Creativity
Creativity posts explore techniques for coming up with new ideas, inventing new thoughts and techniques, and generally following those activities that are perhaps more right-brained but also could involve heuristics and other content generation approaches.
The following content is in the creativity category:
How the blog-to-book experiment is going: challenges and thoughts | Jun 15, 2023
Book review of the Art of Noticing, by Rob Walker | May 19, 2023
Three questions people ask me each week | Jul 1, 2015
Benefits of tool diversity, part II | Aug 7, 2014
The part of the brain you should listen to when writing | Jul 16, 2014
Asking questions is more important than finding answers -- why? | Apr 27, 2012
Guest Post: Is Technical Writing Creative? | Mar 14, 2012
A Lifetime of Reading Versus a Lifetime of Writing | Jan 13, 2012
What I've Learned from Lunchtime Creative Writing Workshops | Sep 30, 2011
My Problem with Fiction, and How I Tried to Resolve It | Aug 11, 2011
Presentations Versus Conversations | Jun 17, 2011
What Does It Mean to Be Innovative? | May 24, 2011
I am perhaps finishing my basement, someday | Feb 23, 2011
*Don't know how you do it all*: Some Thoughts on Productivity | Jan 11, 2011
Content Curation versus Content Creation | Dec 22, 2010
Being Contrarian | Oct 29, 2010
I miss working with my hands | Aug 25, 2010
Problem Solving and Sprinkler Repair | Jul 15, 2010
Breaking Things as a Form of Creativity | Jul 1, 2010
The Compulsion to Figure Things Out | Apr 30, 2010
The Long Tail Applied to Writing | Apr 20, 2010
Comparing Creative Writing with Technical Writing (2 min Videocast) | Apr 1, 2010
What You Cannot Do Sitting Down | Dec 24, 2009
Removing ice from a driveway is like .... everything | Dec 19, 2009
Theme Parks and External and Internal Input | Nov 5, 2009
NaNoWriMo and NaBloPoMo Start Nov 1 | Nov 1, 2009
Forms of Play | Oct 16, 2009
Being boring (Sins of blogging) | Oct 13, 2009
Choosing Between Academic and Corporate Life: Did I Make the Wrong Choice? | Oct 10, 2009
Being irrelevant (Sins of blogging) | Oct 4, 2009
My STC Summit Blogging Presentation Is Free | Oct 1, 2009
"Tell me a story" -- Advice from Writers | Sep 17, 2009
Writing as Conversation -- Brainsparks Podcast with Ginny Redish | Sep 5, 2009
Creativity in the Workplace | Sep 1, 2009
Avoiding the Shut Down Mode | Aug 30, 2009
The Link Between Creativity and Organization | Aug 15, 2009
Write When Inspired, Rest When Tired | Aug 10, 2009
Blogging as an Outlet for Technical Writers | Jul 31, 2009
My Guest Post on Unstoppability for DMN Communications | Jul 22, 2009
If You're a Writer, Write | Jul 13, 2009
Seeing the World in Clearer, Simpler Ways | Jun 22, 2009
Thinking About Vienna and the Legacy of Mozart | Jun 7, 2009
Drawing as a Tool for Thinking: The Back of the Napkin | May 19, 2009
Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers and the Real Reason You Are a Successful Writer | May 13, 2009
The Wind and A Lot of Thoughts About Pessimism and Optimism | Apr 21, 2009
What to Blog/Write About | Apr 15, 2009
Introduction to Technical Writing (podcast) | Mar 24, 2009
"Like My Own Personal Brand of Heroin" | Mar 10, 2009
The Pleasure of Language -- Essential Listening for Hyper-corrective Grammarians | Jan 2, 2009
What I See -- James Hall's Essays and Florida | Dec 21, 2008
Writers See Stories Where Others Don't | Dec 7, 2008
Snippets Toward a Philosophy of Life | Nov 28, 2008
Usability Newsletter Interview – I'd Rather Be Writing – The Man Behind the Words | Nov 17, 2008
Answering Reader's Questions: 'My Desire to Write Burns in My Heart Daily' | Oct 7, 2008
Ten Technical Writing Stereotypes | Sep 28, 2008
The Intersection of the Personal and Professional, or, Why My Attempts at Nonfiction Essays in Grad School Bombed | Jul 5, 2008
Keep an Open Mind: Detention Without Amanda Jones Isn't Necessarily Bad | Apr 8, 2008
Lots of 2008 SXSW Podcasts Now Available | Mar 10, 2008
Two Types of Posts in the Blogosphere: Knowledge Posts and Creative Posts | Mar 7, 2008
Stoking the Creative Muse: How Finding Ideas to Write About Is Similar to Remembering Your Dreams | Feb 29, 2008
Brain Waves and the Stimulation of Motivation/Creativity | Nov 1, 2007
Evening Fishing at the North Pier | Jul 7, 2007
About Tom Johnson
I'm a technical writer / API doc specialist based in the Seattle area. In this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, visual communication, information architecture, writing techniques, plain language, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my API documentation if you're looking for more info about that. If you're a technical writer and want to keep on top of the latest trends in the field, be sure to subscribe to email updates below. You can also learn more about me or contact me. Finally, note that the opinions I express on my blog are my own points of view, not that of my employer.