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More Idea Sources

By Peter Lloyd

Last November we saw how Socrates, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Goethe, Mozart, Poe, Amy Lowell, Dostoyevsky, Walter Lantz, and Jagdish Parikh, an international management expert, got their ideas. Now it's time to see how some not-so-famous people, like you and I, get theirs.

I brought that Right Brain Workout, "The Source of Ideas," to the attention of several social networks creativity devoted to creativity, writing, invention, and problem solving. I asked the members to tell me how they get their ideas. Here are the results:

Cristina-Joe-PopovCristina-Joe-Popov: My ideas come from giving life to objects around me. Following the "what if" pattern, fruits, vegetables, mice, and dogs respond to a human being in a certain situation. I don't know if they are good story ideas, but they make me laugh.
Peter WattsPeter Watts: I use a technique I learnt from Julia Cameron's The Artists Way and sit down with a cup of coffee and write three large, blank pages. Usually when I'm developing ideas I mindmap them, but if I'm having one of those days when even the core idea won't come to me, then I find that letting three long-hand pages just flow out onto a blank sheet of paper will generally dislodge something.
Sera RiversSera Rivers: I, too, see ordinary everyday life and wonder "What if?" The writer takes over and I MUST find out the answer to that question. The beauty of writers is that we all view life the same way—words are as much a necessity as air and food and sleep. Without them, we would die. I do believe that all writers have similar mindsets when it comes to their story ideas.
Catarina AlexonCatarina Alexon: Inspiration—and intuition—comes from within. Frequently when you are just about to fall asleep, or wake up. Some of the great thinkers say that the universe/God is within us all and maybe that is why it works like that? But regardless of that, it definitely comes from within when you are relaxed and it is up to each of us to make good use of it.
Alan EgglestonAlan Eggleston: Observation, I guess, is the key, and letting the imagination go where it will with it. Most ideas sort of come to me and I meditate on them, try to think them through—what would make an interesting turn on the idea or what is the logical conclusion to it. I get myself to sleep on difficult nights by working out story scenarios in my mind, often the same ones—I have about a dozen—puzzling through different iterations.

Sera Rivers also brought to our attention what famous author Stephen King told her. "I recently saw the prolific Stephen King at Mount Holyoke College. When King was asked where he got his ideas for stories, he stated that they just come to him from everyday scenarios. He will see an ordinary event (a couple walking down the street) and then concoct a story all about them."

Peter Watts, above, refers to famous Julia Cameron. Seems it's difficult to not emulate the famous and successful. Maybe that's because all the people I've featured so far are writers.

If you're not a writer, I'd like to hear how you get your ideas. Where do you get your best ideas? What techniques do you use?

Peter Lloyd is co-creator with Stephen Grossman of Animal Crackers, the breakthrough problem-solving tool designed to crack your toughest problems.
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