Resource Library
(i) Start Here!
(ii) Creativity
(iii) Creative Thinking and Innovation
(v) Procrastination vs. Marination
(iv) Neuroscience and Psychology
The ‘Third Layer’ process itself
The Creative Foundation and Creativity Pyramid
TTS: Ten True Statements
Write down ten statements that are currently true about creativity.
These statements can be anything: “My grandmother was so creative,” “I need a messy/clean desk in order to be creative,” “I like the color yellow.” Anything.
They can be about your creativity, creativity in general, creative thinking. Seriously; anything.
The creativity of traveling locally
In many ways, travel in a foreign locale is easier. You don't have to do anything, the creativity and newness is everywhere. Travel nearby -- especially to places not over-popularized -- *takes* creativity. This is one of the reasons I loved being a guidebook author. You can't cover a place if you look at it on the first layer only. What's the second layer? How about the third? What can I learn about my own backyard that's different to my preconceptions?
Calming the Nervous System through Creativity
… meditation and breathing are like staring the parasympathetic nervous system straight in the eyes and daring it: ‘Calm, dammit! Right now! Now now now!’ While creativity is more like dropping a hankie in its general direction coquettishly: ‘I’m just gonna be doodling or playing air guitar over here, if you don’t mind and … Sure, I’d love to go on a date together!’
The Inner Critic Comes Knocking
Even the names you give them bring a smile to my writerly heart. I’ve met the Sludge Monster, Doctor Doom, California Barbie, The Bird, Shapeshifter, Wicked Witch, Fuckface, Professor Von Fancypants IV, and many delightfully, creatively-named others.
The Creativity Ladder, safety and primordial soup
Why is it important we know our unique Creativity Ladders?
Because we are radically different people creatively/artistically/problem-solvingly when we’re at a layer 1 vs a layer 6. (Not to mention vs the surprisingly elusive layers 7, 8 or 9.)
Because, as the ladder shows, if we push creativity when we’re below a 0, we can — and often do — lasting damage. To our own creativity and mental health, but also to others’ creativity without us realizing.
The Adventure Gift
There are rules: 1) He must use [the money] for something challenging and 2) the challenging thing must be at least a +6 on a 0-10 scale.
Creativity vs Creative Thinking
What is the difference between self-expressive, artistic creativity and problem-solving or strategic creative thinking? And which one is ChatGPT and AI already able to do?
Creative frustation (and why it’s a good thing)
Creative frustration (or fear, envy, boredom, et al) is a treasure trove of information.
Self-expressive vs problem solving creativity
Self-expressive creativity: fuck what everyone else wants, thinks or says. Who are YOU? What do you want to say? What makes you come alive? What unique part of you do you want to offer the world?
Inner Critics and the Inner Muse: Intro to the Creativity Ladder
Layer three: I go into an Inner Critic death spiral at a level -5 and my Inner Muse comes in when I go from about a +3 to a +4.
Gravity problems vs tangible and intangible issues
When it comes to our creativity, what’s a gravity problem, what’s a tangible barrier, and what’s an intangible block?
Creative avoidance
Creative freezing requires awareness, kindness and gentle acknowledgement. Creative avoidance requires a swift kick in the pants. How do you know which one you’re doing?
Creative freezing (aka writer’s block, creativity black hole, etc)
Think of your stagnating creativity as the frozen pizza inside your brain’s freezer. And then the hot oven is your own self-awareness.
Flow and creativity: thanks, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
But happiness is like being in a flowing river. You can feel the water as it rushes past, but try to grab hold of it. The water has to come to you; even thinking of trying to control the water changes the experience.
Capital-W Writing, writing, and pre-writing
Capital-W writing is scary. Pre-write before you Write, using techniques from improv.
Ten Rules for Third Layer Creativity
Our brains are wired for survival, not creativity. Survival brain is what keeps us going; what we create with it makes it worthwhile. But we need a way to communicate with our survival brain, to let it know creativity isn’t going to hurt us.
Pinpoint vs elastic creativity
Pinpoint creativity is nailing the bullseye as close to a 10 as possible. Elastic creativity is designing the bullseye.
The ‘Fuck It’ budget
Creativity — like a financial budget — is messy. The fuck-it budget predicts some of that messiness and gives the privilege of acceptance.
How is improv like writing, and vice versa?
If you want to kill my creativity, sit me in a chair and ask me to write something that will be heavily critiqued.
Poetry vs neuroscience: a creativity smackdown
Just like video killed the radio star, science threatens to kill both the theologian and the poet. It doesn’t have to be that way, but scientists need to acknowledge we do lose something when we gain scientific knowledge.