Over the last 45 years, I have written and published over 175 books for adults and children. Sometimes the number surprises me, as I didn’t set out to be an author.
Early on in my career, I realized that being a successful writer wasn’t just about crafting compelling stories. I needed to be a sponge, read widely and broaden my perspective.
Embracing the quote from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs that “creativity is just connecting things,” I gave myself permission to follow my interests, wherever they led me.
To that end, I have written about topics as varied as marine biology, job interviews, teaching, creativity, baseball, archeology, American history, resume writing, tsunamis and nocturnal creatures.
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In my most recent book, “In Search of the Old Ones,” about the longest-lived trees in the United States, I dove into the study of tree rings and social psychology. And I still have so many more ideas that I’m excited to pursue.
These are the four creativity principles that have served me well for over four decades.
1. There is no one ‘right’ answer
I was a professor of education for nearly 30 years.
So many of us, instructors and students alike, were taught to believe that for every problem there is only one correct response. That is simply not true. Seldom were we offered the opportunity to consider a multitude of potential solutions to any intellectual challenge.
That in and of itself is a problem because as inventor and author Roger von Oech says, “if you think there’s only one right answer, then you’ll stop looking as soon as you find one.”
You need to give yourself room to imagine all the possibilities.
I recently invited participants in a creativity workshop I led to generate as many different uses for a paper clip as they could in five minutes. They came up with 57 ideas including a cheap nose ring, ear cleaner, lock picking device, mini fishing rod, bookmark, ant javelin, cheese cube holder and tie clip, among others.
A focus on a one-right-answer mentality forces us into a “don’t take any risks” mindset. But creativity is a continuous generation of options — seldom a search for solitary answers. In my writing, I too, constantly search for multiple approaches and prospects.
2. Give yourself permission to make mistakes
The most creative people tend to have the most failures.
James Dyson created 5,126 unworkable prototypes before inventing the Dyson vacuum cleaner. Thomas Edison spent over two years attempting to improve his light bulb. When asked about this period of trial and error, he remarked, “I have gotten a lot of results! I know several thousand things that won’t work.”
When I was writing “In Search of the Old Ones,” I went through 21 separate drafts over the course of 12 months. I didn’t feel discouraged by the mistakes I knew would be present in these drafts. Instead, I saw it as an opportunity to make changes and improvements.
The process itself is part…
Read More: I’ve written over 175 books: My top creativity takeaways
