Writing Tools: Approaches
Use these procedures for addressing or accomplishing your creative work.
Click below on "taxonomies" to learn types of mindsets, or scroll and search all 116 tools!
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- Trigger
# 311
I am overwhelmed by all the information, opinions and content clogging up my mind
Selective Indifference
Being discerning enough not to dwell on meaningless matters, conserving your best energies for your creative efforts
# 302
I write great work and want to grow it and build an empire
Franchising
Systemizing your creative work in such a way that it could be replicated and productized
# 308
I am only using a fraction of my talent and want to do more
Bullseyeing
Reversing the target marketing process where customers aim at you
# 292
I want new writing opportunities, but people and companies want my time for free
Labor Limit
Setting boundaries on your generosity of providing unpaid service
# 294
I have information overload and get stressed and overwhelmed
Conscious Consumption
Applying a level discernment to the intellectual nourishment you ingest
# 300
I want to make a lasting contribution and tap into my writing strengths at work
Buffaloing
An integrative approach to identifying, understanding, exploiting and managing your own talent
# 291
I want to build a culture of innovation, retain clients through great work and make waves throughout the organization
Innovation Audit
Building a complete value ecosystem, including content, context, circumstance, consumer and circulation
# 297
I work at a company that moves too fast, and people are tired and don’t have time to write
Downshifting
Creating the necessary whitespace to take a breath and decide what the next right action is
# 295
I am in between writing projects, but I can’t decide what the next thing is
Project Junkie
A brainstorming framework to decide which venture to tackle next
# 290
I have many writing projects on my plate, but I’m not sure which one to focus on next
Opportunity Junkie
A filter that evaluates the asset value of a potential new project or endeavor
# 287
I have writing talent, but nowhere or no way to use it
Wherewithal
The larger equation of everything needed to buttress creative opportunity, including knowledge, resources and courage.
# 281
I want some process on our team, but don’t want to overdo it
Process Calibration
Finding the middle ground that balances your team’s need for predictability with its freedom to be creative
# 261
I write great stuff, but I’m not sure how, and I want to improve my skills
Deconstructive Learning
Attaching introspection to action to understand the full extent of your capabilities so you can replicate your success
# 279
I don’t know how fast or slow my creative project should be progressing
Micro Pacing
An elegantly balanced production effort between heating and cooling
# 267
I want people to pay for my writing and believe in my brand
Prologuing
Illustrating the historical context to feather people’s intellectual nests so your product has a smooth landing
# 264
I get frustrated and discouraged by people’s feedback about my writing
Feedback Filter
A binary grounding question we ask ourselves to recalibrate and put criticism in perspective
# 270
I want to get a job, or thrive in a new role, but nobody here knows what I do yet
Dictionarian
Creating your own language to capture the nuance you’re seeing that makes you good at what you do
# 268
I am a new writer on the team, I want to learn quickly and create value right away
Threading
Teasing out the historical context of an organization to give your work more leverage
# 252
I am tired of looking at my writing project and I need a break to get new energy
Tourniquetting
Creating a healthy sense of distance from your work by damming up the creative flow, compressing the circulation and applying pressure
# 255
I have too many writing opportunities coming my way, and not sure which to pursue
Whitespacing
Defining your creative journey by the work you decline
# 257
I have a team that takes forever to finish writing projects
Haybarning
Declaring something done so your team can reap the benefits of their hard work
# 246
I am not good at dealing with sudden changes, they throw me off my writing game
Associative Trigger
Personal patterns and physical objects that echo the habits of action and allow you to enter into your creative zone.
# 248
I can’t start from scratch and stare at a blank page or screen all day
Well Digging
Accumulating an ongoing reference file for your brain to work on through a passive, unconscious process
# 250
I am not getting anywhere with this stupid writing project and it’s annoying
Go Perpendicular
Intentionally walking away from your current work to engage in something unrelated to the flow of activity
# 258
I want to connect with people more through my writing, but it’s hard to get noticed
Blood Gauge
A personal filter for your own work that reinforces the importance of risk.
# 259
I have been staring at the screen for too long, not sure what to do
Artist Allotment
A personal policy for managing compositional paralysis
# 254
I’m bored and stuck need an outlet for my energy
Clearinghouse
A conceptual destination where you can unite all of her interesting elements, intermingling your interests and themes into a meaningful, cohesive whole
# 242
I want to do something completely different in my creative life, and it’s scary
Unlabeling
The reinvention process of peeling off your old identity and creating a new one that sticks
# 224
I have this cool idea, but I don’t know if I should share it with people yet
Paranoia Snowball
Working quietly and quickly to keep your idea contained until it’s strong enough to roll on its own
# 221
I have a big meeting, presentation or performance coming up and I want to nail it
Over Preparation
Creating twenty percent more content than necessary so it’s easier to adjust on the fly
# 229
I have some clients, but they’re not worth the effort, and I want to grow
Upstreaming
Filtering projects based on labor intensity and the economy of effort
# 231
I don’t know where to get ideas, and I wish there was something unique about my writing
Units Up
Exponentially increasing your activity level to create a stronger baseline for yourself
# 237
I am doing the same old creative work without elevating, just executing
Forging
Motivating your creativity by forcing yourself to overcome unpleasant but unavoidable challenges
# 213
I have to pay bills otherwise I will have to move back in with my parents
Hacquisitioning
Making a list of everyone you ever served in the past and asking them to buy this new thing you just made
# 203
I do great writing, fans love me, and I need to build my brand
Formatting
Treating your creative work as a property that can be exploited into numerous mediums
# 206
I want my work to have a bigger audience, but without killing myself
Whaling
Filtering potential creative opportunities by their ability to multiply revenue without increasing labor
# 202
I’m afraid of messing up on this task and getting discouraged from taking action
Short Circuiting
Doing things before the fear has time to reach your mind
# 204
I am putting constant time pressure on myself with heavy workloads, and it’s too demanding
Miraging
Deliberately choosing not to do something to see it simply goes away and nobody notices
# 216
I want to publish this new piece of writing, but I’m afraid of how it’s going to be received
Reality Waterfall
A chain of logic that reduces the probability of something negative happening to such a degree that it seems ridiculous
# 201
I don’t have money, or I’m depressed and can’t write
Existential Machinery
Taking control of the means of production, but also the production of meaning
# 205
I am working on this gigantic, overwhelming piece of writing, and I need to organize my thoughts and gain perspective
Papering
Contextualizing your problems in the larger ecosystem to see the structures that underlie complete situations
# 218
I am a new, young team member and want to get noticed for writing welll
Value Continuum
An employee contribution framework for tracking ideas, tools, connections and opportunities
# 207
I wish I could go viral and have fortunate things happen to me like they do for others
Lucking Up
A specific set of strategic moves that have to happen after a fortunate incident in order to carry the momentum forward
# 217
I am bored, there is nothing to do, and I’m going crazy
Crop Rotation
Regularly changing and invigorating your creative ground in order to stay fertile over the long arc of your career
# 192
I want to spread the word about my writing, but it’s expensive and people are busy
Sugardaddying
Constantly thinking about potential collaborations that can reduce your financial burden and reduce labor intensity
# 194
I work with a new team and people are trying to shoot down my confidence
Baselining
Figuring out where you're already been trusted for a history of delivering quality, and use that to your advantage.
# 199
I want to have job security by becoming a writer everyone needs, and increase demand for my work
Relative Time Value
Using a burst of generosity to save your team hours of work and tons of stress
# 200
I don’t have time to write all these things on my list, and I’m overwhelmed
Intention Framing
Put boring but necessary tasks into the wider context of your cherished, personal priorities
# 182
I am frustrated and dissatisfied with where I’ve ended up in my career, I think I can do more
Continuum Of Potential
A visual breakdown of the relationship between raw talent versus learned skills
# 197
I am only reaching a small fraction of my potential audience with my current strategy
Replication
Doubling down on what’s working to create new revenue opportunities in the future