How Cleaning Gutters Can Make You a Better Writer

What happens when you treat your mind like a storm drain in spring

photo: Nannette Turner

An Important Activity

I begin the second chapter of my new book, Creativity Machine, with the analogy of cleaning out gutters as a way to spur bursts of creativity.

Let’s extend that metaphor.

Cleaning out the gutter of your mind isn’t just a way to spur creativity. All ideas, all writing, even in flow—even when you’re producing your …