Image Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

This post is inspired by the third chapter of Scott Berkun’s book The Myths of Innovation. Why not get yourself a copy and join in the discussion?

While reading this chapter, I came across a section which I can’t get out of my head. Under the heading ‘The Infinite Paths of Innovation,’ Berkun discusses three stories of unlikely success: Flickr, 3M and Craigslist.

At the end he makes this remark:

Had you rounded up all of the great innovations experts and authors from these times, none of them would have predicted these outcomes. In all three cases, common sense would have dictated that the markets involved (photo software, office products, and classified ads) were highly saturated businesses with few opportunities. But now, looking back (as we learned in Chapter 2), it seems inevitable that these markets were ripe for change.

One could argue that the book market today is highly saturated. Each year millions more books are being published, and the new wave of self-publishing brought on by the digital age heralds an even bigger flood of authors putting out their wares.

So how can you stand out from the crowd? How can you succeed in the book-saturated world we live in today?

The purpose of Berkun’s chapter is to prove that there is no repeatable method to innovation. As he points out:

Successful innovations are highly unpredictable, even in the view of experts or the innovators themselves.

However, he provides information in this third chapter about the “patterns and frameworks that can be useful,” referring to them as “scaffolding” rather than “foundations.”

The chapter is full of interesting stuff. I suggest you read through it yourself.

I’m now going to take the three examples he sites and apply them specifically to writing.

Are You Willing to Change Direction?

The programming behind the photo-sharing website Flickr was originally developed for a online game called Game Neverending. At some point in the development, the programmers realised that the photo-sharing tool was a stronger business prospect than the game itself. So they put all their brain power into developing that aspect instead, and produced the Flickr we have today.

How does this apply to writing?

When writing a novel, are we so focused on our original vision that we’re not open to change? Sometimes the story may start out as one thing, but then in revision becomes something completely different – something stronger, more compelling, far better than the original. Are we willing to let it evolve into something different? Do we follow that new slant with as much passion and gusto as we did the first version?

As writers, we should always be looking for ways to make things better. If a novel isn’t working, can we break it down into a novela or a short story? If a short story is blossoming into a novel, are we happy to go along with it?

What if you write science fiction and couldn’t bear to set anything in the here and now? If the story you’re currently working on demands to be set in a different place and time, do you go with it? Or do you make it fit with what you’ve always written?

Continually look for the potential in your work. Cultivate your ideas, and allow them to interact. Be flexible with what you’re working on. Look for the power in your words and your work – it may come from areas you’re not expecting – then have the courage to pursue the new course. Often those sudden changes in direction are what lead to a fresh new perspective in your work…and an opening in the world of books.

Have You Created the Right Environment?

3M started out as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. In 1925 a lab assistant needed a tape that marked borders on car bodies. He experimented and came up with the masking tape 3M sells today. Realizing the potential for innovative ideas from their employees, 3M created a work environment which encouraged further experimentation and discovery.

Are you picky about where your ideas come from? Do you view some ideas as better than others because of what sparked them?

Do you surround yourself with interesting information? Do you read regularly and widely?

Do you allow yourself time to pursue different ideas and stories? Or are you always fixated on writing one particular thing?

If you always write prose, why not try poetry? If you always write romance, why not turn your hand to mysteries? If you always write fiction, why not change course and give non-fiction a go?

Set yourself up  in an environment where experimentation is encouraged and interesting failures are rewarded.

Do You Consider Your Readers?

Craig Newmark started by e-mailing information about local events to his friends. It soon grew into a website where people could post information. According to the Craigslist FAQ page, there are now more than 700 local craigslist sites in 70 countries.

Big Publishing has to take into consideration sales figures and main stream markets. Self-publishing, on the other hand, allows authors to provide for a niche market.

This leads to many more books, but if you play your cards right it allows you to capture the attention of a specific audience – a tribe. If you find ways to fill their interests and needs, you win yourself a fan base.

So instead of making your work generic in an attempt to appeal to everyone, why not write for a specific niche? Then package and market your work with that niche in mind. Far better to have a smaller number of loyal fans who will pounce on your next work, than a much larger group of readers who are pausing briefly to look at your work while on their way to the next popular book.

How Does This All Help?

The examples above show that to stand out from the crowd you need to:

• Give free rein to ideas that produce interesting and unique content, and
• Appeal to an audience (even if it’s a specific and small one).

So put yourself in different situations, be flexible and look for niche interests to fill.

What are your thoughts on this subject, and on the third chapter of The Myths of Innovation?

P.S. For the next four weeks, I’ll be taking a brief hiatus from these posts about Berkun’s book. To celebrate the release of Punch for Prompt, I’ll be posting four short stories based on Charlotte’s writing prompts. Stay tuned. It’s going to be fun!

Image Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

This post is inspired by the third chapter of Scott Berkun’s book The Myths of Innovation. Why not get yourself a copy and join in the discussion?

This chapter dealt with the myth that there is a tried and true method for innovation.

The answer, in short, is there is no method to innovation – no way of reliably reproducing success or reducing the risks of failure.

In fact, failure (or the risk thereof) is an integral part of the process. Discoveries come about through experiments. An experiment, as Berkun points out,

has at least one unknown variable, and the experiment is to see how that variable, well, varies.

This naturally leads to unexpected results which, by their very definition, can be anything from the greatest thing since twist ties to an almighty flop.

The important thing to remember here is that failure is not the end to a brilliant career. In fact, Berkun reminds us:

There is no way to avoid all risks when doing new things…all the greatest innovators in history experienced more failures than successes.

Comforting, no?

Well, yes actually.

Realising that those who went before us also battled through failures, can make their successes feel more achievable. Remember, last week we discussed how history should be used to connect our struggles with those of people in the past. While history only seems to focus on the spectacular highs and colossal lows, it’s the ordinary failures and discoveries that led to most of the innovations we have today.

So, does that mean there’s no way to reproduce the ‘perfect environment’ for innovation?

Finding Paths to Innovation

Berkun points out that there are infinite paths to innovation, and while “there are no maps” to these paths, “there are attitudes that help.”

As I read through the five attitudes he mentions, I found them relating very easily to the writing life. What do you think?

Gain Self-Knowledge

Whenever we create, we are giving out a part of ourselves; be it our energy, our thoughts or our emotions. Our Creativity is an integral part of this process.

Berkun says:

Being aware of the environments or challenges that inspire the best results for your personality helps you make smart path choices.

Some literary examples of this that spring to mind are:

• If you are able to map your most creative times of day, you can schedule your tasks to take best advantage of those times.
• If you understand what boosts your Creativity, you can keep yourself moving forward in your writing projects.
• If you acknowledge what parts of the writing life give you stress, you can find ways to manage that stress (or perhaps remove it).

Reward Interesting Failures

This one is my favourite. Berkun sums it up nicely:

Any mistake that teaches you, or someone who works with you, something previously unknowable without having done the experiment is a valuable lesson. And it’s this attitude that is consistent among all great inventors.

I love the term used here: previously unknowable.

We can read all the writing blogs and books we like but our personal writing challenges, and the best ways for us to overcome them, are unknowable until we physically sit down and start writing.

Once we start writing there will be failures. There will be ideas that morph as we put them to paper, stories with unexpected themes running through them, characters who take us in completely different directions. The true potential of these were unknowable until we got them onto the page and started massaging them into shape.

Even if the idea, story or character never actually makes it into the final draft, we have learned from the experience. And that is something to be rewarded.

If you viewed ‘failures’ as something to be rewarded, would you be less afraid of starting something new?

Be Intense, But Step Back

Most of us do our best work when we are intensely writing. But distance is equally important.

While we are intense, we are driven by passion for our work (or perhaps sheer determination to finish). We see the intricacies of what we are creating and feel the emotions we’re describing.

But at some point we have to step back so we gain the perspective that only distance can give. Seeing the whole picture, with a measure of detachment, shows up flaws or areas for improvement which we could never have found during our intense phase.

This is why it’s important to take a break from your writing, even putting a finished draft in the drawer for a period of time, to force the distance.

When you return to view your work, keep yourself open to the potential of change. Be willing to reconsider where your project could go. Be prepared to “hear the hard truths” and perhaps rethink your strategies. It takes courage, but the benefits are worth it.

Grow to Size

Most of us would love to produce a best selling book, or at least one which captured the imagining of a worldwide audience. But to manage that we need to start small. With words and sentences, questions and conundrums, plot and characters.

Berkun, referring to the fantasy of changing the world or revolutionising an industry, says:

Many world-changing ideas had humble beginnings and started with small questions like, “Can I make this better?” Use ego and ambition to fuel a progression of innovations and not distract you from the best opportunities, however ordinary, nearby.

The saying goes that there are only a finite number of plots in literature. If that’s the case, pick a plot and ask the question, “Can I make this better?” Start from a humble beginning, building your words and experience as you go.

Honour Circumstances and the Past

Whenever someone succeeds, there are often more elements in play than the person themselves. As Berkun says:

You can do everything right and fail, and do many things wrong and succeed.

Acknowledging the randomness of circumstances and the sacrifices of those who went before will keep us humble – and humility is one of the most important secrets to dealing with success and failure alike.

There is no way to guarantee creative success, but these five attitudes can put you in the best mindset for making it happen.

*****

Chapter 3 is so packed full of interesting information that I ended up with two separate posts about it. This is the first. Next week I’ll post the second, dealing with how to succeed in a book-saturated market. Stay tuned!
What points did you especially like from chapter 3? Please share your thoughts in the comments.