Creativity Week

Now it's time to put your writing goals into practice—starting today! Follow these daily prompts for story ideas and see if any of the work you've done invites further development.

Photo by Eric Rothermel on Unsplash

Last Wednesday I talked about enhancing your creativity. But I don’t want you to get complacent about it—because you’ll be disappointed if you think that hanging out in new places will suddenly cause you to be super creative. It’s going to take work. So I propose filling a week with creativity-inspiring experiences—and take notes every day!

Today: Go to a movie after work and imagine three endings for the film that are different than the ending you just saw.

Thursday: On your lunch break, go to a coffee shop or food truck you’ve never been to before. Focus on one person who works there and imagine what they would do if the business went under. What jobs might they try for? Think of at least two.

Friday: Happy hour—but you don’t get to go. Just sit in the parking lot of a bar/restaurant (or at a bus stop across the street) and watch people going in and coming out. Think about what each person is expecting as they head in. Can you tell anything about their expectations from how they’re dressed and how they approach opening the door of the place? And as people emerge—alone or as couples—can you imagine how their evenings will go from there?

Saturday: Head outdoors to a park across town—a new park, one you haven’t spent any time in. Imagine finding a lost dog. How would you go about finding its owner? Would you question others walking their dogs to ask if they’ve seen the lost dog before? Imagine three story ideas based on the people you meet in the park: one funny, one dangerous, and one adventurous.

Sunday: Usually Sunday brings with it a little extra time. So take advantage and drive or take a subway/bus to a street you’ve never been to before. Walk down the street and pick out one house or apartment—then imagine setting a story in that house/apartment. Think of three people you could imagine living there.

Monday: As you drive to work, imagine your car breaking down in front of one of the houses you pass everyday on your very familiar morning drive. Your cell battery is toast so you’re forced to walk up to that house and knock on the door to ask to use the phone. Who answers the door? What happens when they invite you into the house to use the phone?

Tuesday: At work, imagine you discover your boss’s secret. What would the secret be? Did she lie on her resume to get the job? Is she having an affair with one of her co-workers? Is she pregnant and afraid it will get in the way of her upcoming promotion? Is she plotting to discredit someone in the office so that he’s no longer competition in her rise up the corporate ladder?

OK, you’ve spent a full week exploring the new and imagining characters/stories built around those new situations, people, and places. Are any of them worth developing further? As you look over your notes, does one stand out more than another? Or can you combine two of the experiences you’ve had into one story?

But perhaps the most important question is whether you can incorporate this kind of creative observation behavior into your life. All the time. Every day. Can it become the new normal for you? If it can, your creativity as a writer has a real chance to take off.