Is the illusion of control stifling your creativity?
Stop planning. Start small, and let your ideas grow.
Isaac Asimov was one of the most important science fiction writers of the last century.
His most influential series of all time, Foundation, almost didn't happen. Why? Because he tried to follow his publisher’s advice:
"Make an outline."
An outline seems like a fine first step—and, for some, it may be.
However, many creative people struggle when they try to define an entire project in logical steps from beginning to end.
Inspiration doesn't arrive fully formed.
And it’s rarely logical.
Asimov wasn’t just prolific—he was remarkable.
He wrote or edited more than 500 books and over 380 short stories. His writing was so diverse that his books span all major categories of the Dewey Decimal Classification except one category—Philosophy & Psychology.
And though he’s forever linked to science fiction, Asimov coined the term "robotics" without suspecting that it might be an original word.
Ironically, for someone who loved science and space, he feared flying and only did so twice in his life.
Even creative geniuses struggle.
Asimov’s struggle began on a subway ride to Manhattan.
He was meeting his publisher, and he had nothing—no new ideas, no fresh writing.
Desperate for inspiration, he turned to a technique he sometimes used: opening a random book to a random page and letting his thoughts wander. The book happened to be a collection of plays.
He landed on a dialogue between a fairy queen and a sentry.
The idea of a sentry led Asimov to think of soldiers and the military. Then, to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire—a topic he had recently been reading about. And suddenly, it clicked.
The fall of a galactic empire.
By the time Asimov reached his publisher's office, he had the seed of an idea for what would become his most beloved and successful novels.
His publisher loved it but then said, "Make an outline."
Asimov tried, dutifully working on a structure that "got longer and longer and stupider and stupider." Eventually, he tore it up.
After he did, he decided to tell the whole story his way—in small segments over time.
The lesson for creatives?
We put too much pressure on ourselves when we expect creativity to fit into a structure or plan. Instead of defining a path, start small.
Take one step.
Then, from your new vantage point, see what feels like the right next step. Give yourself time and space to uncover your ideas piece by piece, with no pre-defined idea of how your path must unfold or where you'll end.
Trust that, with a little distance and perspective, you’ll feel ready to pull the pieces together.
Get ready to discover your best work yet—one step at a time.
Allowing an idea to unfold as it is worked on makes sense. The idea and its creative becoming one takes a minute or two....