I've wanted to be a writer since I was 9. That's almost 20 years of storytelling. I'm a fairly introspective person, but it doesn't take much inward thought to pinpoint a devastating change in the way I tell stories, in the way I've changed as an artist. Over the years, I've become less imaginative. Sure, I'm still very imaginative. All writers are, some more than others. But these days I anguish over some of the simplest storytelling challenges.Test your own imagination by answering this question:
Why did the aliens abduct the girl?
How many reasons can you come up with? How many of those ideas are any good? (After all, this is a question writers ask themselves, isn't it?) And how many of those ideas will produce a book someone will want to publish?
We are all divergent thinkers to some capacity. I know I am because when I took calculus I had become a linear thinker, which is the opposite of a divergent thinker. There aren't several ways to interpret a math problem. There is one correct answer. I started doing really well in the class (5 pounds heavier...and an eye twitch later) after I realized not to think too hard. The ONLY thing I had to remember was to follow the formula. If I did that, the problem was EASY, manageable.
The "writing a good book" forumla:
characters+plot+setting+dialogue+100 other components+mix them together= well written book
There is no formula because there isn't one right answer. If you are a divergent thinker, the possibilities are endless.
I believe a writer's ability to FIND those possibilities can be the difference between a well-written book and poorly written book.We all know this, right? It makes sense.
So why are there so many crappy books in the world?
Let's go back to the example of aliens abducting the girl. You can probably come up with 10-15 answers within a minute or two.
Here are some of mine:
- The aliens want to learn about the human race
- They are human-eating aliens and are hungry
- They want her for a pet
- The girl is the long lost alien princess in disguise
- The girl is the only human who can fix their broken spaceship that landed on Earth
Because a lot of them are stupid.
That's what you're thinking, right?
Apparently kids can easily come up with a couple hundred ideas off the top of their head. They do not filter themselves the same way adults do. They don't limit themselves to only what's logical. They won't answer the question as if there is only ONE right answer or a GOOD answer. So what happened? We were kids once. We didn't ALWAYS filter ourselves. At one point in our life, we would have said, "The aliens abducted the girl because she is made of cheese and they like cheese." Coming from a kid, it's cute. Coming from an adult...well...you can fill in the blank.
The point is that you aren't going to find a Pulitzer Prize worthy idea within the first 100 or 200 answers to "Why did the aliens abduct the girl?" And many of us will skim right past the bad or wrong idea that may have led us to an award worthy, well-written novel.
But what if...
what if...
there are so many crappy books in the world because of the way we are taught to interpret questions? And where are we taught things?
School.
Was my creativity stifled as I progressed in my "education?" Was your creativity stifled? What about the authors of those "crappy books?"
I'm not blaming anyone for my own creativity or lack-thereof. I'm merely asking a question. Do we want crappy books in this world? Should the way kids are educated change in order to promote divergent thinking?
You decide for yourself. Sir Ken Robinson sums it up far better than I can in this stimulating video:
RANE
P.S. Thanks to James for submitting the link to this video in your response to one of our posts!
image borrowed from here
Logging you in...
Cory · 728 weeks ago
Myself, I thought of quite a few ridiculous answers to that question. One of which being, what if they randomly captured her for a sexual experiment to create clones of humans. Illogical and weird.
dahlia · 728 weeks ago
And Ken Robinson's great (and humorous) video gave me a lot to think about! I agree with his solutions at the end of the video.
Why did the aliens abduct the girl? They were bored with their own metaphysical conversations and wanted to get an other-worldly point of view on reality...
or...they didn't 'really' intend to kidnap her, but she wanted to go for a ride-- so they took her and whether they'll return her or not depends on how many creative ideas she can come up with on the uses of a paperclip, lol,
or...the aliens wanted to transport her to a society (planet) that freaks out when something new is introduced so they could sit back and enjoy the craziness...and it would be funny if the girl was the instigator of the plan (the really creative 5 year old mind would be able to think of unusual, illogical craziness, heh).
Trisha · 728 weeks ago
kelworthfiles 24p · 728 weeks ago
Everybody learns to filter thoughts and possibilities as they grow up, because that's something that you have to do to live and interact with the world, on both a physical and social level. Even interpreting sensory data and coming up with a model of the room that you're filtering involves filtering out some things that are 'irrelevant' to what you need to understand, and holding a conversation with somebody else involves filtering out millions of things that you could say that they wouldn't be comfortable with or know how to respond to.
But that sort of filtering out of thoughts and possibilities could definitely be a problem for a writer of fantasy and science fiction, because it's the job of those writers to have ideas that don't really fit into the everyday world and then explain them in a way that other people can relate to. So maybe it makes me a better writer that I feel very socially awkward - I don't filter quite as much as an average person. ;)
I'm starting up a 'Critiquing and Supportive Crusaders' program, where participants in the Second Crusade can find other writers to exchange critiques with or form supportive critiquing circles. If you're interested, come by The Kelworth Files to check it out!
@young_es · 728 weeks ago
Being an aspiring engineer, I have a different perspective on math, and while linear thinking is part of it, divergent thinking is still very important. Calculus is like learning to read and write in engineering (and probably to mathematicians). Sure, if you are given a function, there is only one output for a given input (although it is possible to get the same output using different inputs - just look at a bell shaped curve), but this is really just the basics for what you can do with calculus. You don't learn calculus to find the integral of x, it is just a tool to use for solving or simulating questions about the real world. For instance, engineers use concepts like calculus, numerical methods, differential equations, etc., to create and improve things like computers, airplanes, homes, cars, engines, and so on. Those are their books and novels.
How is this like reading and writing? Well, think of a function as a simple word. Like potato. When you see a potato, there is really only one proper way in English to spell it - potato. When you read that word, you automatically know what it is. Same with calculus - when you see the integral of x, you automatically know what the answer is. Then there are some more exciting words out there (more complex formulas or questions) that are more than your simple function; for instance, the words here and hear, or to read and have read. I guess I will compare these words to circles. One input gives you more than one output, one output could be from multiple inputs. It is hard to know everything about that word without more content - just seeing it or hearing it is still ambiguous. And then there are different languages - but to keep with the calculus analogy, that is similar to Newton's notation [ f'(x) ] or Leibniz's notation [ dx/dy ]. They provide the same meaning and results, but are written differently.
But what you can do with those words is the impressive part. Not just the words alone, but in combination to create an intriguing mystery or an epic adventure, or maybe just to discuss an interesting concept (like you do here). I think a lot of engineers run into this problem, or give up along the way, because they forget that they must keep their divergent thinking for inventing new things, just like beginner readers must keep theirs for once they know how to read and write and can actually put that story down on paper later, or like beginning musicians must learn the different notes or finger positions or proper embouchure for composing and making music. I think beginning engineers do not realize that math is simply a language to speak and read in when discussing concepts like heat transfer, but that you still need to be creative to come up with different solutions to a given problem, or come up with new ideas to invent. And there is no given formula or one answer when inventing or improving devices.
I also believe that interpreting questions and analyzing ideas is not such a bad thing. I agree, creativity needs to be emphasized more in school and different teaching/ learning methods should be used, but I don't want to read about girls made of cheese either ;) So sure, think of the ideas, but at some point you need to analyze those ideas to figure out which you think is best.
Madeline · 728 weeks ago
Rane Anderson 55p · 728 weeks ago
@Cory: I understand what you mean by authors burning themselves out. But I guess they have to tap into a new line of creativity? hehe Your alien example made me laugh:)
@Dahlia: I like how you used the example from the video! hehe
@young_es: Thanks for the detailed comment! I think its great. You raise some really excellent points. Hmm. I didn't mean to say that the ways in which people use math only require linear thinking. I just meant for the sake of my class. I won't use math outside of the classroom, so my perspective is a little different. But I totally agree with what you say about using the math as a tool to solve problems out in the world. That does require divergent thinking. It just goes to show that EVERYONE may be missing out. Many of us may be held back in some way because of a rigid education system. I really enjoyed reading your response. Thanks!! :)
@Trisha: Do you mind telling your friend I'd like to hire her to be my muse? hehe nah, jk...but wow! You're lucky.
@kelworthfiles: Thanks for letting me know about the critique group. I'll head over to check it out! I just wrote a middle grade sci fi....and I had a really hard time being creative enough. Ug. I'm better with real life stuff with a slight twist, I think. At the moment that's the way it is anyway. Maybe I need to figure out how to harness more of my imagination!!
@Madeline: Yeah, I get tripped up on multiple choice questions. I read into them too much and get confused. "Which one is the MOST correct?" Well, I can usually find tons of ways that the others may be correct under certain circumstances. Frustrating. hehe
Thanks guys! :)
Rachel Morgan · 727 weeks ago
Math teacher + writer here :-)
My principal used that video recently in a staff development session and I thought it was GREAT! BUT at the same time I was sitting there thinking... how? There is so little time to get through ALL the things that (according to the syllabus) a child needs to know in order to pass their final exam, that there just isn't any time left over to be CREATIVE about the process and try and get them to think divergently of how else they might get to the answer.
I have a FEW students (thank goodness, I'd go crazy otherwise!) who are able to think outside the box and come up with different ways of doing things. For them (and me) math is about being able to manipulate what you've got (in ANY way you can) in order to get to an answer. But for the rest of the students? Unfortunately I just have to say: "that's the way to do it. Just learn it and remember it." Because for whatever reason they can't think divergently and come up with other methods.
I've never thought of linking this to creative writing... I hope teaching math hasn't reduced my creativity! Thanks for giving me something to think about.