by James Dowd
As you write, the Heart inside you will want to play with everything and will quickly become bored with focusing so much on one little thing at a time. It will want to explore what happens next, and it will want to reference a song you kinda remember, or it will want to go Google that weird thing you kinda remember from when you were a kid, and it will want to be more, and do more. And in that moment, you will see that your Head is all that keeps you on track. It’s why people have movie ideas but have never finished a screenplay — they write with all Heart and not enough Head. They lack structure and order in their writing; not necessarily in their screenplay, but in the act of writing it.
Meanwhile, the Head can lead you to suffer from anxiety and depression and a lack of confidence due to its tendency to overthink, to be overly practical, and to form cognitive distortions. For example, “If I write this, people will see me, and if they see me they will judge me, and if they judge me I will fail. Then I won’t have a job, or money, or friends, so that’s why I should just not write it, or anything, ever.” Or, it considers the possibility of a career, or lack thereof, as a Writer in most industries and says, “Why bother? It’s not likely to happen anyway.” So, while the Heart can be a woo-woo weirdo, the Head can be a real drag.
Your 3 Rooms
Legend has it that the incomparable innovator Walt Disney used a similar thinking technique to the Heart and the Head as the creative process for himself, as well as his animation teams. It was called Disney’s Three Rooms.
Both inside our heads as well as actual physical manifestations in their office, the Three Rooms helped you focus your mind at a given time and then more effectively and efficiently turn your dreams into reality. These Three Rooms were said to have reflected the three Walts. There was the Dreamer, the Realist, and the Critic, and you never knew which Walt would be joining you.
Much like the Heart, the Dreamer allowed for absolute creativity and imagination. It was where the work began and where ideas flourished. This was not a room for negativity, or opposition, or critique. There was no place for all that when everyone’s minds and hearts were wide open, always considering the possibility of new and wonderful things. Here, anything was possible, and that’s why it gave animators the freedom to craft experiences and stories that would change the world.
Similar to the Head, the Realist brought structure and deep, mindful, logical consideration into the work now that it existed. While the Dreamer was fueled by divergent thinking with the mind focused on the many possible considerations and possibilities, the Realist transforms the thinking by embracing convergent thinking to the creation process. In this mindset, and sometimes physical location, risk-taking and originality are replaced by data, experience, and logic. Here, we can take wild, free, fun ideas and edit them into a structure or form that is practical and achievable. Simply, this is where order is given to ideas. (Heart, and then Head)
The Critic is the final and most annoying room. This is where we have to be honest with ourselves, each other, and the work, and where we sometimes have to kill our babies, as in getting rid of the ideas that we do so dearly love, but which we know will not succeed. This is the time when logic still reigns supreme but emotion is still incredibly important. It’s not simply, “This will not work.” It’s also strongly, “This will not resonate with people.” In this room we’ll decide if this Disney animation is truly what will make the kiddos of the world dance and sing, and at times cry. Or, if it’s just doomed to fail.
And, like the Heart and the Head making a greater whole, each of these three creative mindsets must work alongside another “room” at some point or they become ineffective. For example, the work created by the Dreamer will often be unstructured and unachievable without the Realist. It will be only pixie dust; fantasy and therefore not practical. But, by incorporating the Realist, the wonderful ideas crafted by the Dreamer can be molded into something incredible and valuable — something worth sharing. However, while the Dreamer and the Realist make a great team, the Dreamer and Critic would only fight, and the Realist and the Critic would have very little to work with without the Dreamer’s ideas. That’s why the foundation of the Dreamer and Realist, or the Heart and the Head, are critical to the creative process.
In addition to providing an ever-shifting mindset for you, the Writer, the Heart and the Head can also be your step-by-step process, much like Disney’s physical rooms. The subsequent sections of this book will introduce more extremely dumb tips & techniques for utilizing these two halves of yourself as an approach to tackling any writing project by being one and then the other. In this approach, the Heart will allow you to write freely and openly — a Dreamer and wild brainstormer that helps you prepare yourself with words and ideas. Then, the Head will help you create structure, balance intent, and be a Realist. In two simple steps, you stop constantly trying to write or create in your head, and you just take a backseat to things within you that already exist by merely recognizing their existence and specific, timely role.
Finally, once you’ve taken the two steps, these two halves and their dumb tips & tricks will work together to create a self-critic — much like the third room — that will allow you to properly review your work once it’s actually done, and not before as you try to write it. It’s the Heart + the Head = the Human. So, as you dive into your next bit of writing, no matter what it is, work from the Heart and the Head, and appeal to the human on the other side.
Dumb Writing Tip #3: Use your Heart and your Head.
Use both your emotions and your logic, not just one or the other. Consider what the reader wants, and then what they need, or vice versa. Ask yourself what would be amazing, and then what is practical. If one way isn’t working, try using the other.
Never follow the simple, yet common, advice of Writers to merely open a vein and bleed. Surely, to write with Blood is a major part of writing. It is in fact pure Heart. But, that is not enough. To actually write successfully, one must embrace not just their raw passion but also their structured mind — both the Heart and the Head, together. You can’t just open a vein and bleed, you must then do something with the Blood. You have to put it to work and translate it for the reader.
Another way to think about it: Think of the Heart as a chef. They’re artists and while they do use recipes, they’ll also improvise with what they have. They follow their senses and try new things — a bit more spice here, a splash of salt there. They’re one with the kitchen — connected to it in a way that can’t be explained. They explore the space, open their hearts, take inspiration from the natural world, and let the food guide them, not the recipe.
Meanwhile, a baker is the Head. The recipe must be followed because the product is more susceptible to failure without the precise structure it provides. A loaf of bread or a cupcake only have so much room for variance. Certainly, the baker can apply some Heart — some inspired creativity — but at its core, the baker is guided by structure, not freedom of the moment. But, together, the mindset of the chef and baker can create magical, memorable meals.
When you use them both as you write, structure, and edit, the combined self, the Human, full of both emotion and logic, will better critique and review your work. This will free you from cold, corporate, robotic language, and it will ground your emotional, dreamy, imaginative ideas. You will be more readable for all, while also being more targeted for your specific audience.
When instructing writers on writing with Heart, I have them break their writing time in half. The first part is theirs to explore, to feel out the project. The second half is mine, in that they have that amount of time to actually get the work done for me. However, the two cannot clearly overlap — they cannot and should not start writing during the first block of time. They must ignore that fast-approaching deadline and instead trust in themselves that the work will get done eventually. They must give themselves the time to explore, and just stop thinking so much. I recommend listening to music that reminds them of the work, or going for walks. I pul
l quotes that are similar in nature, and talk a lot about what the writing could look like later. This time is merely for finding the Heart of the project, and connecting to it in some emotional way, but not actually doing any writing. They have to feel it, not plan it. Head-driven writers find this exploration time to be wasteful and scary. But, regardless if you’re a Heart or a Head, what I find is that when they accomplish the first part, the second comes more easily than they could have ever imagined. If they spent the first amount of time feeling the work more, they no longer have to think. Somehow, they know exactly what to write, as if the words are flowing straight through them from somewhere else — somewhere magical, maybe.
Getting Started
“The thing is to become a master and in your old age
to acquire the courage to do what children did
when they knew nothing.”
- Ernest Hemingway
Before we can write anything, we first need ideas. We need something to write about, and we have to think it all up using our imagination. Now, we’ve all seen the countless Medium articles and LinkedIn posts about how creative we all were as kids, that we only grew up and out of our imagination. Kids leverage vast stores of imagination, but as adults, our day-to-day lives force us to focus more on the logical and practical nature of life, and less so on our imaginations. Whether our imagination goes away or we simply don’t leverage it anymore, like an atrophied muscle, it withers. But, creativity is not just imagination. That’s only one part of it. The other part is knowledge, practicality, and experience, which is driven by the Head. Yes, there truly is a practical side to creativity. That’s how we make it actionable. That’s how we put it to work. That’s how we achieve and craft something imaginative but believable — a journey people can take, not just consider.
As a Writer, you can utilize inspiration from the world around you and inside yourself and then funnel it, transform it, into something entirely new — something that will inspire emotion, change, and action. The process of purposefully getting there directly, as opposed to waiting for it, is ideation. When ideating, or brainstorming, as well as when writing, you must use both the Heart and the Head. What is logical and what is wonderful? What is the possible and what is the impossible? Your ability to weigh them, to balance them, is what will differentiate your work from others. Shift too far one way and your work is too cold and robotic. Shift too far the other and it’s unbelievable and chaotic. Find a comfortable spot in the middle and that’s the Goldilocks sweet spot all Writers dream of.
Logical thinking is the Head, and imagination is the Heart. A kid, while imaginative, is not a good problem solver. They do not yet possess the functional aspects of creativity. They’re raw, pure, unadulterated Heart. Too often we grow up and become too much Head — too logical, not enough passion, emotion, carelessness. We fail to take chances. We fail to fail. However, without proper and complete brainstorming that considers them both, any writing effort will suffer. To write anything worthy of your time, you have to spend some time thinking about it, letting it grow and take shape. Want to write a novel? You must find your big idea before you can start writing it. Same goes for blog articles, or movies, or love letters. Brainstorming is just coming up with the ideas that will populate, guide, and fuel your writing. But, as serious and vital as brainstorming is to your writing, it still requires you be a bit childish. That means, no matter your age, no matter your job title, no matter how serious and professional you think you are, for you to write even a good text, you’re going to have to open up your heart a bit. Be imaginative, be passionate, be excited, be vulnerable, and then put it down for the logic to mold it, but never before. Ideas come through imagination, and then are bettered through logic and consideration — The Heart then the Head. So, it’s time to start coming up with ideas, whether it’s to determine what you’re going to write or what will make up what you’re writing. Ideas can be anything that guides and populates your writing. This time before you actually write is the time in which you open yourself up to thinking, not when you try to limit it. And remember, great ideas come from some pretty dumb places, so this should be some fun.
Brainstorming Tips
"Creativity is inventing, experimenting,
growing, taking risks, breaking rules,
making mistakes, and having fun."
- Mary Lou Cook
Dumb Brainstorming Tip #1: Do your research.
Know your goals. Know your boundaries. Know your brand. Know your competition. Know what they’re doing. Know what’s cool. Know what’s winning awards. Know what’s emerging. Know what success looks like. All of this means fully comprehending what you’re doing — what you’re writing and why — and then spending a good amount of time online studying awards sites, blogs, and competitors’ social pages. The more you uncover, the more you have to work with. Brainstorming without this context is worthless. Your research fuels you for your writing, and it contains you. The “think outside the box” mantra is garbage. You want the box. You need the box. You love the box. It allows you to stay focused on what you’re writing so you can know all these things that are valuable to making it a success without getting carried away in unworthy ideas.
Dumb Brainstorming Tip #2: Go down the rabbit hole.
Even though you want to stay focused with your research, that does not mean unexpected things can’t inspire you. Music, art, anime, whatever; let anything and everything light your creative fire inside you. Cherish Google search, look at similar categories, look at entirely different categories, look at language and imagery, look at anything and everything. Good ideas come from good ideas, so let others inspire you, no matter where you find it. If you’re writing a blog article, read every other article you can find on the same subject, and copy & paste the good stuff into a document to use later, remembering to color-code so as not to plagiarize. If you’re writing advertisements for a luxury brand, search other luxury brands, and not just what words they use. Note the sentence lengths and their punctuation. Don’t just copy & paste the words, take the whole ad. Let it visually inspire you throughout the time you spend writing. If it inspires you now, you might need it to inspire you again later, and you won’t want to have to go search for it again.
When writing TV and radio advertisements for Mercedes-Benz, I would need to quickly and completely come up with, and write, ideas around the luxury living you could find in a Mercedes automobile. The challenge was that I was in no way living a luxurious life. I was a young copywriter, so luxury for me was not drinking PBR after work and instead upgrading to a luxurious Bud Light. So, to get into the mindset, I would not only watch and listen to old Mercedes ads, I would review their competitors’ ads. I’d study what they were saying and doing, and then consider what they weren’t saying and doing. If they were doing that, what could I do to make my brand sound better, more luxurious in comparison? I also wouldn’t bind myself to TV and radio alone. I’d scroll through Google Images for other luxury items. Rolex watches. High fashion brands. Fancy airlines. The most expensive mattresses. Everything I found created a luxurious mindset in which I could later write more effectively. They gave me a list of words, headlines, and taglines to use as a foundation. They showed me what everyone else was doing so I knew what not to do, and what not to say. In a few hours of scrolling, I was becoming a bit of an expert in the field, and could talk about it in great detail later with the client. The simple act of exploring and going down a rabbit hole gave me the understanding and boundaries I needed to create something I otherwise might not have understood.
Dumb Brainstorming Tip #3: Give yourself time.
Good ideas come after they’ve had a chance to bounce around in your subconscious for a while. Take small moments whenever possible to just let it all sink in. Think about it while you drive, or play a mindless video game on mute while recording yourself talking. Take a walk, take a shower, take a long poop even! Look for opportunities to go into a mental flow state while ideating where time and
space seem to disappear. Look to disconnect and look at things differently. This usually happens outside of 9 to 5 work hours. Sorry. It’s not always convenient to you. Ideas will sneak up on you, and surprise you, if you let them. But, that’s where the best ideas come from. They show up in the middle of the night and make you write them down, or they’ll go away, never to come back. Take those ideas seriously, because you are on their time, not yours, and if you don’t respect them, they’ll fly off to the next person.
Dumb Brainstorming Tip #4: Question everything.
If you don’t know what to ask, start with journalistic questions: who, what, when, where, and why? Write yourself a series of questions and answers like you’re interviewing yourself, and actually answer the questions as if someone else asked them. It allows you to break away from feeling normal and access different parts of your brain. It makes the problems and challenges clear, so you can start solving for them in creative ways. Just be sure to write these questions and answers down or you are sure to lose them in your mind.
Dumb Brainstorming Tip #5: Make connections.
As Steve Jobs once said, creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it — they just saw an obvious opportunity to make something, to take a chance, to take leaps others didn’t know were possible. Creativity, at its core, is really just pattern recognition. It’s combining disparate things to reveal something new. You goal is simply to make connections that can inspire new thinking. To get there, you have to look at the world around you. Look at your ideas. Study them, consider them. This is one of the hardest things to do for people who don’t own their creativity because it takes time and the ability to turn off your inner self critic as you make weird and wonderful connections in the world.