Now, the spark file itself is not all that unusual: that's why Moleskins or Evernote are so useful to so many people. But the key habit that I've tried to cultivate is this: every three or four months, I go back and re-read the entire spark file. And it's not an inconsequential document: it's almost fifty pages of hunches at this point, the length... See more

• Capture the ideas and insights that spark your interest. A sticky note, a voice memo, or an app like Notion—whatever works.


• Organize them so you can find them later. Categories, tags, or even a simple “Projects” list will do.


• Distill your notes into their essential meaning. Ask: What’s the big takeaway here?


• Express your ideas by using them in

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I feel like I say this to a lot of people, especially aspiring fiction writers. In my experience, it is really important to do two things.

One: You have to train yourself to notice things. It's not 100% natural at first – it certainly wasn’t for me – but raising those antennae is a very worthwhile thing to do. And it snowballs: once I got started... See more