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[1376820701] How To Be Creative

No.56332 View ViewReplyOriginalReport
Creatively Swipe

Improve your personal creativity by mixing from other sources.

It is possible to forge a meaningful connection between seeming disparate items. Most creative ideas are just that: two or more existing elements, 'borrowed' and connected in a new and novel fashion. Very rarely, if ever, do ideas emerge totally without ancestry.

   We can use this idea if we have a specific problem that we want to address. For example, we may want to raise £$1000 for charity. To get the creative juices going about how to raise the cash, we decide to try free association to get some ideas. Begin by picking a word at random. Whatever you come up with has the potential to spark your thinking.

   Say we come up the word 'Apollo'. What else does it bring to mind, and what might those things have to do with our goal of raising money? Associations could go: 'Greek god', 'moon mission', and 'theatre'. That might lead us to the movie Apollo 13 ... which starred Tom Hanks ... who did the voice-over for the character Woody in the movie Toy Story, etc. This might then lead us to the idea of raising money by getting people to donate old toys, or perhaps asking a local cinema to help out with a charity performance of a film.

   Granted, neither of those ideas is irresistible. However, you can keep the process going for longer on the basis that the more options you have, the more likely it is that something will spark a flash of inspiration.

Hayley : "IF I WERE A POP SINGER, I'D BE KYLIE MINOGUE!"

Ken : "IF I WERE A MOVIE STAR, I'D BE ERROL FLYNN!"

Hayley : "IF I WERE AN ANIMAL, I'D BE A CUTE LITTLE PUPPY DOG!"

Ken : "IF I WERE A MONSTER, I'D BE A GRIFFIN!"

Hayley : "IF I WERE IN A FAIRYTALE, I'D BE THE LONG LOST PRINCESS!"

Ken : "OH YEAH! AND IF I WERE A VEGETABLE, I'D BE A CARROT!!"

Hayley : "OKAY, THIS IS GETTING SILLY."