How to Write: Rituals and Reminders from the Stanford d.school
After several years of robust literary output, what has the d.school learned about the art and craft of writing?
One thing that the publication of the recent Stanford d.school books — a series of ten books plus two standalone titles on the mindsets and methods core to the d.school — has taught us is that the staff, teachers, fellows, and alums of the d.school are eager to share their ideas, questions, and provocations beyond the Stanford campus and to a larger audience. As a way to support the broader creative efforts of its people, the d.school hosted its first Content Camp — a prototype to support the development of ideas for new books or products during a defined period of time. In Spring 2023, a small cohort was assembled to fine-tune their ideas through group feedback and individual coaching with the goal of having a solid proposal from which they could advance their project.
However, writing, even within a cohort, can be lonely and, well, hard! The authors of the Stanford d.school Guides reflected on their experiences writing to offer up some encouragement and insights to help make the process, if not easier, then at least a bit more approachable. As we wrapped up our first Content Camp, we shared these rituals and reminders for writing with our aspiring authors and creators.
1. Make the space. “I had a specific chair in my apartment where, while I was writing my book, I only used it for book stuff. I would sit there mostly in the early mornings, explicitly allow myself a period of 15 to 20 minutes to settle in, and then turn off the internet on my laptop. This location-based routine created cues for my brain and body to return to this focused work.” — Sarah Stein Greenberg, author of Creative Acts for Curious People
2. Set the mood. “I have particular songs on repeat for certain moments in writing. I also have a particular album that I use when starting any new piece of writing.” — Scott Witthoft, author of This Is a Prototype
3. Release any pressure to create good work.“Don’t judge — just assume all your beginnings are poopy and that you need to get the poop out to get to the good stuff. Then be open — once you get into it, you may find yourself accelerating with great momentum or heading in a different direction, let it lead you.” — Grace Hawthorne, author of Make Possibilities Happen
4. Just. Stop. Procrastinating! “When I am procrastinating, I tell myself, I know you really don’t feel like working on this, but we’ll just do it for 30 minutes/50 minutes. Then I’ll set a timer and just start. It always works for me, and I can trick my monkey mind into making some progress. And then I do it again.” — Ashish Goel, author of Drawing on Courage
5. Become a collector of thoughts and ideas. “There is a pressure for productivity (deductive) which can differ greatly from creativity (expansive). We often belittle the work of ‘thinking’ when we’re not ‘producing.’ Keep notes, collages, and drawings of whatever — not just the things ‘related’ to your subject — and then look back and synthesize that untethered, expansive material as creative writing. Calm documentation combats demotivation and the anxiety of the unknown. It becomes part of your toolkit.” — Andrea Small, author of Navigating Ambiguity
6. Make the intangible tangible.“I liked to physically map out chapters and sections with 11x17s and post-its. This meant having large display boards in addition / adjacent to an area where I was typing. At moments when I didn’t feel like typing I could still physically contribute to the work. Nested point: Help yourself and acknowledge that even a little bit helps to move forward.” — Scott Witthoft, author of This Is a Prototype
7. Just keep moving (aka, don’t wait for inspiration to strike). “Energy and motivational states vary widely over the life of a project, from wild excitement to utter melancholy. I use a graphic from Maureen McHugh/Austin to benchmark my emotional state and remind myself that what I am feeling is exactly what one is supposed to feel at this point in the project, and the way to make progress is to move forward, not wait for fresh inspiration or excitement.” — Ashish Goel, author of Drawing on Courage
8. Know when you need a change of scenery. “I live in a small studio apartment and don’t have a lot of space that I can take for myself. Around important deadlines for the book I booked an AirBnB somewhere close by so I could work in a curated space. It was nothing too fancy, but I usually chose places where I could have a window and see nature. I would pack intentionally to populate that space with the right mixture of inspiration: I would bring a few different books and cards and random things that make me smile or laugh and that really inspire me. And being there would also provide a deadline — I need to leave on this day and that’s when I’m gonna stop writing.” — Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, author of Experiments in Reflection
What are your writing rituals? Please share them! And if you try these, please let us know how they go.
