An Image, What Do You See?

Can you look at a photograph and see something different each time you glance at it? Do you sometimes make up a story to go with photos you find?

I took the photo below back in August of a lake near my home. It was taken just at sundown when mysterious things come out to play.



What do you see? What could be going on in this photo? Do you see the light? Where is it coming from and are there people there? What sounds do you hear? What does the weather feel like? 

Does this image inspire you write, relax or hide under the covers until daylight arrives? 

Thanks for stopping by today. Hope your day is a pleasant one filled with love and laughter.

Can You Name It?

Do you enjoy challenges that cause you to expand your imagination?

Years ago when I first went to work for a newspaper, it was a small town weekly. The same family had owned the paper for 100 years (and still do).

Being a small town paper, it had (and has) a close relationship with the community. Like any paper, they were always trying to increase circulation. One fun promotion they had was to print a photo of an object, have readers submit their guesses, and the winner won a subscription to the paper.

The objects were always general items that people would see in their homes or around the county. It was hilarious some of the guesses that were sent in for the simplest items. It was fun to see how people looked at the same object, but say so many different things.

Did you notice the photo above? Can you name what it is? It’s a simple object, but may not be one that is found in all households these days.

Does the photo stir your imagination? Could you draft a short story just from the object? Could you use the image in a story you already have ongoing?

Sometimes when we’re stuck and can’t write, we just need to switch gears and let our imaginations flow. Looking at photos and seeing more than what’s there gives the imagination a chance to recharge.

Do you use objects to help charge your imagination? What helps you the most when you’re writing to keep your energy flowing?

Thanks for stopping by today. Please join me tomorrow when author Jodi Thomas visits to talk about the fifth installment in her Harmony series, CHANCE OF A LIFETIME.

For those wondering about the photo, at the end of tomorrow’s post I’ll show the entire object. Okay, can you name it?

Imagination … What Is It?

What comes to mind when you see or hear the word imagination?

While I’m sure everyone would think something different, the foundation would be the same - it’s what your mind/brain creates.

But how does our mind create these images? Why can 2 people look at the same thing and image completely different things? What causes a person to have more imagination than another? Why do some people seem to have no imagination at all?

I’m sure there have been and will continue to be thousands of studies and tests to determine the answers to these and other questions about imagination.

Imagination propels our existence. Without imagination there would be no inventions. Without imagination, what would our future look like?

Imagination is a must for a writer in my opinion. It’s what spurs the writer to create the stories they create. A lot of writing is based solely on the author’s imagination with little or no reality involved.

I began to think about imagination and what fuels it while listening to my mother-in-law. She will soon be 91 years old and has Alzheimer’s. What little I know about this terrible disease is that it causes the person to digress to their younger self. They live in the past when they were children or young adults. They sometimes don’t recognize their own grown children because to them the children haven’t been born or they are only infants. The also relive events from their past.

My mother-in-law has these symptoms. But she also talks to people no one in the family has ever heard of. At times she also thinks events are taking place that she never experienced before such as the house burning or a child drowning. She sometimes carries on conversations with people as one does when they’re young and create imaginary friends to play with.

I guess my ramblings today are to say those who have imaginations seem to have them with them from birth to death. At various stages of our life we use our imaginations in different ways. However, it’s always there whether we use it or allow it to lay dormant. And at some point with this terrible disease, the imagination can take over becoming the reality without us ever realizing it.

Do you make an effort each day to use your imagination? Do you remember the fun you had as a child when you put your imagination to work? Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you take time to enjoy a good book today.