Write with the passion of a thousand suns, and your words will shine brightly!
TRIZ is an innovative problem solving system decades old, but it is less well-known outside of Russia. Maybe the problem is how it sounds a bit like a protagonist from a YA dystopian novel.
Triz, formerly known as Beatrice, finds herself separated from her family and placed in a community of young adults who are all struggling to survive in a harsh, dystopian reality. While others rely on gut instincts and painful lessons learned from past mistakes, Triz discovers she has a unique ability to analyze problems, see inherent contradictions, and find innovative solutions.
Strategy:
This exercise introduces the TRIZ problem-solving methodology and guides writers through applying its principles to improve their writing process. By identifying a specific problem, understanding its contradictions, and adapting a TRIZ principle to their process, writers can develop innovative solutions to enhance their writing experience and output.
Instructions:
Define the Problem: Identify a specific challenge or obstacle you face in your writing process. Write a clear, concise problem statement that describes the issue you want to address.
Identify Contradictions: Examine your problem statement and identify any contradictions or conflicting requirements. For example, you may want to write more but also maintain high quality, or you may want to be creative but also meet deadlines. Write down these contradictions.
Ideal Solution: Envision an ideal scenario where your problem is solved, and the contradictions are resolved. Describe this ideal solution in a few sentences, focusing on the benefits and outcomes you desire.
TRIZ Principle: Review the list of TRIZ principles provided (see Further Resources below) and select one that seems most relevant or applicable to your problem. Write down the principle and try to define it in your own words.
Adapt the Principle: Brainstorm ways to adapt the chosen TRIZ principle to your writing process. Consider how you can modify your approach, tools, or environment to align with the principle and address your problem.
Plan and Test: Select one of the adaptations you brainstormed and create a plan to implement it in your writing process. Set specific goals, milestones, and metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the adaptation. Plan to test the new approach for a defined period (e.g., a week or a month) and assess its impact on your writing experience and output.
Tags: TRIZ, problem solving, writing process, creativity, innovation, contradiction, ideal solution, adaptation
Category: Manage Projects > Design a Process
Example:
Define the Problem: I struggle to focus on writing due to distractions from social media and notifications.
Identify Contradictions: I want to stay connected with people, but I also need to minimize distractions to write effectively.
Ideal Solution: I can maintain important connections while creating a focused, distraction-free environment that allows me to write consistently and productively.
TRIZ Principle: Extraction (Taking Out): Remove or isolate the parts of a system that interfere with its functionality, or extract only the necessary parts or properties.
Adapt the Principle: Use a distraction-blocking app during writing sessions, write on a device without internet access, or create a dedicated writing space free from distractions.
Plan and Test: Implement using a distraction-blocking app for one week. I will write for 30 minutes each day without accessing social media or notifications. Track daily progress and evaluate the impact on focus and productivity after the week.
Further Resources:
I’ve put together a list of the first 20 (of 40) TRIZ principles and how they can be applied to writing. This is just a taste of the full menu TRIZ offers. If you love lists, look up the 8 Trends of Evolution, the 39 Features of Conflict, the 40 TRIZ Principles, and 76 Standard Solutions.
Segmentation: Divide the writing process into manageable parts. Examples include setting daily word count goals or using timeboxing techniques to limit writing sessions.
Extraction: Isolate essential elements of the writing process. For instance, writing with simpler tools like pen and paper or a basic word processor to minimize distractions.
Local Quality: Tailor the writing schedule to match daily variations in energy and engagement. Adjust writing session lengths based on the time available each day.
Asymmetry: Modify the structure of writing sessions to be less symmetrical. Plan shorter sprints at the beginning and end of a session, when you might be warming up or winding down.
Merging or Combination: Integrate different parts of the writing process strategically. For example, a skeleton draft starts by drafting key dialogues, then returns to flesh out descriptions and actions, forming a complete narrative.
Universality: Standardize aspects of the writing process to increase efficiency. Write at consistent times and locations, or utilize common narrative structures and plotting tools like Save The Cat or Dan Harmon's Story Circle.
Nesting: Organize tasks in a hierarchical order. Begin with broad developmental edits and progress through finer details like line and copy edits. Start with an overarching outline and break it down into detailed sub-sections.
Anti-weight or Counterweight: Balance intense tasks with lighter activities. Pair challenging writing sessions with relaxing activities like drinking tea or listening to meditative chants to maintain a pleasant and productive workflow.
Preliminary Anti-Action or Prior Counteraction: Prepare mentally for difficult tasks. Engage in brainstorming sessions before tackling complex writing passages to activate relevant memories and ideas.
Preliminary Action or Prior Action: Perform preparatory tasks to simplify later efforts. Do light edits during writing sessions to ease the burden of future editing of whole manuscripts.
Beforehand Cushioning or Cushioning in Advance: Plan for potential disruptions. Establish criteria for what constitutes a necessary interruption and develop strategies for maintaining boundaries and managing writer's block.
Equipotentiality: Ensure flexibility in the writing sequence. Develop a process that allows jumping to any part of the manuscript as inspiration strikes, avoiding bottlenecks.
Inversion: Reverse the usual order of tasks. Consider starting the writing process from the end of the story and working backwards to the beginning.
Spheroidality: Move away from a linear approach. Adopt a more holistic or circular writing process that may involve revisiting and revising earlier sections continuously.
Dynamicity: Adapt the process to current needs and energy levels. Switch to lighter tasks or more enjoyable scenes when energy wanes or when facing reluctance towards certain sections.
Partial or Excessive Action: Overproduce initially to ensure ample material. Write extra content at the beginning or end of chapters to provide more options for revision.
Another Dimension: Incorporate additional layers or perspectives in planning. Outline chapters or write summaries alongside the draft to maintain a higher-level view of the narrative structure.
Mechanical Vibration: Adjust the frequency of writing sessions to maintain momentum. Increase or decrease the number of sessions based on the phase of the project.
Periodic Action: Write in defined bursts. Use breaks between these bursts to reflect, revise, or switch tasks, keeping the mind fresh and engaged.
Continuity of Useful Action: Focus on maintaining momentum in productive activities. Minimize or eliminate less effective tasks, focusing instead on continuous writing and iterative revisions, as suggested by methodologies like Peter Elbow’s approach to skipping extensive developmental edits in favor of repeated drafting.