No matter how hard you try to force inspiration, like a poorly trained dog, it just doesn't always obey.
I find that creating ideas is like making a stew. You throw in a whole bunch of new experiences, sprinkle in a few carrots and let it sit long enough and eventually you'll end up with something palatable. I read 4 or 5 books at a time - not literally at the same time, I just read parts of different books at different times of the day. I rarely read all the way through a single book, unless it's really good fiction.
It is amazing how the books all begin to overlap at some point. I am reading a book about Improvisation, just finished one about the brain, and two or three books on customer loyalty. Believe it or not there are common threads. I like to mix up the perspectives too to make it interesting.
And it is also amazing how something you read in a book will suddenly work it's way out of your mind in the middle of some critical project. I am bad at remembering the authors and titles, so I can't always get back to the source, but the impact of the words lingers.
I think the secret is to get exposed to everything imaginable and the further removed the information is from your normal every day view of the world, the better. Hence the book on Comic Books that I just finished. It was an amazingly intellectual look at the process of communicating through pictures, which is a struggle for me.
People have been saying that the Internet and electronic media will eliminate books but if that is the case, why is everyone I know currently in the process of writing a book? Is anyone going to read what we write?
1 Comment
8/12/2008 11:40:54 am
All of Scott McCloud's books are great! As you enjoyed Understanding Comics I would strongly recommend going on to Reinventing Comics, especially since it has some interesting ideas about communication in general, beyond comics.
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Geni Whitehouse CPA, CITP, CSPM Author, speaker, trainer > 50% Countess of Communication, Brotemarkle,Davis Co. > 50% Writin', speakin', consultin' Co-founder of SolveServices.com a remote bookkeeping service for wineries. How to hire me. Author How to Make a Boring Subject Interesting : 52 ways even a nerd can be heard I have a ton of other websites including my newest for Twitter newbies www.evenatwit.com Originally from Greenville, SC, I now live in Napa, California. Contact Geni
I am an accountant on a mission. I want to permanently remove the blight of BORING that has attached itself to members of my profession.
But the boring blight doesn't stop there. It's everywhere. I've found it in wineries (although it's a tad more palatable when served with alcohol), in science labs, even in Art museums. And technology people carry the "B" gene too. But the condition need not be fatal. I lecture around the country to accountants and technology audiences and I have a ball. I was a partner in an Atlanta CPA firm when I realized technology was my true passion and I have been fighting the nerd versus geek battle ever since. Through some stroke of absolutely amazing luck, I now find myself in Napa -- the most gorgeous, hospitable place imaginable. Are you on Twitter? You can follow my nerdy life there : evenanerd Contact me [email protected] I am a graduate of the Jeff Justice Comedy Workshoppe and the Persuasive Speaker course taught by Speechworks. I highly recommend both of these organizations. I have also taken training from the amazing Lynda Spillane. I am not unbiased, nor do I wish to be. I have done work for anyone and everyone in the software industry or the accounting profession. If I am not impressed by what you do or can't find an angle that is interesting or unique, I won't work for or with you. And if you are stodgy or boring, there are not enough dollars or even euros to make me help you. See samples of my writing here: www.salestaxradar.com www.mybizcounts.com Archives
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