One of the things I’ve noticed since I took up blogging, years ago, for a little daily fiction site called the heartbroke daily (oh, you haven’t heard of it? booooo….) was that the best posts tended to come from a flash of inspiration and then almost wrote themselves. The ones where I had to bang my head against the desk, trying to force an idea out, were always the worst. But the ones that happened, seemingly out of nowhere, fusing a handful different influences I’d absorbed, and then poured easily out of my fingertip, we’re always the best. Well, apparently the scientific community has attempted to explain why this is generally the case for all the best, most creative ideas. According to the linked WP article, insights come in a flash, they’re not extracted by force. Also, the scientists quoted in the article make the case that you’ll have more insights when you’re drunk, which is great news for, well, drunks.
Don Draper also made the point explicit in a bit of advice to Peggy Olson, when he said, “Just think about it deeply, then forget it…then an idea will jump up in your face.” Then, he went and got super
(hat/tip, the creative peoples quorum, also the washington post, I guess)