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This book has a pretty simple origin – I wanted to write about my Brainstorm Book technique.
In short, for awhile I’d been keeping what I called a Brainstorm Book. I used this notebook to write down ideas, think them over, save them, or action them. It’s pretty simple stuff, but I’d built a system around it, and that system worked. I had found a way to keep my inspirations going, analyze them, and bring them to life effectively.
(I still fondly recall a gentleman who brought his kids to a con I spoke at, and then heard me, and used my idea not for writing, but for security reviews).
I’d done some blog posts about my Brainstorm Book system, but had updated it over time, and figured it was best as a book. That’s what I’d like to talk about.
Here’s why I figured my Brainstorm Book techniques fit, well, a book.
THE BOOK STRUCTURE FIT: The way a book is organized just fit the system I had. Sometimes things are just best as a book (print or otherwise, for sale or otherwise).
IT FORCED ME TO ORGANIZE MY THOUGHTS: This was a side effect. I figured the structure of a book fit, then I realized how I had to organize my thoughts better.
A BOOK WAS ACCESSIBLE: I had enough information and ideas to share, and these were concepts that people would want to review over and over. A book encourages review and re-review, and I didn’t want people to have to come back to my blog.
IT FIT MY OTHER WRITING: I had been writing about creativity, so this book was perfect for the series. Plus it encouraged people who looked at my other works to check out this system and get ideas.
I’m pretty happy with the book. People can get access to my ideas in a useful form, and apply things that helped me. Sure, it’s not my bestseller, but that’s not the point.
If you have something in another form – blogs, videos, etc. consider what other forms it could be in. Sometimes a good idea is best realized in something other than its original media. In this case, the Brainstorm Book was a good example of that.
Steven Savage