There was a time when I tried desperately to come up with a new story idea.
As the saying goes, I had nothing.
I played the writer’s “what if?” mind game while I drove around town. While I moved laundry from the washer to the dryer to the laundry basket. While I grocery shopped. While I loaded the dishwasher. While I exercised.
You get the idea.
Every idea seemed like a same-old-same-old idea.
And then I found a picture that my son, Josh, designed in high school.
It’s 20 different interpretations of a key.
Twenty.
Talk about imagination!
Looking at my son’s creativity motivated me to not give up. If Josh could come up with 20 different perspectives of a common household object, surely I could think (and pray) my way to a new story idea.
And yes, yes I did.
My son’s artwork now hangs in my office to remind me that imagination is an amazing thing … and that I can be more creative than I ever realized.
In Your Words: If you had to choose, would you choose logic or imagination? And just for fun: What gets your creativity, your imagination, flowing?
In Others' Words: Imagination Will Take You Everywhere http://bit.ly/2w9GomD #quotes #creativity Share on X 'Logic will get your from A to B, imagination will take you everywhere.' quote by Albert Einstein http://bit.ly/2w9GomD #logic #imagination Share on X
Comments 45
I like logic and imagination, I think I have a good combination of both. Anything can get my creativity flowing, a song, a beautiful landscape, animals, my baby, even the news. Then there are times, nothing motivates me to write.
Love the quote at the top!
Music is a good imagination starter for me too. And quotes …
😉
Imagination every time! Logic won’t keep you warm…well, it might if you had to figure out how to start a fire…but it’s imagination that would think of the fire in the first place. lol
As for what sparks my imagination, almost anything, from news reports to seeing a swan dip it’s head in the lake.
Love the way you think, Pat!
🙂
IMAGINATION! Little passionate about that one. 😉 Your son’s work is inspiring. For some odd reason painting gets my mind going, being outside, exercise, rich conversations, and sometimes forgetting that I’m looking for a story at all is the best way to find one.
~ Wendy
I’m kind of weird. I’m extremely logical (left-brained) with some stuff, but I love creativity (right-brained) too! And I agree with TC…music. And reading Scripture. So much beauty flowing from the words found there!
I love looking at different versions/translations of Scripture, Lindsay. And also looking at the amplified version … it’s fun seeing all those words!
I would choose imagination all the way. I love music. And nature. It feeds my creativity. Not necessarily the words to the song but the emotions of the tune. 🙂 Happy Easter, Beth!
He is Risen!
And, yes, Jessica, sometimes just the melody of the music is enough to evoke a mood …
I think I tend to be more logical, with doses of imagination thrown in. Lots of things fuel my creativity. Listening to sermons, things that I read, God’s creation, and yes, even the shower inspires creativity sometimes. 🙂
This was my answer verbatim and I would have posted sooner had I known Jeanne was going to have the nerve to steal it.
Sorry, kidding, my humor, like my imagination, can take frightening twists without warning.
I really can say ditto to every single word, Jeanne. I often scribble notes during a sermon. For my characters. It’s fun how easy it is to get away with that, I even feel a little guilty that it’s not actual sermon notes. 🙂 Seriously, I LOVE how God inspires the imagination through endless means, including his word.
My next story-inspiring jaunt will be a trip along the breathtakingly beautiful McKenzie River in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. I have some vague story ideas, but it’s not gelling just yet. (I need to brainstorm! Talking things out seems to get my imagination going…) I knew I wanted to set it there, so I hope (& pray) the artistry of the Master will provide boundless inspiration. Because this is the logical thing to do. 🙂 Lovely how logic & imagination work in sync. Or frightening, I suppose, depends on what it produces.
(love ya, Jeanne – hope you don’t mind… 🙂 )
We are inspiring one another today, I see.
😉
Camille, I don’t mind at all. 🙂 If it makes you feel better, one time my characters had a fight in the middle of our pastor’s sermon. 🙂 I’m just glad I’m not alone in this logic/imagination thing. 🙂
🙂
Love eavesdropping on this conversation.
I’ve heard it said that writers often get great ideas in the shower. This is why I have an aquadoodle pad in my shower — a notepad that is waterproof!
I love imagination, but sometimes from life experience I really, really cling to logic. The shower comment wasn’t TMI. As a mom of a toddler, most days that’s my only alone time and I ideas flow without distractions. Of course, I sometimes forget to wash my hair. 🙂 Perhaps that’s TMI. (I like Josh’s art)
LOL, Stacy! I’ve done that too — had to get back in the shower and finish what I started.
Stay tuned, more of my son’s art may show up in future posts.
Imagination! It’s just plain more fun.
And yet, I’m a lot like Lindsay in that there are some parts of me that are so very left-brained…um, like how much I love organizing things.
But here’s the thing – someone above mentioned music. There is a lot of logic to music, actually. Timing, beat, etc. It’s like the perfect mix of imagination and logic. That’s what storytelling comes down to for me. I’ve got to use a little logic when plotting…
But yeah, if I had to choose…imagination. 🙂
Excellent observation, Melissa.
Hhhmm, I love organization but I am not good at it.
My daughters are helping me, though.
I am now mulling over a Writers Relief Effort … where we go around from writer to writer and help each other get organized!
I also choose imagination every time. It adds lots of unexpected color and enjoyment to life’s journeys, sometimes taking us to the most unusual but delightful places . . .
Ah, Dee, your theme is peeking through your comment.
😉
How neat that your son’s work inspires your own, Beth.
What stirs my imagination? Walks. Classical music. Showers. (It’s amazing how many ideas flow when I stand under the spray. =)
Keli – me too. I think it’s the hot water so close to our brain.
I hear someone has invented waterproof crayons just for writers to jot the stuff that comes while we shower. I’m buying this. I get something awesome & by the time I’m out, it’s gone. !
Make sure you share the link, Camille.
Walks do it for me to, Keli.
Sometimes when all else fails, I walk out of the house and just walk and walk and walk … seeking relaxation and inspiration.
I keep my kids artwork around to inspire my imagination. Sometimes just the simplest origami flower will inspire a whole field of lilies.
Ve-ery true, Loree.
And origami is one of the most amazing art forms.
Imagination! Imagination! That means our writer’s paintbrush never ceases to find new blends or strokes. Logic fits inside of what we already know. Where’s the stretch in that? 🙂
Well said, Donna. Well said.
What a great story!
🙂
Imagination! And I’m with you Beth as far as music and quotes. I also love great photos, crafts, books . . . etc!
Coleen,
I’m impressed with people who can do crafts, as i am craft-challenged.
Your son is very creative! so glad you found your new story. I have been struggling with finding my imagination again and I can see how even looking at a picture like that would spark some ideas:)
Feel free to save the photo, Terri, if it stirs your creativity.
Now that gives us something to think about, as well as feel encouraged!! Thanks, Beth!
Plus, it’s fun to see how creativity runs in your family. Very cool picture!!!
I have no drawing skills at all. But several of my kiddos do, which is a lot of fun!
What an inspiring story–I’m sure your son is as proud of you as you are of him! I would say imagination, even though I’m very type-A, logic is sometimes too logical…aka “boring”! Most times, music gives me imagination and gets the sparks flying.
Another vote for music … and logic can be a lifesaver, Christi.
Challenge your preconceptions, or they will challenge you – Vulcan proverb
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I had no idea the Vulcan’s had proverbs. But than, every culture does.
🙂
It’s only logical that they would, and they do fuel the imagination…here’s another:
Nothing that is, is unimportant.
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“It’s only logical that they would …”
*snort*
Was that intentional, Andrew?
🙂
Um, actually, no!
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It should have been … 😉