• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Wylie's Writing Tips

Improve your communications with our training, consulting, and writing services

  • Home
  • Writing training
    • Topics
      • Content-writing classes
      • Email-writing classes
      • Persuasive-writing classes
      • PR-writing classes
      • Readability classes
      • Storytelling-writing classes
      • Web-writing classes
      • Writing-process classes
    • In-house writing workshops
    • Public writing workshops
      • Storytelling | July 11-15
      • PR writing | Aug. 15-19
      • Tight writing | Sept. 19-23
      • Email writing | Oct. 17-21
      • Writing process | Dec. 12-16
      • Past writing workshops
    • Association workshops
      • Case study: PRSA Puget Sound
      • Case study: IABC Detroit
      • Case study: IABC Lincoln
      • Case study: PRSA Alaska
    • Writing training clients
    • Trainer
  • Writing services
    • Ask Ann
    • Writing & editing
    • Writing coach
    • Writing guidelines
    • Writing training
    • Consulting clients
  • Writing tools
    • The Power Pack
    • Rev Up Readership: toolbox for writers
    • Art of Storytelling
    • Block Busters handbook
    • Clarify Complex Copy
    • Cut Through the Clutter manual
    • Get Good at Getting the Goods
    • Jargon: Start Making Sense
    • People Power
    • Think Like a Reader
    • Think Outside the Pyramid
  • Writing tips
    • Content writing
      • Relevant content writing
        • Relevant content writing resources
        • Relevant content writing quotes
      • Creative content writing
      • Structure for content
      • Readability for content
        • Resources on blog post length
        • Quotes on blog post length
      • Scannable web copy
      • Content writing resources
      • Content writing quotes
    • Email writing
      • Why email writing?
      • Subject lines
        • Resources on subject lines
        • Quotes on subject lines
      • Target your email
        • Quotes on targeted email
      • Feature story structure
      • Short, readable emails
        • Quotes on readable emails
      • Scannable emails
        • Quotes on how to write scannable email
      • Resources on email writing
      • Quotes on email writing
    • Microcontent
      • Skimming, scanning, reading
        • Resources on skimming, scanning, reading
        • Quotes on skimming, scanning, reading
      • Bulleted lists
        • Quotes on list writing
      • Callouts, pull quotes
        • Quotes on pull quotes and callouts
      • Captions, cutlines
        • Quotes on captions
      • Decks, summary blurbs
      • Headlines
        • Benefit headlines
        • Feature headlines
        • Web headlines
          • Quotes on web headlines
        • Quotes on headlines
      • Links, buttons
        • Quotes on links
      • Subheads
        • Quotes on how to do subheadings
      • Resources on display copy
      • Quotes on display copy
    • Persuasive writing
      • What’s in it for me?
        • Quotes on WIIFMs
      • Write about benefits
        • Quotes on verbs
        • Quotes on benefits
      • Write to, about You
        • Quotes on ‘you’ writing
      • Quotes about persuasive writing
    • Public relations writing
      • Why PR writing
      • Target readers with PR writing
        • Relevant releases quotes
      • Organize PR writing
        • Leads for releases
          • Press release first paragraph
          • Quotes on press release leads
        • Body for releases
      • Quotations
        • Quotes on writing a quotation
      • Readability for PR
        • Quotes on short press releases
      • Headlines, display copy for PR
        • Headlines for releases
        • Visuals for releases
      • Resources on press releases
      • Quotes on press releases
    • Readability
      • Why readability?
        • Information overload
          • Information overload quotes
        • Time spent reading
          • Quotes on time spent reading
      • Story length
        • Why short content
        • Measure A.R.T.
        • Tighten your story angle
        • Resources on writing short content
        • Quotes on writing short content
      • Paragraph length
        • Quotes on paragraph length
      • Writing with statistics
        • Quotes on writing with statistics
      • Sentence length
        • Activate the passive voice
          • Quotes on the passive voice
        • Resources on short sentences
        • Quotes on short sentences
        • Quotes about sentence length
      • Word length
        • Quotes on short words
        • Jargon
          • Quotes on jargon
          • Quotes on acronyms
        • Adjectives & adverbs
          • Quotes on modifiers
      • Readable
        • Resources on readability
        • Quotes on readability
      • Conversational copy
        • Quotes on conversational business writing
    • Storytelling and creative writing
      • Concrete details
        • Why concrete details?
        • Types of concrete detail
        • Quotes on concrete details
      • Description
        • Quotes on scent
      • Human interest
        • Quotes on human interest
      • Metaphor
        • Why use metaphor?
        • Complex copy
        • Creative comparisons
        • Simplify stats
        • Metaphor writing
        • Resources on metaphor
        • Quotes on metaphor
      • Storytelling
        • Why is storytelling important?
        • Find stories
        • Storytelling research
        • Elements of storytelling
        • Storytelling structure
        • Resources on storytelling
        • Quotes on storytelling
      • Wordplay
        • Alliteration
          • Resources on alliteration
        • Balance
        • Coin a word
          • Resources on coin a word
          • Quotes on coin a word
        • Quotes on the etymology of words
        • Rhyme
        • Rhythm
          • Quotes on using rhythm in writing
        • Twist of phrase
        • Quotes on how to use wordplay
      • Resources on creative copy
      • Quotes on creative copy
      • Quotes on boring copy
    • Type of articles
      • Case studies
      • Tipsheets
      • List-writing tips
    • Web writing
      • Why writing for the web?
        • Quotes on why writing for the web
      • Above the fold
        • Quotes on above-the-fold content
      • Tight web copy
        • Quotes on tight web copy
      • Scannable web copy
        • Quotes on scannable web copy
      • SEO for writers
        • Quotes on SEO
        • Quotes on SEO for releases
      • Quotes on crafting good web writing
      • Writing for mobile quotes
    • Writing
    • Writing process
      • Creativity step by step
        • Creative process
          • Quotes on the 5-step creative process
          • Quotes on foraging
          • Quotes on analyzing information
          • Quotes on incubation
          • Quotes on breaking through
          • Quotes on knuckling down
        • Quotes on creativity
        • Quotes from naysayers
        • Creative story ideas
        • Communicating with comics
      • Prewriting
        • Research blog posts
          • Research quotes
        • Tighten angle
          • Quotes on finding your focus
        • Quotes on prewriting
      • Freewriting
        • Quotes on freewriting
      • Writing difficulty quotes
      • Writer’s block quotes
      • Writing process quotes
    • Writing structure
      • Feature story structure
        • Why features structure?
          • Why feature structure?
        • Feature structure examples
        • Feature leads
        • Nut graph
          • Quotes on nut graph
        • Background section
          • Quotes on the background section
        • Body
          • Quotes on the body
        • Conclusion
          • Quotes on how to write good endings
        • Transitions
          • Quotes on transitions
      • Other story structures
      • Quotes on story structure
  • Writing newsletter
    • Current issue
    • What others say
    • Archives
  • Blog
  • Calendar
  • Why us?
    • About the trainer
    • Contact Ann

Creative process: Get to Aha!

Write better, easier & faster with this 5-step system

Have you ever come up with a brilliant idea — on the way home from the brainstorming meeting? Developed a creative theme for the annual report while pulling weeds? Written the perfect headline in the shower?

5 step creative process
Brilliant ideas The 5-step creative process helps you work with — not against — your brain to produce dazzling ideas, brighter pieces. Image by Josh Boot

Welcome to the wonderful world of the creative process, where working sometimes doesn’t look like working, and where sticking with it is often the worst thing you can do to move ahead.

I’ve used the five-step creative process to come up with fresher, faster, more inspired ideas every day since I learned it at Hallmark Cards a million years ago.

But I’ve recently learned via Brain Pickings that it was the creation of a pre-Mad Men-era ad executive named James Webb Young, who put it down in a book called A Technique for Producing Ideas.

5-step creative process

To make the most of every writing minute in your day, use a process that works with — not against — your brain. Perform these steps in this order:

1. Forage, or gather information.

This is the “feed your brain” step of the process. Here’s where you conduct background research and interview sources — or hit the mall, museum and movies — for the raw material that will become your idea or story.

Avoid “creative incest.” “As with actual incest, the product of creative incest just keeps getting dumber and dumber and dumber with each generation.”
— Dan Kennedy, author of “No B.S.” marketing books

The key thing here is: Get out of your own backyard. The afield you seek inspiration, the bigger your ideas will be.

Beware the “but-that’s-not-like-our-project/company/style/industry/specialty” reflex. If you’re only willing to steal ideas from communications that are just like yours — say, the websites of Iowa insurance companies that specialize in agricultural coverage — your ideas will be as limited as your foraging.

Marketing guru Dan Kennedy calls that approach “creative incest.” “As with actual incest,” he says, “the product of creative incest just keeps getting dumber and dumber and dumber with each generation.”

2. Analyze that information.

Now that you have your raw materials, focus, sift through and organize them to see how the pieces fit together. Look for themes, holes, relationships and structure.

You might call this outlining, writing a walk-away sentence or developing a theme. That’s part of this process, sure. But the real goal is to upload the information to your brain so it can take over while you’re doing something more interesting.

3. Incubate.

Let the information simmer. This is where you take your eye off the ball and let the back of your mind work on your project for a while. As Agatha Christie used to say, “The best time to write is when you’re doing the dishes.”

Don’t have time to do the dishes while a deadline is looming? Instead of taking a break, move on to a new project. Forage and analyze project A, for example, then forage and analyze project B. While you work on project B, you’re incubating project A.

Stuck? Don’t plow through. The best approach may well be to move on.

4. Break through.

This is the magical moment where your brain presents a brilliant idea fully formed. This is where you come up with answers to questions like “What should I use for my lead?” and “How am I going to organize this thing?”

The French call it “l’esprit de l’escalier” — the wit of the staircase. That’s when you think of a great idea on your way out of the brainstorming meeting or come up with a snappy retort the day after someone makes a snarky remark.

5. Knuckle down.

Take Ernest Hemingway’s advice and “apply the seat of your pants to the seat of the chair.” In other words, turn your great idea into a great story.

Structure creativity.

Many obstacles to good writing actually stem from a bad writing process:

  • Suffering from writer’s block? You might not be incubating enough. Trying to force yourself to write before you’re ready is a common cause of blank-page syndrome.
  • Dealing with procrastination? You’re probably incubating for too long or at the wrong time — before you forage and analyze, maybe.
  • Having trouble coming up with fresh story ideas? You may need to spend more time foraging or forage more widely.

It’s the process, people: Use these steps in this order, and you’ll find that you’re able to come up with more — and more useful — ideas.

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
— Jack London, author, oyster pirate, deep-sea sailor, hobo and Alaskan prospector

Master the Art of the Storyteller Master Class

Want to come up with fresher, faster, more inspired story ideas and writing insights? Learn how at our Master the Art of the Storyteller Master Class on July 25-26 in Portland. You’ll master a 5-step creative process that helps you produce more and better ideas.

Save $100 with our group discounts.

Register now.

Bring Ann in to
train your team.

Email   Print    Digg   Facebook   Twitter

“Makes me want to go back and revise everything I’ve done in the past three years.”
– Blythe Campbell, director, communications and marketing, NANA Development Corp.

Sources: “A 5-Step Technique for Producing Ideas circa 1939,” Brain Pickings, May 4, 2012

James Webb Young, A Technique for Producing Ideas (public library), 1939

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • WhatsApp
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Email
  • Print

Primary Sidebar

June 30, 2022

Master the Art of Storytelling - Ann Wylie's creative-content workshop on July 11-15

Save upto $100 with our group discounts.

Register for Master the Art of Storytelling - Ann Wylie's creative-content workshop on July 11-15
  • Cut a long story shortCut a long story short: Would your story be twice as good if it were half as long?
  • What goes into a press release boilerplate?What goes into a press release boilerplate? Boil your company down with boilerplates
  • How to write funny contentHow to write funny content: Try self-deprecating humor
Archives

Wylie Communications, Inc. logo
    Training
  • In-house writing workshops
  • Public writing workshops
  • Association workshops
    Services
  • Writing guidelines
  • Ask Ann
  • Editing and rewriting
    Tools
  • Learning tools
  • RevvingUpReadership.com
  • Free writing tips
Subscribe to our ezine
Upcoming Workshops

Master the Art of Storytelling - Ann Wylie's creative-content workshop on July 11-15

NOT Your Father’s PR Writing - Ann Wylie's PR-writing workshop on Aug. 15-19

Rev Up Readability - Ann Wylie's tight-writing workshop on Sept. 19-23

Think Inside the Inbox - Ann Wylie's email-writing workshop on Oct. 17-21

© Copyright 2022 · Ann Wylie · All Rights Reserved
May not be duplicated and shared without authors permission. Contact us