Make a fast mess, then make choices to move forward
Every day I advise business writers to make a mess. Brainstorm. Mind-dump. “Vomit” ideas onto the page. Storms? Dumps? Puke? All messy. But these are first-draft techniques, not end products. In...
View ArticleContain your brain, frame your message
Sometimes my mind wanders. In writing, this can be a creative bonus. My thoughts venture far enough to see the subject from a new angle. After a leisurely stroll or vigorous hike through my...
View ArticleWhen alone with your thoughts, be sure to have at least 39
I love brainstorming. Put me in a room with a white board, a dry erase marker, and a few smart, playful colleagues, and we’ll talk and laugh and mind-map our way to astounding ingenuity. But sometimes...
View ArticleGetting unstuck: 10 ways to obliterate writer’s block
You have something to write. A reply to a challenging email message. A brief or presentation about a new project. A post for the blog you swore you would maintain. You are fully aware that this content...
View ArticleWriting at work: use boundaries for maximum creativity
This post originally appeared on the StoryStudio Chicago blog, where Beth Nyland teaches “Words for Work” classes—including a self-directed, online course in Business Writing Fundamentals, available...
View ArticleLet’s crack good habits to find new, creative light
I have cultivated good habits. Disciplines I’ve spent months—even years—establishing. Now, I’m going to crack them. Notice I didn’t say I would break my good habits. Full-on breaks are for bad habits....
View ArticleDo you need permission to break the rules?
You are smart and capable, and very much prepared for the job you do today. Except the writing. Somehow, the rules and ways you learned in the past aren’t doing you any favors when you face the blank...
View ArticleThink you can’t take creative chances? Liar!
You face the blank screen. Fingers curved over the keyboard. Preparing to put new words on a new page, you are on the brink of creative action. But then you stop, distracted by the default option....
View ArticleRefuse to be boring. Summon your superpowers.
Once upon a time, you could do anything. No dragon was a match for your pool-noodle sword. You traveled the galaxy in a dish-towel cape. With your teddy bear sidekick, you saved the day—through play....
View ArticleTo write better, stop agonizing over these 4 things
Writing at work causes so much stress. So many questions. So much doubt. Is this comma in the right place? Is that a run-on sentence? Do you need who or whom? If you click “send” now, how long ‘til...
View ArticleTo be a writer, be a reader
“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” Stephen King, “On Writing” Many have said the same with different words: If you want to write, you have to...
View Article5 web-based apps that bring big results to small business
My business may be small, but my clients have big expectations. They want excellent work, quick results, and focused attention. And because my little agency, Spencer Grace, is a company of one, there’s...
View Article4 ways you can use your imagination to reach your audience
When you say something at work—whether in writing, in conversation, or in a presentation—you need to know what you’re talking about. By mastering the substance of your message, you convey competence...
View ArticleHow good questions turn your ignorance into an asset
Some people have all the answers. Not me. I have all the questions. A few days into my first job after college, a wise manager told me: For communicators, ignorance is an asset. She was assuring me—an...
View ArticleYes you CAN create image-rich presentations
The rusty-haired man from the third row was next in line to talk with me, scrolling Instagram while he waited. When it was finally his turn, he moved his phone to his left hand and shook mine with his...
View Article3 actions I’ll take to be a more creative communicator in 2018
“Priority is a singular noun. Stop making it plural.” At first, the speaker’s words rubbed me the wrong way. My inner thoughts became a tantrum: “I can so have multiple priorities. I am strong, smart,...
View ArticleIt’s just play. Life-changing play.
On New Year’s Day, I sketched a carrot. I didn’t think much about it. I just wanted to play. So I opened a drawing app on my iPad and started making orange and green smudges. As they began to resemble...
View ArticleHonest answers & workable widsom: how real creatives get out of their own way
This is the view from my office chair today: It’s a familiar scene. Dash frequently sits, stands, or lounges between me and my work. He’s a real and physical barrier to my progress. And he’s not the...
View ArticleMust the planets align for your process to prevail?
After weeks of procrastinating, Emma finally started her scholarship application Thursday afternoon. Filling in the blanks was easy. Then came the three-paragraph essay. The first two paragraphs poured...
View ArticleSee that crack in your calendar? Fill it with creativity.
Your schedule is jammed. Every day this week you have at least one double-booked slot on your calendar, and at 10 a.m. next Monday you’re triple-booked. Your to-do list keeps growing, your phone keeps...
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