The truth is, there are no absolutes. That's one of the fantastic and frustrating things about creativity - there are several right answers.
But some things are just wrong. Like straying too far away from your client's branding, Or poor grammar.
Or some of the things listed below.
What Not To Do: the cliff(neisha)notes version.
Mistake 1: Come up with a good idea but not make it happen. No matter how great the idea is, it's not real until it's real. So make it before someone else was.
Mistake 2: Create something before testing it (making sure it makes sense, won't fail, hasn't been done before, etc.)
Mistake 3: Have a good idea but not being able to sell it. That's a surprisingly large part of the process - how do you get other people to see how great your idea is? How do you present it?
I came across this great Einstein quote recently: "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Mistake 4: Ignore the client's real-life constraints. This is more applicable for work work vs book work - but even though with book work you have no client and no budget and sky's the limit, you also need to think - is this possible? Like in real life - could this possibly be made? Would it work? When it comes to work work, you can have an amazing idea that will totally die because it's off brand, over budget or unrealistic.
Mistake 5: Fall in love with your baby. Yes, it's your idea. Yes, it's great. But you may have to change it. Or kill it all together. You can't be too attached to the way you want it to be, you need to be flexible and open to change - or starting over.
Read the full article below:
From IdeaMapping
I know a lot of highly creative thinkers. It seems to me that there are mistakes they all make – mistakes that often have deadly consequences for their ideas. I thought it was worth outlining them here to make sure you and your ideas do not fall prey to them.
They fail to implement their ideas – I’ve lost count the number of people I have come across who describe themselves as creative thinkers (every time I interview someone actually) but can give me no proof they have implemented their ideas and made them a reality. This is a one way street to being called a fantasist and giving creative thinking a bad name. If you come up with ideas you have no intention of making a reality then don’t ell other people about them..especially me!
They fail to check their ideas – in some ways this is more admirable than not implementing ideas but is actually more dangerous! This is the second most common mistake creative thinkers make. They think up an idea then rush out to make it happen not taking into account potential pitfalls or dangers. If you recognise this about yourself then try and be disciplined. Take a deep breath and think about it. What do you need to take into consideration?
They fail to take the time to figure out how to communicate their ideas – what’s in it for other people as well? One of the worse mistakes that people make is they don’t take time to learn the best way to communicate their ideas to others. Unless the idea is brilliant and people can pick it up instantly then bad communication is likely to kill it. There a re a number of things you can do to make sure your idea is communicated well and picked up by others. I will be looking at these in a future post.
They fail to think within a box – If you are new to my writing then you might find this one slightly odd. After all creative thinking is all about thinking outside the box isn’t it? Well may be sometimes! But for your ideas to have any real value, for them to be practical it would be worth thinking within the box. Doing this will save you a lot of time and frustration and help to ensure that the ideas you do come up with will actually work.
They get too attached to their ideas – highly creative people tend to be very excitable and passionate about things in general. This can lead them to become very attached to their ideas and unwilling to listen to reason or allow anyone to tinker with the idea and make it better. If you are going to share your ideas then take into account that people may want to discuss your idea and modify I tor use it for a purpose you had never even imagined.
Recognise yourself in any of these? Theres no problem if you do simple awareness will help avoid making the error and trust me we’ve all made them before!
