Generating Imaginative Ideas
Sky Alton
June 2020
Engaging your imagination can be tricky. Oftentimes, the best ideas will come to you when you’re not expecting them. That’s great and all, but it’s not very convenient when you need to write a story, design a new product, or come up with a solution to a problem. Luckily, there are some simple ways to get your mind moving in the right direction.
What If
Asking yourself ‘what if…?’ is really the cornerstone of developing new ideas. Rather than trying to create something from scratch (which can be seriously scary and more than a little frustrating), you should work with what you already have. Try changing one key thing about the world around you or the situation you find yourself in and see what new paths it opens up. Don’t be afraid to get silly with it either: while ‘what if my chair was made from marshmallow’ might not be the next bestselling novel or the way to resolve a dispute with your best friend, at least it gets you started.
And Then
Asking ‘and then?’, ‘why?’, ‘what happens next?’, or ‘so what?’ is a way to gently push your brain to keep creating. If you start off with a ‘what if’ as a foundation, you should then develop it by continually asking yourself ‘and then?’ or a similar question and not giving up until you have a series of answers that follow on from each other. This will force you to flesh out your idea (whether it’s a story, a solution, or a plan) step by step. You can also ask someone else to ask the questions if you want some real accountability (but be warned, you’re likely to get frustrated with them very quickly).
At Random
Sometimes the best ideas come from making connections between seemingly unrelated things. There are plenty of online randomizers for nearly everything you can think of but you can also take this approach with stuff around you. Try connecting or making a scenario out of something from your desk, something you can see out of the window, and something you can hear from where you’re sitting. This works best when you’re trying to come up with a creative idea, but looking around you might still give you a fresh perspective if you’re attempting to solve a problem.
Watch and Listen
There really is no better inspiration than what’s around us. While you’re out, watch people as they go about their business. Practice making educated guesses about them and their lives. Collect fragments of conversation that you happen to overhear by accident. Try working backwards from what you saw or heard and imagine how people like that got to that particular point. This doesn’t just have to be about people, though -- ask yourself questions about buildings, animals, plants, and really anything else you encounter. Once you find something that interests you, chances are you can build it up into something that will interest other people as well.
These tips aren’t a fool-proof way to generate original ideas, but they should at least give you a springboard to get started. Remember, using your imagination isn’t difficult, you just have to find the right way to set it in motion.
Engaging your imagination can be tricky. Oftentimes, the best ideas will come to you when you’re not expecting them. That’s great and all, but it’s not very convenient when you need to write a story, design a new product, or come up with a solution to a problem. Luckily, there are some simple ways to get your mind moving in the right direction.
What If
Asking yourself ‘what if…?’ is really the cornerstone of developing new ideas. Rather than trying to create something from scratch (which can be seriously scary and more than a little frustrating), you should work with what you already have. Try changing one key thing about the world around you or the situation you find yourself in and see what new paths it opens up. Don’t be afraid to get silly with it either: while ‘what if my chair was made from marshmallow’ might not be the next bestselling novel or the way to resolve a dispute with your best friend, at least it gets you started.
And Then
Asking ‘and then?’, ‘why?’, ‘what happens next?’, or ‘so what?’ is a way to gently push your brain to keep creating. If you start off with a ‘what if’ as a foundation, you should then develop it by continually asking yourself ‘and then?’ or a similar question and not giving up until you have a series of answers that follow on from each other. This will force you to flesh out your idea (whether it’s a story, a solution, or a plan) step by step. You can also ask someone else to ask the questions if you want some real accountability (but be warned, you’re likely to get frustrated with them very quickly).
At Random
Sometimes the best ideas come from making connections between seemingly unrelated things. There are plenty of online randomizers for nearly everything you can think of but you can also take this approach with stuff around you. Try connecting or making a scenario out of something from your desk, something you can see out of the window, and something you can hear from where you’re sitting. This works best when you’re trying to come up with a creative idea, but looking around you might still give you a fresh perspective if you’re attempting to solve a problem.
Watch and Listen
There really is no better inspiration than what’s around us. While you’re out, watch people as they go about their business. Practice making educated guesses about them and their lives. Collect fragments of conversation that you happen to overhear by accident. Try working backwards from what you saw or heard and imagine how people like that got to that particular point. This doesn’t just have to be about people, though -- ask yourself questions about buildings, animals, plants, and really anything else you encounter. Once you find something that interests you, chances are you can build it up into something that will interest other people as well.
These tips aren’t a fool-proof way to generate original ideas, but they should at least give you a springboard to get started. Remember, using your imagination isn’t difficult, you just have to find the right way to set it in motion.