Habits of the Creative Mind

Preface
1. Orienting
On Finding Your Feet 
On Habits
On Thinking New Thoughts 

2. Beginning
On Unlearning
On Letting Go of Writing-By-Formula 
On Confronting the Unknown

3. Paying Attention
On Learning to See
On Looking and Looking Again
On Paying Attention to Words 

4. Questioning
On Asking Questions
On Writing to a Question
On Question-Driven Writing 

5. Exploring
On Going down the Rabbit Hole
On Creative Reading
On Choosing Your Own Adventure

6. Connecting
On the Three Most Important Words in the English Language
On Joining the Conversation 
On Working with the Words of Others

7. Working Deliberately 
On Seeing as a Writer
On Reading as a Writer 
On Reading in Slow Motion

8. Reflecting
On the Miracle of Language
On Making Thought Visible
On the Examined Life 

9. Persisting
On Encountering Difficulty 
On Learning from Failure  
On Thinking Unthinkable Thoughts

10. Organizing 
On Structure
On Revising
On Getting Your Act Together 

11. Speculating
On Argument as Journey
On Imagining Alternatives  
On Complexity 

12. Playing
On Laughter 
On Bending Conventions 
On the Joys of Pseudonymous Writing 

Readings
Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence
Michel de Montaigne, How Our Mind Tangles Itself Up
Danielle Allen, What Is Education For?
Rachel Aviv, How a Young Woman Lost Her Identity
Rebecca Solnit, Occupied Territory 

Works Cited

Index