Weekly Quote: Getting More Parts on the Table with Steven Johnson

I do a lot of planning around what ends up on this blog and in your email inboxes. With my limited time, I curate ideas from various sources, build on ideas I’ve had for a while, concepts I’ve developed, and pieces that fit into ongoing themes and series. It takes time and effort not only to come up with these ideas but also to go back and dig them out of Craft, bring them to Mindnode or Ulysses, and begin ideating and writing to get them to life.

While this type of planning is essential and foundational, I need to, as the author Steven Johnson says in this week’s quote from his book Where Good Ideas Come From, “get more parts on the table” and examine them to bring these ideas to their final point of being ready for you.

Those who subscribe to The Journaling Guide know it’s typically written in three relatively short acts. Most often, each piece is related, and all share a theme to tell a story of sorts. In order to achieve this, I build each newsletter like a puzzle. I take the ideas or themes that I’m working on, and see how they fit together. Sometimes, pieces get moved to other editions or are swapped to a blog entry, or are sent back to the in-progress pile so they can cook some more.

Even with all the planning, my creative style dictates, for better or worse, that I need to see and feel the words. I rarely just write from an outline; instead, I prefer a more creative approach to finding my voice and sharing it with you. This is probably the longer route to where I want to go, yet it always feels like the right choice. I know what’s creative to me might be chaos for you, and the reverse could also be true. I think that’s the best part of the creative process, it’s different for everyone.

It’s taken me some time to come this far in understanding my creative process, and like so many aspects of my life, I still have plenty to learn. Remember this if you’re working on something and getting frustrated. It takes time to understand not just what you’re trying to accomplish, but the process as well.