Use one of your senses to notice something —the color of the sky, the sound of a bird or a passing car, the taste of your coffee, or something else of your choosing. Now wait until that “something” is no longer present before you —or close your eyes, if you have used them to make your observations. And now, in your imagination, recreate whatever you noticed: see that particular blue of the sky, hear the sound of the bird or car, bring back the taste of the coffee.
Did you find that hard?
Most people do. That’s because most of us are not used to using our imagination, the faculty that lets us make sensory pictures—or images—of things that are not actually present to our senses. If you want to do creative writing, you will need to make your imagination stronger so it will serve you when you write. That’s because successful creative writing engages and works upon the imagination of readers. It makes a story or a poem feel “real” to readers through the use of sensory pictures. Your first step in learning how to create a real world for readers is to develop your own ability to make mental pictures. You won’t be able to make people and places and events come alive in other people’s imaginations until you can make them come alive in your own.
The practice you just did is a good way to start training your own imagination. Here’s another similar practice to try:
Choose some details you collected during your observation practice. Now, taking the details one at a time, picture each one in your imagination. If the detail is visual, see it in your mind; if it is a smell, smell it in your mind. Try to choose details that will let you exercise each sense in your imagination.
What did you notice in doing this? Make some notes to yourself, if you like, about how to keep practicing.
Pick a passage from a work by a writer you like. Read it over slowly, letting the words make pictures in your mind.
What did you notice in doing this?
You may find these exercises difficult. Don’t despair! The imagination, as I’ve said, is a natural human faculty; if you find using it difficult, that’s because you haven’t had the opportunity to use it much. With practice, though, you can bring it back to life. You may also find it helpful to learn more about how to care for your imagination, a subject covered in the next lesson.
Recommended next lesson: Reclaiming Your Imagination
© 2010. All Rights Reserved. Barbara Baig