I have an eight year old grandson (GC2*) who doesn’t get the whole creative process. He has a very analytic, sequential nature and doesn’t see why anyone would want to make up a story. His five year old brother (GC4*), on the other hand, lives in his own little world of make-believe, and logic is completely out of his realm of understanding.
I tend to be more like GC4 – storyteller, make-it-up-as-you-go, daydreamer extraordinaire. This enables me to imagine the most wonderful characters and bizarre worlds for them to live in. Unfortunately, these mind-blowing imaginations don’t always translate well into a cohesive story. But I also have a bit of the thinker trait like GC2, and that is what allows me to take all those wild creative thoughts and nail them down in a fairly logical order.
So, here’s some insight I’ve picked up from my grandsons.
You absolutely need the wild and crazy imagination. Don’t let anyone tell you that your ideas and visions and goals are too far off the deep end, because those are the ideas and visions and goals that set you apart from everyone else. You have to be able to let yourself see what isn’t there. That’s faith, pure and simple. It’s everything that makes life worth living. It’s your handle on what you can’t see. Trust that God, who is the ultimate Creator, has given you the ability to create as well. You are made in His likeness after all.
You also need the boundaries of logic and reason to help you tie those creations into something that works. Without those boundaries, your idea goes off into the wild blue yonder, waving goodbye, never to be seen again.
Don’t let blank pages intimidate you. See what isn’t there. Now go and get it.
* I have seven grandchildren, referred to in my blog as Grandchild 1 (GC1), Grandchild 2 (GC2), and so on.
Inside the Writer 