’s also important to differentiate between “ideas” and “projects” – because there’s no problem with never actualizing an idea, if it’s not meant to be…but projects are things you’ve actually started working on in earnest.

Yes, I do know quite a bit about things that don’t get finished Part of that, too, is that it helps to define the parameters of “finished” when the idea morphs into a project, and decide what finished will be for that project, if you can, so that you don’t find yourself meandering & not knowing where to go with it & just quitting from lack of steam.
http://dressmytruth.blogspot.com Jeanine Byers Hoag

Yes, the dreaded and feared lack of steam. That’s what always gets me! And I think what you say about identifying possible ways it might look or feel to be “finished” so that I broaden the range of what’s acceptable would be good.

Also, I would think that idea-to-project is a continuum and you might get somewhat attached to the idea after you think of it but before it becomes a project and still have some sense of loss if it never comes to pass. That sense of loss is something else I avoid.

And sometimes not finished only means not finished “now” and I have a hard time waiting patiently to recharge and get back to it. I decided in January to write a 2nd mini-book and then, just could not move forward with it. I knew there would be no help for it but to wait but I was afraid I’d never do it. Well, last week, I was ready to get to it. Finally!