"To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction."
- Isaac Newton
I‘ve always been fascinated by the facts how our mind and its creative processes work. Words and language are the tools we mostly use to express ourselves and it comes so naturally to us. In the same fashion, I believe that words and language can be our igniting spark to initiate creative thinking. And what about using words and language in a different, innovative way? It can be beneficial for us in any case of creative process and problem solving.
Remember Newton’s Third Law in physics? Every action has a reaction. That’s simply how Universe works. Thus, use the following statements to imagine a dramatic situation – express emotions, describe scenery, what each of your senses feel and try to write your story or poem. It’s a refreshing activity and your untamed imagination and power of visualization will move your creativity in a positive direction.
Example statements:
You woke up alone, hurt and wet on the sand beach. What happened to you?
You heard a noise on the stairs, behind the closed door.
What made that noise?
A smiling child runs into you. How do you react?
A crowd has gathered below your window. What do they want?
You are in an unknown country: nobody speaks your language, nobody understands you. How do you communicate?
This is a great way to initiate your writing. There are endless options of imaginative situations that can spur your words and keep writing going.
O Me ! O Life!
O ME! O life!… of the questions of these recurring;
Of the endless trains of the faithless—of cities fill’d with the
foolish;
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish
than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light—of the objects mean—of the
struggle ever renew’d;
Of the poor results of all—of the plodding and sordid crowds I see
around me;
Of the empty and useless years of the rest—with the rest me
intertwined;
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O
life?
Answer.
That you are here—that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.
Walt Whitman