I hate when people let the fruits of their creativity go spoiled, unpicked, rotting under the tree.

If you’re like me, you love coming up with ideas – in fact, you have so many of them, your notebooks, note-taking apps, and napkins are everywhere.

Artists have the privilege to dive into the void and come back with the beauty and the stupid of the world for everyone to see. But what’s the point of the diving if noone will ever enjoy. Gifts are meant to be shared. You’ve gotta be developing what you found – cleaning, cutting, baking, serving. Ideas are the same way. You got the seed, maybe a flower or a green fruit – now you must see it through.

Creativity loves discipline. So here is an idea development pipeline I use.

The text:

1. Capture the ideas using – envelopes, note pads, note apps – whatever.
2. Once a week sit down, gather the notes, voice to text them with <otter.ai, build in apple devices, chat gpt, etc>*¹.
3. Export <cut and paste> these idea into “idea dump – to process” folder on Notion. To start you can simply put them into “raw notes – to read”. If you have more time, you can actually sort them out on the spot: this idea would make a good stand up, this one will be a good character, a tv pilot, etc.
4. Once you collect enough entries in a single category – be it “stand up”, “storytelling”, “sketch”, etc, move them to “CATEGORIES – To Refine” folder. They have corresponding sub-categories. and the un-developed, raw idea go into “unprocessed ideas”.
5. Next time you sit down to write, you don’t start with an empty paper – you go to, say, categories to refine/standup/unprocessed ideas. Pick one, move it to “rewrite”, pick the subcategory there, say, “family” make a page, say “my grandad”, make a first draft where you just vent about the subject. I like to voice to text this.
6. Next time you go to refine/standup/unprocessed ideas/mygrandad – read what you wrote, edit. Expand. Maybe make a list of associations, cultural references, comedy filters, etc – put that under draft 2.
7. Take draft 2 and put it on your feet at an open mic or if you use comedy buddies, ask them for feedback
8. Rewrite and test, rewrite and test, rewrite and test, etc
9. Once the bit is ready, film it

The video:

The Notion template:

Totally free on Gumroad

1. ^{I started with otter ai but recently have been using notes on my iphone}
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