CREATIVE THINKING: Top 3 Things Non-fictio Writers Should Know

There are obviously more than three things that non-fiction writers should know about creative thinking, but these three things are crucial in my mind. Even with 25 years as a professional writer and non-fiction author I sometimes forget. We are all busy, as writers we sometimes get caught up in editing, rewriting or marketing and forget to keep creating. So incorporate these “Top 3 Creative Thinking Tips” into your writing lifestyle.

Tip 1: STIMULATE YOUR MIND
The mind needs fuel. Continually engage in research of some kind, make lists of potential book titles, or dialogue with a friend or associate about a particular topic. Mental fuel comes from providing new experiences that involve smell, touch, sight, sound, taste and an opportunity to engage your intuition. Discover new things. Immerse yourself in an activity that demands learning a different terminology or a skill set previous foreign to you. Watch people. Listen actively to individuals. See what problems people are having. Think about ways to solve their problems, especially your potential customers. Go to a new restaurant, visit an art gallery, spend time outdoors, drop by a toy store, browse a bookstore or explore another place you have never been or haven’t visited in a while. If you want to create new ideas, stories, products and services, give your subconscious mind material and experiences with which to work. Your mind is a muscle. Exercise it.

Tip 2: BE A PARTY TO BRAINSTORMING
Spend time each week brainstorming new titles, new marketing ideas, new ways to connect with your customers. Let the ideas flow. Write them down in a notebook, on a flip chart or use a white board. Set aside your critic or judge for this period of time and write down at least 20, if not 50 or 100 ideas. Then let the ideas or list sit for a day or two. Come back and evaluate. Circle or write on a new sheet the ones that seem to have the most merit or potential. Make it a Party! Brainstorm with a group of four or five. When you can hitchhike or piggy back on someone else’s idea many times you find a better one. But don’t let not getting a group together be an excuse. Brainstorm by yourself or go online and start a discussion and ask for feedback.

Tip 3: CREATE…CREATE…CREATE
Take action, bring into being, cause to exist that is the definition of create. Make something happen. Author and Creative Thinker Roger Von Oech says, “Creative Thinking is the SEX of our mental lives.” Discover new ideas. Find new patterns of thinking. Seek solutions. Embrace flexibility or shifts in thinking. Adopt elaboration by adding as many details as you can. Don’t get locked into a box of one book, one product, one service, or one marketing idea. Creating helps you stay out of a mental rut. Create…create…create.

Creative thinking also helps you cope with change. Imagination is the power of the mind to form mental pictures. Creativity is the key that allows you to fashion a concept, forge an opportunity, or foster creative mental power. Isn’t that what we need…MORE creative mental power? If you have already started on a journey of creative passion that consumes you — congratulations. If not, what are you waiting for. Seize today! Believe in yourself! I do. Believe in your ideas! They are worth it. Persist and you will find a wonderful and almost unexplainable joy when you actively involve yourself in planned creative thinking.