What’s the first thing you do when you think of a topic for your next article? If the answer is, “I look it up”, you’re doing research too early and it’s costing you BIG. Reading or researching on the same topic you’re about to write on overloads your brain with existing ideas. This will make you sound like everyone else subconsciously - it can kill your original ideas before they’re even born. 

Why? Cryptomnesia: a type of subconscious plagiarism— where our brain simply serves up something we read or saw thinking its our own original idea. Many famous writers have published plagiarized writing this way, that’s why googling first is the biggest mistake for creators.

So I teach this brain hack to all my writers - brainstorming. Shut down all your screens and write anything that you can think of on your topic. Words, phrases, ideas, doodles. If you can’t write, simply talk to yourself and record it. Brainstorm before researching feels counterintuitive in today’s info-first world, but it’s exactly why it’ll make you an original thinker.

#WritingTips #Creativity #Originality #ContentCreation #WriterLife