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Jack Oughton
Get More Better Ideas v1.0 // Jack Oughton http://jackoughtonwriter.info// https://www.facebook.com/jack.oughton.writer // 2013: CC BY-NC-SA // Wanna chat? Tweet @koukouvaya
Get More Better Ideas v1.0 // Jack Oughton http://jackoughtonwriter.info// https://www.facebook.com/jack.oughton.writer // 2013: CC BY-NC-SA // Wanna chat? Tweet @koukouvaya
So instead, take whats useful from here, discard the rest and kill your gurus. Also supplementary hyperlinks to further reading look like this. Ive put them there as signposts, and I dont recommend you take a look at them until you are finished and youd like some more information. This prevents information overload and all that :)
For a creative writer possession of the truth is less important than emotional sincerity. - George Orwell
Get More Better Ideas v1.0 // Jack Oughton http://jackoughtonwriter.info// https://www.facebook.com/jack.oughton.writer // 2013: CC BY-NC-SA // Wanna chat? Tweet @koukouvaya
Get More Better Ideas v1.0 // Jack Oughton http://jackoughtonwriter.info// https://www.facebook.com/jack.oughton.writer // 2013: CC BY-NC-SA // Wanna chat? Tweet @koukouvaya
Axioms / Presuppositions
Some points I take for granted to put this whole thing into context before we really get started
CREATIVITY: the phenomenon whereby something new is created which has some kind of subjective value
All things originate in the mind before coming into reality. All actualisation is creative, regardless of what you do and how you actualise your idea. Every great new idea was unknown and unexpected before it came to be developed and eventually taken for granted. The act of having an idea and bringing it into the world is creative. Creativity is not an absolute attribute then, but more a continuum. The level of creativity could be equated with the level of novelty of the things you create (how new and different they are)
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Being more creative does not then equate to being better - its contextual. Maybe more novel ideas are excellent for the abstract artist but less suited to the chef. Both people will require a certain level of creativity, however. Creativity and being creative is also a label, and as such is vulnerable to what happens with every kind of reduction and labeling. Sure, we need labels to help us navigate reality, but such labels can also hinder our navigation, oversimplify or be misinterpreted. The finger that points at the moon is not the moon - Buddhist Aphorism Much of what I write about here is not fully teachable or conveyable by words. Such things are experiential E.g.: You dont learn to get great at guitar by reading books about guitar. You get great at guitar by playing guitar and applying what you read to your guitar playing experience. So, in much the same way, these concepts here are things that you can integrate into doing creativity. Being creative. Because creativity can be seen as a state of being.
I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process an integral function of the universe. Buckminster Fuller VERY CREATIVE GUY! Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. - Gail Sheehy
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wuh
As Oliver Burkeman said in The Guardians This Column Will Change Your Life; if startling insights could be systematically arrived at, they wouldnt be startling. Which means that I obviously cant guarantee you any spectacular learnings. But I will try to startle you with these Aha moments of insight and realisation, nevertheless... So if you get any of these sudden feelings of realisation, why not make a note of what you learnt...? It could be your brain telling you that a meaningful synaptic connection has been made. Making a note of that feeling might help you better retain the information. Because that the information/learning might be valuable to you at some point, maybe now, maybe later!
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Im always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning... Every day I find something creative to do with my life. - Miles Davis Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. - Gail Sheehy
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Brutal Reality
This is a brutal reality and is often the reason why popular music can become what seems to be a lowest common denominator. Collectively, people seem to like Justin Biebers uhboyish charms more than they like sonic exploration and innovative new musical sounds.
Its also why some great artists die poor and unappreciated. Think Van Gogh...
But, this process is also a filter that separates the people who really want it, from the rest. Especially the people working in relatively unpopular genres or media where financial or critical acclaim is harder to get. It is one of the most trying and brutal filters imaginable. But, for whatever reason that keeps them going, a truly creative/artistic person isnt prone to give up just because of a lack of monetary or popular recognition. Theyll just keep on regardless of what the world does/doesnt do This might mean theyre a little insane or deluded, or something else. But can you fault such courage and dedication!?!
Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. - Gail Sheehy
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Dat brain
I use an example from my own life to hopefully illustrate Creative Mode: A time for artless/artful, unbridled creative expression At this point I focus on getting as many ideas out as humanly possible, and as quickly as possible. I leap between ideas, often not finishing them. In writing these means insanely furious typing with no spelling correction and no sentence flow. Its an associative period where self-esteem is high and inhibitions near non-existent. Theres no filter and no judgment. The work produced here is often quite ridiculous, low quality and not for public consumption. But its a goldmine of future material that pays off during the second stage...
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Amidst the mess of ideas, sometimes patterns or ideas will emerge that are worth further pursuit. This part of the process is where the good things come to fruition and is sometimes the more arduous part But it can also be very fun and relaxing picking through all the ideas and possibilities. And making them happen.
Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will - George Bernard Shaw
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Just think of all your ideas seething in the heat of their own significance
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Its fuel for synthesis of concepts - reading widely allows you to unify between disparate subjects/domains and bring something new to the table from the combination. Wanna innovate? Smashing ideas together is a good way to do it. Though life is your material - some material is more useful than others. And some material is useless. *So consider what you choose to consume* AKA try an Information Diet for creative and critical thought. Ironically, reading books about being creative isnt probably the best way to do so. Nor is extended periods in a passive medium, such as TV. The best way to do so is simply to do so. Or to put it another way, you get better at being creative by doing things creatively. Or doing creative things. BEING creative can make you a creative What resounds best with you and what everybody learns from best is often a very unique thing.. I or nobody else can tell you what to read or consume thatll help you be more creative.
Creative activity could be described as a type of learning process where teacher and pupil are located in the same individual. - Arthur Koestler Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. - Gail Sheehy
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Artificial Constraints you impose upon yourself. Here is a stupid example involving cigars. Think of a more realistic issue in your own life and think of the kind of constraints you could apply to it... A natural constraint for example, is not having the money to take up a new hobby in expensive cigar smoking that might detract from your creative work.
You can see that this guy isnt getting shit done.
An artificial constraint is choosing not to spend that money and time on smoking in the first place, knowing that itll make you less creative. Regardless of the kind of constraint you use, you achieve the goal of NOT detracting yourself from your creative time with your newfound cigar habit. As I said, pretty dumb example, but capisce?
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Some of them may have many creative ideas which they talk about, but which we never see. Surely you know some of these people? True executors of creative ideas, and not just perennial dreamers have some things working in their favour...
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There are really three parts to the creative process. First there is inspiration, then there is the execution, and finally there is the release. - Eddie Van Halen
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In fact, lifes a matter of priorities. Your priorities determine what you do and the order you do it. And (at the risk of making a massive simplification here) your priorities stem from your values. So, are you aware of your values? Do you value being creative? How much? If yes, can do you do so more? Do you believe yourself to be creative? If so, why? If not, why not? Examine your values. Fundamentally & simply this comes down to just asking why you believe what you do, and then asking why again to every response you come up with. Rinse and repeat.
Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. - Gail Sheehy
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This is a process of self-inquiry in which the questions lead deeper towards your core values. Theres enough material here to write another ebook on values examination. And I dont claim to be an expert on that either :3 So instead of taking too much of a detour I suggest that people interested in affecting this kind of self change consider researching the different therapeutic approaches offered by the various schools of psychology.
Goal Setting For Creative People: Very briefly touching upon a subject thats been done to death
Yeah, Ill talk about goals briefly as they relate to doing creative stuff. Youve probably read some form of this somewhere else. Grandma, sucking eggs, etc
In creating, focus on means goals, not ends goals. An ends goal: States the final thing and benefit that will be obtained from the project A means goal: Encompasses and breaks down the individual steps required to actually achieve the ends goal. So, by completing your means goals you realise your ends
goals!
Or as another truism/clich says; Inch by inch, life's a cinch. Yard by yard, life's hard. Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. - Gail Sheehy
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Now apply think of how to apply this process to one of your projects
Ask, what are each of the steps involved from start to finish? List them.
Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. - Gail Sheehy
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Work from the end or the beginning but try to plot each of them in order. Then multiply the estimated time required by 2.5 for each step. Because things almost always take far longer than youd expect them to. Even when you adjust for the fact that you know theyre going to take longer than you think. Consider Parkinsons Law. If I give myself less time to do it, can it still be done at the same level of quality? (This doesnt work for every kind of project) And not all projects can have clearly charted & defined points. Some are just too ambitious and/or ambiguous. For example: becoming a multi platinum artist is a worthy ends goal. But the amount of steps and uncertainty in the means that you set for it are going to be spectacular. You couldnt possibly predict everything youd need to do and all the things that would come up as you worked towards it. (Not that it would stop you if you wanted it enough!) So instead remember that you simply operate on the best information you have available at the time Expect things to change, especially in complicated projects. Steps in the process are added after the process has begun. Thus, flexibility in life and all things is paramount.
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The reason why the palm tree survives the hurricane and the house doesnt is not because the tree is tougher or heavier (it isnt) - its because the palm tree is flexible
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attention to them.
Perhaps think of your intuition and instincts like a mental muscle that gets stronger with more use. Which could also be known as that old clich of listening
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BIRTHING IDEAS
Things to remember about birthing ideas
Apparently it took Edison around 1000 unsuccessful attempts before he finally got that little invention, the lightbulb, to work.
Often (not always), the more creative the idea, the longer it takes for it to be appreciated. Some things as so far ahead of the curve that theyre not widely accepted in the lifetime of their creator For a simple example, think about how the Catholic Church treated the people who blazed a trail in astronomy during the Scientific Revolution, such as Galileo Remember this when people cast doubt on your plans. Some ideas are just bad though. So verify. ^_^
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Too lax an approach and the idea remains as crazy and unworkable as it started.
Taking notes
Perhaps 80% of being creative is retaining the bloody good ideas that you do get. But you must be diligent, for ideas are fleeting Be receptive to your brain... Remember that ideas are fleeting. I.e. some of us find we get ideas when we dont expect them. And at inappropriate times. And were quick to forget them. Even the great ones. Be aware of the times you are most creative Personal example: I quite commonly get my ideas circa 02:39 in the morning. So, be ready to take notes. There are many ways to do this! Some use dictaphones, some use notepads. I have a notepad beside my bed for when the ideas come in the night. Though I should really use a Dictaphone, cos its pretty hard to write in the dark and I have woken up the next day not really understanding last nights indecipherable notes :D But find what means of note taking works best for you
Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. - Gail Sheehy
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MINDSET
Since creative ideas (obviously) spring from your mind, your mindset is a thing of paramount importance
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As an example, think of the amount of songs, poems and pieces of art created by people who are in love. Or heartbroken. Or have just lost someone close to them. If you are physically able, you may find that these times of emotional intensity are an opportunity to have some seriously new ideas. And it may sound strange, but in this way you may be able to make the best of an unhappy situation. When life gives you lemons, make art
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Cycling between projects; Perhaps by working on a completely different problem. For example, if you are stuck on a problem in one domain, try moving to something completely different. Cant finish the painting? Go read a book about cats and get some perspective Google have formalised this part of the creative process allowing their workers to pursue 20% projects - in which they spend 1/5th of their time working on their own, non Google ideas. It seems to work for them!
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compelled to do the creative work more, practice more, and thus the process perpetuates. This is a positive feedback loop.
Is curious: Is enthusiastic about problems. Will examine and reexamine problems just for the fun of it. Is optimistic, but perhaps not naively so Able to suspend judgment: As judgment and prejudging can strangle ideas in the crib. Embraces the unknown and the unexpected. Every great idea we now take for granted was unknown and unexpected before we came to take it for granted. They used to kill
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Perseveres: Knows that good things dont often come easily and is motivated one way or another to make them happen. Doesnt give up too quickly when the idea gets hard.
Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking. - Albert Einstein
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some area. Never buy into the myth of certain people being uncreative and dont let nobody tell you otherwise. Attack assumptions (yours and others) and cultivate the beginners mind: What you think you know, you dont. The world used to be flat and cigarettes used to be good for you Revisit things and challenge yourself. Or as an old clich says; when you assume you make an ass out of u Think in terms of problem solving: Defining the issue in terms of a specific problem or challenge presents you a discrete issue that you can tackle, as oppose to an amorphous, unassailable issue. Envision multiple solutions: When attacking a problem imagine there are multiple ideas or solutions to be had, not just one. Do not become attached to one idea at the expense of others. The right one may turn out to be the wrong one... Seek clarity: Remember we tend to procrastinate upon and make harder the things that were not totally clear on how to tackle. Solutions already exist: even if not yet discovered, perhaps think of yourself as a materialiser of potentialities.
and me
Solutions exist as potential much the same as the mass of snow on top of a mountain possesses the gravitational potential energy to destroy the village at its feet.
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And (hopefully) without getting too metaphysical you could think of the process of creative thinking as discovering an infinite number of as yet unrealised possibilities, ideas and solutions.
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APPLYING VARIOUS PERSPECTIVES TO THE PROBLEM OR: BEING A DOG FOR FUN AND PROFIT
Then consider someone elses aspect: Try seeing the problem from a different perspective: How do the customers see your business think from their view: why dont they want to spend more? Or see it from the perspective of a dog. If you were a dog, howd you approach your companys cashflow problem?
Maybe you are the dog of the companys chief salesperson and youve noticed the quality of dinner has significantly decreased now that the companys facing hard times? And what might a dog do in this situation? You might go lick Daddys face and make him feel better about life.
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And now that he feels better about life, he could go out, succeed and provide you a more fulfilling dinner. Success! And so, how could you lick the faces of your customers? Uhmetaphorically This might lead your company to consider a customer appreciation strategy and subsequently do a better job of retaining your customers. Later on you could even write one of those cookie cutter kind of business articles that inevitably end up on LinkedIn entitled Lessons In Customer Appreciation From A Loyal Dog (or something similar) In the article, you could use your company as a case study and gather some publicity in the process. So, following this associative process and restating the problem you might be able to come up with a novel approach to solving your problem. And come up with new ideas for alternative marketing strategies (i.e. an article about your dog) There are pretty much no limits on the ways that a problem can be redefined. The dog idea is pretty stupid and came completely off the cuff, but it provided something to work with and took all of 15 seconds to generate the idea. Think about how much better/more detailed your customer appreciation strategy could be if you really made the effort...
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Perspective:
Powerful ideas are often ones that help you see the same things from a different perspective. Or multiple different perspectives. And seeing things from different perspectives can help you solve problems.
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Getting out of a rut in the real world requires a forceful lateral motion, or going all the way to the end of the rut...
And its the same for the kind of creative ruts we find ourselves in. We need to think/move laterally. So, how do we do this...?
CHANGE stuff!
Change the physical environment: Get out of the environment. Change your surroundings. Work elsewhere or take a walk. Take proper holidays and really relax, it grants perspective and provides inspiration Change the sonic environment: Experiment with music as an aid to thought. For me, I find that ambient electronic music usually work best. Ive done things like setup iTunes
Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. - Gail Sheehy
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playlists with tracks that correspond to a certain creative mental state I want to be in. It does work for me Heres an example of my creative writing playlist: some tracks which help me focus - I often use them when I write: Autechre - 444 , Lusine - Headwind, Igneous Flame - Geiss and Aphex Twin - Rhubarb Change the intellectual environment: Change the kind of information you are consuming. Meet new people. Speak with new people. Read something you wouldnt normally consume. Maybe something youd normally avoid Change the subject: Do something that challenges a different part of the brain, or allows your unconscious faculties a chance to mull the subject over. Block in one domain might not apply to another. Consider a mini vacation from that subject or kind of work, if you can. Change the medium: Words failing you? Draw something. Or the musically inclined may want to pick up an instrument. Here we return to that idea of synthesis As in allowing you to unify differing concepts Change the physiology: Try Nootropics: i.e.. Theobromine, Caffeine, Omega3, Ritalin. Etc. There are a number of substances, commonly available and not so commonly available, that provide boosts to your brainpower...
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Change the psychology: Stop and go do something physically strenuous, or meditate. Both work by putting your brain into a different place and give you perspective on which to return to the problem. Or try Intermittent Fasting: (but not under all instances) for those who get used to it may find that, IF produces periods of intense focus (once you get past the hunger pangs). There could be many reasons. Try it and find out Embrace healthiness and movement: Its so commonly said, but its still true. Make sure that you are rested, properly fed (perhaps not overfed) and that you regularly express yourself through movement Consider the mind body connection. The mind can be made lethargic by too sedentary or sluggish a body.
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One of the biggest problems with the world today is that we have large groups of people who will accept whatever they hear on the grapevine, just because it suits their worldview not because it is actually true or because they have evidence to support it. The really striking thing is that it would not take much effort to establish validity in most of these cases but people prefer reassurance to research. - Neil deGrasse Tyson
Unfortunately, our human minds are susceptible to a fair few creative biases, but a few of the big ones to watch are Functional fixedness A term used by psychologists and means to only see the obvious ways of looking at a problem. Its where the individual does not leave their comfort zone when thinking about solutions to a problem domain. For example the man with a hammer sees everything as a nail, even though the hammer could be used as a paperweight. Or a catapult. Or a percussion instrument Change bias: after an investment of effort in producing change, remembering ones past performance as more difficult than it actually was.
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Which might cause you to not do things in future, misattributing things as being harder than they were. I.e. you may never run a marathon again, remembering only the world ending lactic acid burn at mile 22, and not the amazing shape that disciplined training and eating got you into. The Context Effect: Memories and thought are often dependent on the environment in which they took place. Theyre associative. Which is why some people find that certain spaces make them more creative. Its also why you might find it easier to remember your exam questions in the classroom in which you learnt what you are being tested on. Placement Bias: Basically your tendency to exaggerate how good you are at the things you see yourself as good at, and how bad you are at the things you see yourself as bad at.
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Eat the world with your brain. Life and experience are the building blocks of incredible ideas and both are freely available to you Sometimes you need to think less and feel more (trusting the gut or the heart instead of the brain) The right amount of constraints are good for your thinking. To be more creative, put more of your priorities on being creative. Your priorities stem from your values. So do you value your creativity at a core level? Dont tie your self worth to your creative input unless you enjoy being unhappy and making yourself less creative in the process. Let the ideas happen. Take notes and be ready to capture ideas, which will often/inevitably come when you least expect them. Catch all your ideas without judgment and filter them later. The Zen Mind is the Beginners Mind. Attack assumptions. Creativity is a label, and beware of labels. Feed your mind and body the right things. Beware too much junk media. Ideas are never completed, merely abandoned. Time grants you perspective. Dont fear to leave something and return to it with fresh eyes. Be creative with the right people and between you the possibilities are multiplied, not added. Coffee and fish juices make you more creative
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When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So what the hell, leap. - Cynthia Heimel Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. - Gail Sheehy
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FURTHER READING
Anything by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - maybe start with Flow Anything by Edward De Bono - maybe start with Lateral Thinking Anything by Nassim Nicholas Taleb - maybe start with Fooled By Randomness [Which covers critical thinking, truth discerning and pattern recognition which is useful in the creative act] Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell [Which examines the lives & background circumstances of some exceptional people, many of which are acknowledged as creative types] Accidental Genius - Mark Levy Thinking Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness - Richard H. Thaler [Taking an economists approach to designing an environment with incentives that helps you achieve what you want i.e more creative things!] Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success Kerry Paterson, et al [Similar to the book above]
Get More Better Ideas v1.0 // Jack Oughton http://jackoughtonwriter.info// https://www.facebook.com/jack.oughton.writer // 2013: CC BY-NC-SA // Wanna chat? Tweet @koukouvaya
Psycho Cybernetics - Maxwell Maltz [For me this is the book that started it all, essential reading] The War Of Art - Steven Pressfield Catching The Big Fish - David Lynch On Writing - Stephen King [Aimed at writers but certainly a great insight into the creative process, from a man who does it, over and over again] Zen In The Art of Writing - Ray Bradbury
Get More Better Ideas v1.0 // Jack Oughton http://jackoughtonwriter.info// https://www.facebook.com/jack.oughton.writer // 2013: CC BY-NC-SA // Wanna chat? Tweet @koukouvaya
These principles have been applied to Writing for newspapers and websites. Writing, producing, releasing and (badly) promoting my own music. Sound design. Print, graphic design and the digital arts. Working (occasionally) as a photographer. Self-publishing stuff.
Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. - Gail Sheehy
Get More Better Ideas v1.0 // Jack Oughton http://jackoughtonwriter.info// https://www.facebook.com/jack.oughton.writer // 2013: CC BY-NC-SA // Wanna chat? Tweet @koukouvaya