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Here are some beautiful pictures I found on a clever website called Gratisography by Ryan McGuire. Take a look at the following three images.
As you do, consider the types of characters you might find in this “world,” or setting for a story. What kinds of characters would live in the picture? What would they be like?
More to the point: how does our perspective (in the picture) alter the POV of a character who might live there?
Grab your favorite of these three and write something about it. Write a story setting, maybe some great dialogue – whatever comes to mind when you look at the picture. Flash fiction works too. Give yourself FIFTEEN MINUTES for it. If you love the picture, save it onto your computer.
SIDE NOTE: When you are compiling notes for a new project, keep images like this right along with the other scraps of notes you have been collecting. Why not? It’s just as valid a source of inspiration as anything else. We eavesdrop, we watch people interact with each other, we take notice of the smells around us, the sounds. It’s sometimes difficult to recall these things when we’re sitting down to the computer for some serious writing. So keep files on things, especially bits of great dialogue. Don’t count on your brain to remember that genius bit of brainstorming you had at two in the morning. Write it down! Save as much as you can, keep it all as organized as you can.
When you have written (or maybe drawn) a bit of something you like for today’s creative exercise, POST IT BELOW. SHARE IT. Why? Inspiration leads to more inspiration. When we share what we do with creative exercises like this one, we all learn and practice how to utilize our imaginations, how to be prolific and to be creative even when we are just dog tired.
No two people will come up with the same thing, and that’s why sharing the results of writing exercises can be so instructive and inspirational… we are inspired not only by the exercise itself, but by seeing all the different ways in which people do something with it.
What are your favorite writing exercises? How do they help you? If you have an idea you think might be helpful to others, share it below. Let everyone know.
--Download Perspective Creative Exercise as PDF --