Author: joshpcreative

To Defeat Writer’s Block, Use the Rule of Two

I’ve been wrestling with a new manuscript lately, and the first issue was this: do I tell the story in first or third person?

It led to a pretty big case of writer’s block, so I called a trusted advisor and we processed it a little bit. Wrestled the block together. I didn’t have a definitive answer when I hung up the phone, but I had a new way of looking at the situation.

If you feel stuck when writing today, process it. Talk to somebody about it.

I think of it as the Rule of Two. You type with two hands, so why not get two heads involved in the writing process on occasion? I’ve found that people are pretty nice about this. Every time I think I’m imposing, I actually find people quite willing to help. It’s not about sharing credit or stealing ideas. Rather, it’s about bringing stuck points into the light of day so that others can give us a new way of looking at the situation.

Sometimes it’s a simple word-choice problem. Sometimes it’s a plot point that can change your character’s destiny. No matter how small or large the stakes, getting another opinion can work wonders.

See, that’s the paradox of writing: it’s a solitary pursuit often  made better by sharing with others.

You don’t need to share with a great literary critic or famous author. Talk it out with your dog. Call you mom and try to describe the scene you’re struggling with. Meet a friend, buy him a coffee, and bounce some ideas. Find a writing blog and ask for help from the community in the comments section.

It’s about opening up. It’s about letting some light in through the oft-closed door of the mind. It’s about seeing the elements of your creation through someone else’s eyes if you’re mired in writer’s block or too close to make the call.

The rule of two, folks. Doesn’t work for everyone, but I’ve found it quite helpful in life and writing.

Just my two cents.

How do you get unstuck?

Quick Keys to Better E-Learning: Less Is More (Or, The Fika Rules)

Okay, so you have all your research done. You have pages of notes from your SME. You have input from relevant stakeholders. You’ve tossed the idea around to anyone and everyone who could possibly create a problem.

Team is on board. Client is on board. Designer is on board.

You’re ready. You’re set. It’s time to GO!

Your fingers fly. You and the keyboard are one. This is it. This is how it feels to have the metaphoric ADDIE winds blow through your hair.

It’s all coming so easily. The intro. The text. The activities. The conclusion. Magic.

This is the one. This is the mix of policy and prose that’ll earn you the Nobel Prize for e-learning. Picture it: sitting in Sweden with that medal around your neck, eating…um…whatever they serve in Sweden, while talking instructional design with the greatest minds on the planet.

Your masterpiece script is completed. Sit back now. Take a swig of that free soda they have in the break room (if you are fortunate enough to work for a company that has the vision to understand that freebies like this can improve morale).

Drink it all in. Bask in the glow of a job well done….

Now, cut out about a quarter of what you’ve written. Aw, shucks. Let’s be bold and cut about a third.

Now, take a little more off the edges. Don’t worry, you can redline it and add it back in later if you absolutely must.

You see, editing isn’t just for the e-learning world. Editing is for your stories, articles, lectures, in-person trainings, PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets, office visits with managers, and pretty much everything else in the universe.

According to a very interesting (and a little scary) website, statisticbrain.com,  the average human attention span in 2015 is 8.25 seconds. To put that in perspective, a goldfish has an attention span of 9 seconds. That means that a goldfish will pay more attention to your 10 second passage on bribery than the average human.

You’d better hope the most important points about bribery come in the first 8.24 seconds.

For those of you who write scripts, take time after the first draft to dig in and edit. I emphasize this in the Quick Key series, because I know how important this is. See where you can shrink things down. Lead sections with your most important information. Along the way, use graphics and interactive scenarios instead of script-speak to get people refocused. Tell folks why they should care. Give them real-world consequences early. Keep people invested.

In my last fiction manuscript, I spent a few months writing the first draft, then close to a year (or more?) putting the thing through 15 additional drafts. Each time it got tighter and tighter. When I look back at that first draft now, I am amazed at all the word splatter I created in the first go.

Unlike this post, shorter is usually better. Learn to not get so attached to your writing that you forget that your masterpiece and your audience may not agree.

Oh, and keep in mind that in Sweden, they have a national coffee break called the fika. So, if you plan on winning the Nobel Prize for e-learning, you may want to create a course with a short run time so people don’t miss that.

Just some extra incentive for you.

How do you cut and trim your e-learning scripts?

 

Quick Keys to Better E-Learning: Be a Team Player

If you’ve been in the e-learning space for more than a few days, you know that sometimes, you just can’t be a lone wolf. I know that may be hard for some of you to hear.

If you are a freelancer or went into the e-learning profession to flex your creative muscle, perhaps you enjoy the ability to get an assignment, interview the SME, write the script, develop the course, upload it, and then let the client know, “It’s done! Load the course and look what I made!”

Creativity and control often go hand in hand.

But a lot goes into a course, and quite often, it’s a success because of the role of a team. I spent a good amount of my e-learning career working with the most amazing team. There was me, two other instructional designers, a developer/designer, and a manager. Each one of us had a role to play in the development of the courses, and we each made sure the others felt appreciated and needed.

For instance, if I worked with the SME and wrote draft one, then one of the other instructional designers would read over that draft and enter redlines. I’d make changes and then pass it off either to the editor again, or to one of the other instructional designers. The SME was also integral to our ongoing edits, helping us to stay on the straight and narrow when it came to those trickier areas of the law.

Once the script was ready, our designer/developer took it over and made sure the code markup and all the other magic pieces were where they needed to be for successful launch. When it was time for new designs, she got busy with the tools of her trade, often running ideas past the instructional designers for input.

All the while, our manager was interfacing with internal and external stakeholders, including clients, marketing, VPs, and others in the food chain.

What we had was bliss. And we had it because we were a team. We trusted one another. Here are a few tips for making the most of the team dynamic (if you work with a team; if not, then maybe you didn’t read this far).

1. Question your own work. Remember this Quick Key post on questioning instincts? If not, I’ll summarize: although you may love whatever you write, that doesn’t mean it works. Let someone else see it and give an honest opinion. Prefereably a paid member of your team and not your mom.

2.  Question others. If you work with a designer and they do something that doesn’t quite fit the theory, or that you think may create a problem in the learning scheme, say something. Nicely. Everyone should be in this for the same reason: the learner. So, take a chance and speak up. The people I worked with didn’t (often) bite.

3.  Use your manager. Rely heavily on mangers, if you have them. Mine them for info. Find out where the company winds are blowing. Have them set up meetings for you with other departments. Have your manager get you on calls and in meetings so you can see how your work is being perceived. Yes, I had the best direct supervisor ever, but yours may be a close second. Talk to them.

4.  Play nice. This is a running theme here, so I won’t belabor it. Just remember: team members are people too. Be nice when you get a critique, and, if a teacher of mine is right and the world really is a mirror, maybe you’ll see that kindness reflected back at you.

5.  Know when to let go. If the kanban board says your piece is complete, let the next person take over in their area of expertise. Let the developer finish before you harangue her for changes. Let your manager have a chance to view the demo before you fiddle with it. Letting go of control benefits everyone.

Have you worked with a team in the e-learning space? How have you found the experience? Any tips?

 

Five Ways to Handle or Overcome Writer’s Block

I got stuck while writing yesterday, so I said to my friend Writer’s Block, “Okay, Mr. Block. Let’s take a walk and get a burrito.” So we did. And we came back full of burritos and ideas.

The surest way to get over a block in the creative process is to acknowledge it and maybe sit patiently with it.

I know that runs counter to what we normally do, which is fight with the muses until they relent and we can get a few more words down, but I think acknowledging the block peacefully is the better course of action.

Why?

Because if the block has come, perhaps it is the creative process telling us that we need to pause. Think. Do something else. But maybe that’s just me. I tend to believe that things happen for a reason, and if I believe that when the words are flowing, then I have to stick to that paradigm even when the well (seemingly) runs dry.

Here are some ways that I deal with creative blockages:

1.  I lean back in my chair and take a few big breath. This form of meditation is quite effective, actually. When I’m hunched in front of my computer for a long time, sometimes my body just needs a new posture. Often, after small shift in body, the mind often frees up.

2.  I close the project and walk away. In life, I don’t get into fights every time someone gets on my nerves. Why is writing any different? Sometimes, the best course of action is to simply walk away from the frustration and live to write another day.

3.  I write words I know I’ll delete. Sometimes, I just let the story have some fun, even if it’s not a “fun” place. I don’t want jokes in a murder scene, so I write them then delete them. I think this is akin to when my parents would let me and my brother run around in the parking lot before solemn occasions so that we’d tire outselves out.

4.  I try a new direction to get back on the straight path. I was driving with a friend in Minnesota once and we started to turn in circles on black ice on the freeway. He let the car move in the directions it needed to go until we came to a gentle stop on the side of the road. He didn’t fight what the car wanted to do. He let it roll. Once we were safe, he pointed the car back toward our destination and continued on. Do you see?

5. I work on something else entirely. In this scenario, I don’t walk away from the computer (like in #2 above). Instead, I just turn my attention to something else. A blog post. Article research. Sometimes, like magic, a main-project insight will hit me while I’m working on something else, and just like that, I’m back.

How do you get over the block? Let us know!

Quick Keys to Better E-Learning: Boring Doesn’t Have to Be Boring

It’s hard for most people to even read a few sentences on certain topics, so how in the world can we make training on them accessible?

A team I was on was charged with creating a new HIPAA script (how does HIPAA always get into these discussions?). It had to be an hour long. That’s right. Sixty minutes of HIPAA-compliance fun.

If you’re looking for a good time, read about HIPAA here. Maybe you’ll read two or three lines, but then you’ll click on to reading about something more interesting, like how long it takes paint to dry (the answer varies, depending on the type of paint; read all about it here).

So, what can we do? Here are three quick tips:

1.  Have a clear picture of what the people want. Chances are, if someone’s asking for a lengthy course on some brittle topic, they have a good reason. Perhaps it’s a federal regulation or an internal policy that requires it. Perhaps it’s to test if e-learning really can get people to quit a job. Ask. Get a sense of why someone needs what they need. Knowing the why can get you to a better how.

2.  Variety is the spice of life. Dictionary.com tells us that quote is by William Cowper, from his poem, “The Task.” Check out his picture. He looks like he could use some spice. Anyway, he’s right. Spice it up. Add video content. Try different types of activities and scenarios. Appeal to hearts and minds. Show learners consequences for non-compliance through juicy case studes. Give learners a reason to stay tuned in. Dry toast is dry toast until you add butter and seedless raspberry jam. Then, that toast is a catalyst for a sensory explosion. An e-learning course is no different.

3.  Have a discussion, not a lecture. I used to teach philosophy, and I can tell you, the fastest way to lose a university student in a philosophy course is to lecture on philosophy. I had to create stories and conversations people could relate to. E-learning’s the same. Avoid lawspeak. Instead of this engaging nugget from hhs.gov: “Individuals, organizations, and agencies that meet the definition of a covered entity under HIPAA must comply with the Rules’ requirements to protect the privacy and security of health information and must provide individuals with certain rights with respect to their health information…” try something like this: “Our organization values customer privacy and security when it comes to health information. It’s up to you to help us follow the law to protect it!” Don’t like that? Then find some other way to say it. The point is, discuss the topic. Don’t poke people with it.

Look, we’ll always have boring legal rules, but we don’t have to be boring in our approach. What have you done to make e-learning more engaging? Share your stories!

Quick Keys to Better E-Learning: Get Focused, Then Get to Work

I had an e-learning job that I got to early in the morning. Really early.

Why?

Because no one else was there. I’d turn on the lights, turn on my computer, and take a moment. I’d listen to the buzz of electronic equipment in an empty office. I’d take a few breaths.

Center first. Then tackle courses.

If this sounds like the preface to a book called Zen and the Art of E-Learning Maintenance, then it should! This post isn’t meant to give advice on writing better scripts or test questions that appeal to a user’s mindset. It’s meant to get you to think about YOUR mindset before you try to create for others. We spend a lot of time trying to get into the user’s mind in e-learning; but where is OUR mind when we write?

If you write for pleasure, there’s no reason you can’t have that same feeling of mindful joy when you write for work–even when writing about the FCPA or HIPAA. Okay, maybe not HIPAA. But here are three quick tips to be a more mindful and fulfilled e-learning writer.

1.  Get centered. Before you start the day, clear your mind so you can focus on your work. Breathe. Listen to the buzz of the office. Works for me.

2. Say this mantra: creating is creating. You went into this e-learning business to create and convey ideas. No matter how “boring” the topic, it is still about using words and design to bring ideas to life. Focus on that.

3. Take in your work. Yes, we have deadlines and work pressures. But every once in a while, do the “ABC.” ACKNOWLEDGE your work; BREATHE; and CONSIDER what you’ve written. Enjoy it for a moment. Yeah, it could be a training about using the new company phone system, but it’s still good work.

You will get frustrated. You will forget to breathe. You will butt heads with a SME. But as long as you can get back to your creative center, I know your courses, and your life, will improve.

Where has mindfulness and focus been a help in your creative life?

Research Is the Mountain Writers Dread to Climb–But Must!

Today was an important step in my writing process. It was a vital day in my journey to complete a creative project. It was the crowning pinnacle of the writer’s journey!

It was…It was…

Research. Bone dry research. And very little in the big writing process is more important.

Research is the time we spend plodding through the web, dusty encyclopedias (remember those?), or the local library. It’s the time we take to mark up index cards, scribble on the whiteboard, or fill gaps in our story. Research makes an e-learning course better, a novel more coherent, and articles sparkle.

Here are a few ways I’ve climbed that mountain, both professionally and in my personal writing life:

1.  As an e-learning writer, I had to write a short introductory course on conflict minerals (a rip-roarin’ good time if ever there was one!). Of the 24 work hours I allotted to the project, at least eight hours were devoted to initial research. A whole work day of research on a brief course! Some topics, however, like HIPAA, took even longer. But here’s the secret: once the research was done, the course basically wrote itself.

2.  For a work of historical fiction I once created, I spent months researching the following: the topography and climate of the Silk Road, camels (one hump or two? Inquiring minds…), Persian emperors, Christian theology, Hindu mythology, the history of Eastern and Western philosophy, graveyards, dogs, architecture, Roman military tents, fire, and dates (the fruit–my research on actual dating came to a halt because I spent so much time researching alone in my office). I researched all through the writing process and the editing process. The manuscript is finished now, and I still find myself poking through research materials to see what I can add.

Remember these things as you climb the research mountain for work or personal writing:

  • If each assertion of fact you make for articles or work product has research behind it, you’ll be able to better defend your writing when a client or editor questions your accuracy
  • In personal writing, if your characters are set in a historical context (assuming you are going for that and aren’t creating a new world or alternative history), give them what history gave them–accurate clothes, food, and shelter
  • In both personal and professional writing, research does half the work for you–if you know the trail map inside and out, the peak is already close!

Research, my friends. Climb that mountain. The air is much clearer and the sky is much brighter at the top.

How do you approach research in your own writing projects? Do you love it? Hate it? Have any tips? Let us know!

A Quick Creative Thought for the Day

Remember this today: You don’t have to write an entire epic. You don’t have to finish an entire project all at once.

Just write a few words. Get something down on paper. Get something typed into a Word doc. Watch the word counter, and write until it says “100.” Heck, write until it says “10.”

Anything is positive and is a step closer to the goal.

I know you’ve heard this before.

But try it today.

I Had a Thought…Is That Dangerous?

I had a thought today as I sat and pondered a piece of creative whatnot on my computer: what if what I’m writing is wrong?

That happened. That’s dangerous.

I was in the middle of sketching out an article, and I suddenly wondered if all the work I’d poured into the initial outline was wrong.

Then I thought: does it matter? And the answer came back: “NO!”

See, every creative endeavor has a kernel of doubt deep within it waiting to pop. The questions isn’t when we will quit, but when we will eventually succeed despite the doubts.

Just a thought, folks. Nothing to see here. Move along. Keep creating.