so i was going to tell you about my favourite list post from the litemind group writing project. it’s zara’s 6 steps to take writing ideas from wordpress themes.

i like it so much because it shows practical creativity at its best:

• she takes something that usually sits in the background (a blog design) and asks, what else can i do with this?
• this can only come from an attitude of appreciation, of
  • taking enough time
  • to stand back
  • really seeing what’s in front of you, and
  • grasping the value of it
• in answering the question of what can be done with the wordpress themes, she doesn’t just give superficial answers – she really thinks about it
• she delves into all the nooks and crannies of her answers
• she admits that she doesn’t know it all
• she invites others to take her ideas further.

her ideas on writing about the graphics aspect of a theme are a good illustration:

6. images are very important when you write about design. so don’t forget to take several screenshots and include them in your posts. the more, the better, especially if your articles are aimed at a not so savvy audience.

6.1. alternatively you can record the desired images with a camera or a screen capture software, act as a narrator to add your comments on each scene and release your wordpress theme tips in video format.

6.2. podcasts don’t seem to be a nice content format when it comes to discussing design, for the obvious reason that you can’t insert images on them. but feel free to prove me wrong. i’d love to see how you’d get around this limitation.

this is the kind of creativity we need in this world. and you know what’s interesting – the prize for the best list included a creativity booster by inventor and creativity incubator roger von oech.

roger, zara didn’t win the prize but i nominate her for a giveaway of one of your fabulous creativity whatchmacallits. her ideas on how to use wordpress themes is exactly the kind of thing that you always encourage on your blog, isn’t it?

(this post was mentioned in the carnival of positive thinking and rodney’s thumbs up carnival)