An Orange, a Flower Delivery and My Next Door Neighbor

by Jeannie Ruesch

I challenge you to figure out what the three items in my subject line share in common.  Can you do it?  Think as a writer.  I'll give you another hint.  Think as a writer who is stuck for a story idea. 

These unrelated items and person share one commonality in my world – each one of them sparked an idea for a character.  I was inspired to write this post, for instance (after quite a while of not knowing what to write) by viewing another writer's call for inspiration.  And it made me think…how do you handle those times when you don't know what or who to write? 

We've all faced that moment – you finish a story, you're ready to start the next, but you can't think of a single thing to fill up that blank screen.  You can't even summon up a cliche to write.   Some call it writer's block, but I tend to think that my imagination is taking a much-needed vacation.

The imaginative process is an internal one for me. In fact, I picture my imagination as a whirly, noisy Willy Wonka type machine that spits, chews and shoots out an idea after it's processed everything in my head into one big piece of bubble gum.  What flavor will it be today?  A contemporary character who has a desperate need to hide from her past?  Or perhaps a historical hero whose only ambition is to belong somewhere, to someone.

And as any good Willy Wonka machine, it needs a break.  When I realize my imagination has gone to Hawaii, I also realize it's time to implore my other senses to lure it back.  

The types of things that can spark an idea stem from the basic senses we live with, and take for granted, every single day – sight, smell, sound, touch.  When was the last time you used one of those sense for something other than the obvious?   Here is the imagination challenge.  Amp up your senses, pay attention to everything around you in a different way.  Look at an ordinary object (like an egg) and think out of the ordinary.

We listen to the world around us, but if you're like me, a lot of that time is spent tuning it out.   I see flowers every day when I walk outside, I see kids crossing the street, I see neighbors going to work, coming home.  Cars.  Trees.  Houses.  Schools.  Grocery stores.  I accomplish mundane tasks like getting the mail.

All of those mundane items can spark a story, or a character.  Let's take an item from the above list: getting the mail.  How could this every day task change someone's life?  Perhaps they get a letter from a person they believed to be dead.  Perhaps they win a sweepstakes jackpot.  Perhaps they pick up the mail, realize it's just another step in a life they hate and they walk away from everything.  

Let's take one of the senses: sight.  I take it for granted that I can see where I'm going.  In fact, I rarely pay attention to that fact because I see.  So what if I close my eyes? What if I try for ten minutes, an hour…maybe even an entire day, to walk around my world without sight.  What do I experience? How is it different?  I've suddenly opened up myself and my world to an entirely different experience.   From there, anything could prove an inspiration.

Try the same with your other senses.  Touch, for instance.  In San Francisco, at the exploratorium, there is an exhibit with a variety of textures and substances that you can touch and explore.   The catch is that you can't see what you're touching.  We rely on our senses to tell us where we are, what we see, feel, smell, do.  Take one of your senses away and watch the others step up.  And when you do that, consider things in a way you never have.  Look at the ordinary and imagine something extraordinary from it. 

Take that orange in my subject line.  It's a pretty unexciting piece of fruit.  But imagine someone who can't stand to look at an one.  Who refuses to be near one.  Why? 

Or a flower delivery.  Most of us (women especially) love to get flowers.  But what if someone hated getting flowers? 

Or your next door neighbor, someone you know at least in a casual, friendly manner.  You likely have assumptions about that person and their life.   Turn that assumption upside down.   If you have assumed they are happy,  imagine they aren't.  Now imagine why.

These are games you can play with your senses, with the way you look at the world, to spark new ideas.   What ways do you spark your creativity?  How do you lure your imagination back from vacation?  Share them in the comments, I'd love to hear them!

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1 comment

canadian flower delivery June 30, 2008 - 9:44 pm

Most women have a favorite flower. If you know what your girlfriend’s favorite flower is, buy that first. If you don’t know, here is a list of the most popular flowers. Chances are, her favorite is one of these:

Roses
Orchids
Lillies
Chrysanthemums
Calla Lillies
Daisies

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