creative people are always having ideas. That’s not the trick. The trick is learning how to capture them without being captured by them,

I don't know exactly where ideas come from, but when I'm working well ideas just appear. I've heard other people say similar things - so it's one of the ways I know there's help and guidance out there. It's just a matter of our figuring out how to receive the ideas or information that are waiting to be heard.

There’s a temptation in our networked age to think that ideas can be developed by email and iChat. That’s crazy. Creativity comes from spontaneous meetings, from random discussions. You run into someone, you ask what they’re doing, you say ‘wow,’ and soon you’re cooking up all sorts of ideas.

You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we're doing it.

The trick to finding ideas is to convince yourself that everyone and everything has a story to tell. I say trick but what I really mean is challenge, because it’s a very hard thing to do.

I could trace own EST brainwave to a flight back from a trip to Japan. But, of course, great ideas are often simultaneously conceived by several people who have responded in a similar way to the climate of thinking, and it can be hard to pin down when and precisely how a flash of inspiration is born. Kaplan had taught me that good ideas are a dime of dozen for a smart person, and the only thing that distinguishes good from great is in how an idea is executed—how it becomes reality. Scientific history is littered with stories of one person having an idea but not following through on it only to see another have a similar inspiration and then prove it to be valid.

Creative ideas happen when you stop thinking about what others will think.

When I was starting my journey as a writer, I used to watch and read the interviews of famous authors. And one thing was common in all of them. They all said the best ideas come into their mind when they are not looking for them or not doing anything at all. It’s not just the authors but if you ask any creative or artistic person, you will get the same answer. And I always thought that it was impossible until it happened to me.

En esta era interconectada existe la tentación de creer que las ideas pueden desarrollarse a través de mensajes de correo electrónico y en el iChat. Eso es una locura. La creatividad surge en las reuniones espontáneas, en las discusiones aleatorias. Tú te encuentras con alguien, le preguntas qué está haciendo, te sorprendes y pronto te encuentras elucubrando todo tipo de ideas.

Ideas come from a lot of sources, experiences of friends, colleagues, neighbors, self and even strangers. However, my greatest source of gathering ideas is from listening to people talk about themselves, or about others, especially at public gatherings, weddings, naming ceremonies, funerals and the market place. A lot of ideas are also gathered at home among family members. The secret is to be a good listener, not talker.

I'm a firm believer that your ideas come from the writing itself. I never have any until I start to write. And my mind is on structure most of the time (and on linking). I used to say that kept my conscious mind busy so my subconscious mind could work on more important things.

That’s one thing about being creative. Don’t be too set in your own ways. Be suggestible from time to time. Allow unexpected influences (like Torr) to shift your ideas. You can always come back to your own convictions if they’re real. But be a tourist in other perspectives.

"Creative people need time to just sit around and do nothing. I get some of my best ideas when I'm bored, which is why I never take my shirts to the cleaners. I love ironing my shirts-it's so boring, I almost always get good ideas. If you're out of ideas, wash the dishes. Take really long walk. Stare at a spot on the wall for as long as you can. As the artist Maira Kalman says, "Avoiding work is the way to focus my mind.

How to have original ideas:

1. Read lots at a young age. Start to see that many different people can formulate convincing ideas

2. Become cynical

3. Start to create/write, realize how hard it is to know what the hell you actually think anyway

4. Keep creating/writing. Copy other ideas, repurpose other peoples ideas

5. Become data literate. Realize how deep you can go with data. Realize the fallibility of surveys and other opinion polling. Realize how people will use this stuff in bad faith.

6. Try to formulate arguments without using references. Damn, realize its easier to repackage other peoples ideas than come up with your own

7. Humbly continue creating/writing. Realize it may never get easier. Keep at it. Get in reps. Find a working mode that you can sustain. Embrace the cringe (you will always feel a bit silly when you publish / share)

8. Read other people writing about similar topics. Realize you dislike some of their arguments and frames. Channel your disappointment into their work into your own commitment creating. Commit to nemeses in your head that you will never cede victory too

9. When people try to pay you to package your creations, deny them. If you accept their money fight for your ideas, no matter what. Don't compromise.

10. Keep going. Just make stuff up. Go for walks. Let things pop into your head. You might have a following now but screw them. You shall not be captured. Share ideas that make you uncomfortable because they are interesting to you. Dare to be unfollowed.

11. Talk to people along the way. Share your ideas in conversation. Find a handful of people that will nudge you if you are about to be captured or seem to be becoming cynical. Pay attention. Reset.

12. Keep going. Refuse to treat "what works" as a worthwhile pathway for creating things. Don't join any peer group where "what works" is a north star.

13. When people call you a genius reflect back on all the things you said that you know no one paid attention to. Reflect on your role in a long line of other people who's ideas let to yours

14. Ponder that you might never create anything original

15. Sit with that. Keep going.