Shut Up & Write! by Judy Bridges

Shut Up & Write! by Judy Bridges

Author:Judy Bridges [Bridges, Judy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: writing, Reference
ISBN: 9780976474203
Publisher: Redbird Studio Press
Published: 2011-01-01T08:00:00+00:00


The Big “O” for Creative Types

I’m not keen on dividing people into categories of left or right brain, creative or analytical, writer or engineer. I’m creative as all get out, yet every aptitude test I took as a kid said, “You’d make a good engineer.” Engineers are creative. Writers are analytical. The trick is to use both sides of the brain.

The Alligator Outline is an organizational tool that blends both sides of the brain. It is similar to a mind map, cluster, or Ishikawa diagram, but with a sense of direction and lots of room for creative thought.

I invented the “Alligator” when I worked on a project for Winnebago Motor Homes and got myself stuck in a swamp of too-much-information. The business plan called for me to tour the manufacturing plant in Forest City, Iowa, then fly to several dealerships for interviews, then write the script for a twelve-minute video to be shown to potential customers. As we walked through the plant and came upon a nearly finished motor home, I said, “I really ought to make the trip in one of those!” and three hours later I was driving down the highway in a thirty-seven-foot, top-of-the-line Winnebago that had a queen-sized bed, full bath, and more kitchen appliances than I had at home at the time. The first stop was Louisville, Kentucky, where I attended the mother of all RV shows (imagine, a motor home with a hot tub and bar!) and learned that making a left turn with a thirty-seven-foot vehicle can be hazardous to the little car on your right.

After Louisville, I drove north to Canada (ice!), then zigzagged south through the Appalachians, down the East Coast, and on to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way, I visited dealers, interviewed sales people, parked in campgrounds, and asked RVers, “Would you buy one of these? Why? If not, why not?” I read every manual and used every do-dad in the unit.

By the time I got to Florida, I was too well informed. I sat on the floor—notes, user manuals, and interviews piled around me—and thought, a twelve-minute video? How about a book?

I tried every organizational tool I knew—lists, mind maps, outlines—and finally came up with a sloppy mess that looked like a many-legged alligator. It was ugly, but it worked! I got the important stuff in the script, in the right order, and the client thought I walked on water.

Since then, I’ve taught this system to hundreds of people who use it to organize articles, books, proposals, reports, speeches, white papers, brochures, web content, and business plans. A few people use it for fiction, but I think Bubble Outlines work better for that.



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