Creative Writing Visual Stimulus exercises for the writer who needs to just write for fun and get into right brain writing. Often staring at blank pages or screens limits the ability to write. Following are writing exercises for writers to do that may help shift the mind from the concrete left brain wanting to be perfect to just the joy of writing that happens when one shifts into right brain.

Study the picture above and the title: What do you think the use of the word “experience” relates to in respect to this picture? Describe the various visual elements that you see in this scene. Some things are subtle so look carefully. Where is this taking place? Invent a scientific explanation for its existence. What’s the name of the individual with the cap in the foreground? Using who, what, when, where, why and how write a short story about this picture and title.

This picture is entitled “Distraction”. What do you think it is about and why? When you’ve written your thoughts you might share it on Scribd comments in hopes others will share. The process of sharing ideas can lead to more ideas.

Come up with a Philosophy of Strategic Living and a reason why strategic is spelled wrong. Then answer the question. Who are the two larger people in the foreground of this picture and how do they interact with the smaller people? Imagine there is a mystery involved regarding the clues found here. Tell the story.

In this picture all the positive and negative space is used up which emphasizes how each interacts and relates to the others. Give a name to each character and describe each one’s personality and expand their physical description from the clue’s given. Body Language also can help to build what you know about each. Write the story and give it a title. It may help to think Soap Opera if your stuck for a theme. Also consider feelings of each.

Life, light/dark exposed and in shadow. Look carefully and explain the various clues and how it all interacts to make a story. What genre will it be? It is worth turning the picture at various angles to study it as you may see things you missed in first looking. There are images in the positive and negative space. The more you see the more you can include in your story which should have the complexity of interlocking ideas that a jigsaw puzzle has. It can be useful to make a simple view finder to carefully look at one small section at a time. As this is a creative writing exercise start by making some notes about the picture and what is next to what. Ask Why? Describe the past, present and future of some. A clue might be the central character who is wearing a

chicken costume but one foot is bare and the sock boot of the other seems to see. Use this if you have no idea where to start.

An art work like this isn’t a physical representation but communicates an idea about a person. Build the character. Name, Age, Sex, Where do they live, What special quality or ability do they have. How do others treat them? What is He/She feeling/thinking? Do you think they are neat or messy? Why? One eye looks forward and another to the side, what is that all about? What kind of job does he/she have? Expand as far as you can.

In a black and white world there is red. Combine that first sentence and the above picture into a story. Free associate the abstract shapes to let the mind see what may not be there. Of course some is there. Clues and false clues can lead one down various paths but eventually a solution must be found. An exercise like this may take several days to piece together for some writers yet others may look set them selves a problem, sleep then dream the story. Trust your imagination to give you context but use structure to link it all together into something that makes sense.

These two pictures suggest parallel universes or dimensions. An opportunity to use compare and contrast. You might consider using the magnifying glass in the reading program to view the more complex of the two pictures. Then again enlarging the writing in the right hand picture may also help stimulate ideas.

Another idea back to front or front to back? What do you think that means? Can it be used in this story. Could it be a reader with no face and friend looking over his shoulder who resembles a violin and his pet dog or as Mr. Squiggle might say “upside down upside down” and the reader becomes a girl walking while intent on what she reads. These are possible starting points and in creativity it is more to do with your imagination attempting to explain mine. The more you challenge your perception the more you will see and the more you might write. Try doing a mind map first. If your not familiar with mind maps do a search on the term or perhaps Tony Buzan. Inspiration.com also has an online beta program called Webspiration that allows you to store your ideas and create links to other pages to make quite complicated plans. These are just a small sample of the sorts of stimulus one can find by looking at art and asking yourself good questions.

It is said that there is more than meets the eye. When we meet people for the first time more than likely we start to assume things about the person without really knowing much about them. We base it on cues we pick up from them and also reminiscences of other people from our past who have some kind of similarities stimulated by their meeting. I also remember a sales book that said when a person gives an excuse for not buying their first reason is not the truth and it is worth trying to keep selling the product because it could be they want to buy but you haven’t answered their objection yet to buying. I thought about this when I read it and noticed some truth to this. I don’t always give my real reason for not buying which is generally lack of money and the reality if I let the salesman keep talking then He/She might just give me a reason to go into debt but I don’t want them to know it. Okay so what has this to do with writing. Well take what I’ve just said and the picture above and find a way to tie the two things together. When considering the picture make sure you look closely on the left hand side and all that is hidden within it.

Who knows maybe I’ll produce a more complex book of these for writers with more specific challenges.

Anyhow enjoy these and if any of them help you specifically please come back and leave a comment. That way future sharing can be better tailored to those wanting writing stimulus.

Frank Corless