The power of the Imagination

One of the things that a writer needs most is the skill to transform the imaginings that tumble around in the head into something concrete, like a story so well structured that other people can understand what the words convey.. The result can be powerful in both emotional and mental terms, it can draw a reader into wanting to know more about the topic, or it can be dismissed as too tough to read or is not written well enough.

This interpretation of an idea into something solid is not of course restricted to writers.  Inventors need a great deal of imagination. In their minds they conjure up an idea, whether that be how to build a bridge, or use the power of steam to drive a train, or how to enable words typed into a platform to be transmitted around the world, via space.  And what of those people who imagined they could send a man to the moon. Then what of the people who transferred that concept into practicality.

It is the fortunate disposition of  humans that over time evolution increased our capacity to imagine and so prove ourselves to become the most prolific animal on earth, as well as the most wonderful yet dangerous of creatures. So imagination can be used for good or for bad, depending on the interpretation.

I set myself a task. It is one you can perform.I wrote a few sentences as the opening to a story.

"The way he talked it was obvious there was not much in the top paddock. Not that it mattered for the job he was applying for. A wounded wombat could do it. Still, he was the only one who applied, which was strange, considering."

The task is to now imagine where that story can be taken. There must be a dozen, maybe even three dozen, stories that can sprout from this simple imagined scenario.  SO GO FOR IT. Just write a few hundred, or a few thousand words, to complete a story.  Every person would come up with a different one. Such is the power of the imagination. It is brilliant.

OVER THE RAINBOW

Checking my photos the other day I came across one of a rainbow, almost all of it, arching over my house. Now there is supposedly some good luck in this. or is it only the pot of gold at the rainbow's end? Has anyone ever found this pot of gold? There's the rub. Who is going to say if they do? Searching for that pot of gold is really akin to what a writer does. There is that ongoing search for an event, an idea, a character, something that can be bound into a story that is not only valuable but entertaining and interesting for the viewer/reader. It does not matter whether it is a novel, a film, a TV show, a stage play. They all have the same need, to enlighten other people with their dazzling colours, their confident structure, their overarching ideas, their desire to please.  So, being the eternal optimist, I intend to look at my rainbow every day and recall the dozen or more publishers who rejected the first Harry Potter book and think that maybe some day my pot of gold will arrive at my doorstep via a worldwide publisher who is a wizard at marketing my books. Watch this space! Tell me of your experiences with rainbows, pots of gold or anything else to do with creativity. Love to hear from you.