When it comes to creating ideas, we hold ourselves back. That's because inside each of us is an internal editor whose job is to forever polish our thoughts so we sound smart and in control and so we fit into society.
But what happens when we encounter problems where such conventional thinking fails us? How do we get unstuck?
For Mark Levy, the answer is freewriting, a technique he's used for years to solve all types of business problems and generate ideas for books, articles, and blog posts.
Freewriting is deceptively simple: start writing as fast as you can, for as long as you can, about a subject you care deeply about, while ignoring the standard rules of grammar and spelling. Your internal editor won't be able to keep up with your output—you'll generate breakthrough ideas and solutions that you couldn't have created any other way.
Levy shares his six secrets to freewriting as well as fifteen problem-solving and creativity-stimulating principles you can use if you need more firepower—seven of which are new to this edition. Also new to this edition: an extensive section on how to refine your raw freewriting into something you can share with the world.
Author(s): Mark Levy
Edition: 2 Revised and Updated
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 205
Contents
Introduction: Your Mind Is Bigger Than You Think
Part One: The Six Secrets to Freewriting
1. Secret #1: Try Easy
2. Secret #2: Write Fast and Continuously
3. Secret #3: Work against a Limit
4. Secret #4: Write the Way You Think
5. Secret #5: Go with the Thought
6. Secret #6: Redirect Your Attention
Part Two: Powerful Refinements
7. Idea as Product
8. Prompt Your Thinking
9. Open Up Words
10. Escape Your Own Intelligence
11. The Value in Disconnecting
12. Using Assumptions to Get Unstuck
13. Getting a Hundred Ideas Is Easier Than Getting One
14. Learn to Love Lying
15. Hold a Paper Conversation
16. Drop Your Mind on Paper
17. The Writing Marathon
18. Doubt Yourself
19. The Magic of Exact Writing
20. Extract Gold from a Business Book
21. You Are What You Focus On
Part Three: Going Public
22. Sharing Your Unfinished Thoughts
23. Help Others Do Their Best Thinking
24. Notice Stories Everywhere
25. Build an Inventory of Thoughts
26. Write Your Own Rules
27. The Fascination Factor
28. Freewrite Your Way to Finished Prose
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
A
B
C
D
E
F
H
I
J
K
L
M
O
P
R
S
T
V
W
Y
About Mark Levy
