pressed that the problem isn’t solved yet and try to forget about it
for a while. Then, at a later time, when your creativity invents a
different solution, the same analytical process occurs once again
in evaluating it.
This method is time-consuming. Coming up with possible solu-
tions uses the most time. We’ll be showing you how to speed things
up greatly by creating 20 solutions to any problem in less time than
it usually takes to invent just one. Considering a large number of
possibilities increases your chances of getting a suitable one. It’s
much faster than creating one solution, analyzing it, discarding it,
creating another solution, analyzing that one, and so on. It uses the
combination of speed and writing to tap into your creativity.DISCOVERYWRITINGMETHOD
In the Discovery Writing method, speed is very important. Usually when
you learn something new, you start slowly. Discovery Writing is different,
because speed is required to make it work. With all of our education fo-
cused on training the analytical part of our mind, it’s likely that this part
thinks it can figure out the answer to everything. So part of the challenge to
accessing your creativity reliably is to make the analytical part of your
mind be quiet temporarily. Writing as fast as you can does this.
When you use the Discovery Writing method the first time on a “real”
problem, there is a very strong tendency to “think” about it. “Thinking”
here means trying to devise a solution using the analytical part of your140 Your Mind Is Not a Democracy
FIGURE 8.3 How Your Mind Solves Problems