Creativity: The Art And Science Of Lightbulb Moments With Tom Evans
Channel: The Creative Penn
Date: 24/06/2011

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Lightbulb moments are those flashes of inspiration that come in the shower or at odd times of the night. They are precious for authors and can generate whole books. So how can we have more of them? Joanna Penn interviews Tom Evans about his latest book, The Art and Science of Lightbulb Moments.
What is a light-bulb moment anyway and why is it important?
How do we get into the right head-space for facilitating these moments? There are many ways – in the shower!, getting out into nature, meditation, mind-mapping, collaboration, trial and error (like Edison), set out with the intention to receive, experiencing other things that spark ideas, being places with a new energy, getting away from a normal pattern – even commuting a new way to work, walk and look up and outwards
On the collective consciousness, the super-conscious and some models for understanding the phenomenon of lightbulb moments and ideas. How thoughts could be considered in the cloud that we can receive from and if we use the idea, it is ours – if we don't, it goes back out there.
On the importance of breathing and how it fuels light-bulb moment.
On actualising the lightbulb moments and how you need to take tangible actions to make them into reality
Mindmapping and how it mirrors how the brain works. It keeps the left brain, logical side happy with the mapping and allows the right brain to imagine and produce. It helps with producing random associations that can be original and creative. Here's my own take on mind-mapping.
On speaking your writing and incorporating your whole body into your writing. Focus on breathing.
On getting rid of writer's blocks – Tom and I did a whole podcast on writer's block – click here to check it out.
On cycles of nature and how you can use them for creation and then reflection. Daily cycles and lunar cycles and how that affects energy. (Although of course, sometimes you just need to sit down and do the work!)