GET BUSY WITH WRITING

a collection of 31 daily prompts to spark your inspiration and get creativity

flowing

Would you like to get more inspiration for your writing? Have more
confidence in your creativity? Or perhaps you would like to come up easier
with new ideas?

If you are one of those people who have been putting off doing their
creative projects and simply think they don't have enough time to write or
be creative, than this the real thing for you. It's been designed to show you
that you are creative and every word in this workbook is oriented towards
empowering your inspiration and building fulfilling creative life. For each
day in the month you have a prompt, an exercise or just few words to spark
creative fire residing somewhere in you.

This interactive workbook, (or journal, guide whatever you want to call it)
will ask you questions, provoke your thinking, initiate you to smell, touch,
feel, see, it can make you laugh, cry, dream or even dance! But most
importantly, it will help you have fun while writing and exploring creative
soul that might be hiding beneath the burdens of everyday life.

It is not intended to be filled, written or read in any particular order – the

way you decide to use it is the right way. Each prompt can be used in
multiple ways: to write a story, poem, to use it for brainstorming new ideas
or assessing your ongoing projects. Browse daily prompts and pick one you
feel like doing that day. You can separately print them or use them in a
consequent order. Most importantly, each day of the month you go on a new
exploration of both your inner and outer world.

Among them you will also find inspirational quotes and poems to further
spur your creative spirit and simply give you that wind in your writing
wings we all need from time to time. In the electronic version of this piece
you will find references to other interesting articles in the domain of
creativity, writing and art to further enrich your journey towards achieving
creative goals.

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Keep in mind to do some preparations before embarking on your everyday
creative journey:

Make time
One of the first key things to do is to make time for creative
practice/exercise. In my own experience, whenever I feel constrained by
time or my tight schedule – it’s simply additional pressure that kills every
motivation for creative work. Your mind drifts away thinking about the
errands and home chores you need to do … So it’s not going to work.
Making time, being able to do things at your own pace is of vital
importance. Having a problem here? The first prompt is designed to help
you with your productivity.

De-stress
Once you make enough time, it’s very important to set the right ‚mood‛ in
our mind, simply to get relaxed enough before thinking or brainstorming
about new idea. Deep rhythmical breathing for a few minutes, visualization,
light yoga or any type of meditation can do a wonder!

These steps allow us to be gentler with ourselves – meaning that we don’t

push ourselves too much if work/idea development doesn’t go the way we
want. It can bring additional emotional burden that doesn’t help and doesn’t
serve us.

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And as a warming up, fill in the blanks:

This book belongs to: _______________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

I am creative when _________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

I dream of ___________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

I am ME when I _____________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

and All that I need is _______________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Table of contents:
Prompt 1: Charge your day with creative daily routine 6
Prompt 2: Awaken your creativity 8
Prompt 3: Get acquainted with your creative side 10
Prompt 4: Let gratitude empower your creativity 12
Prompt 5: Blend and tune in 14
Prompt 6: What's in the news today? 16
Prompt 7: Fragrance in your words 17
Prompt 8: Find a color contrast that appeals to you 19
Prompt 9: Tip-toe through your bag 20
Prompt 10: React to given act 21
Prompt 11: The moment 23
Prompt 12: Acrostic alphabet 24
Prompt 13: Dive in the absurd 25
Prompt 14: Limit yourself on purpose 26
Prompt 15: Play with the “what if” clause 27
Prompt 16: Dare to compare! 29
Prompt 17: Catch new ideas while redefining the obvious 31
Prompt 18: Organize your own creativity workshop! 33
Prompt 19: “Collage” your way to creativity: let the rebel out! 35
Prompt 20: In between rhyme 37
Prompt 21: Reuse 38
Prompt 22: Reduce 39
Prompt 23: Recycle 40
Prompt 24: Mix and match 41
Prompt 25: Work with opposites 44
Prompt 26: Mind mapping through poetry 46
Prompt 27: Let’s travel 48
Prompt 28: Going sideways for boosting creativity 50
Prompt 29: Visualize with words 52
Prompt 30: Try walking in their shoes 54
Prompt 31: Group effort 55
Bonus productivity exercise 57

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Prompt 1: Charge your day with creative daily routine

"The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine"

- Mike Murdock

There are those days, especially in the winter (when most of the days are
short and dark) that you think: ‚I just don’t feel like doing anything
creatively today – there’s too much other stuff I need to do‛. And what
happens is that you don’t feel like doing anything at all! Hence, if we set the
right intention for the day and start our morning routine in meaningful
way, which can influence the tone even for the weak ahead - it’s worth a try
to do something in the morning that can boost your creativity and get your
productive flow running.

For me it is to have a fruit bowl in the morning, followed by a half an hour

yoga session. I never skip breakfast, but sometimes I’m just too lazy (I admit!
:) ) to get on my yoga mat and start stretching, but even in those mornings I
try to convince myself how good I will feel afterwards – energetic and
motivated.

There are few simple, yet effective exercises we can apply and practice in
our daily routine, which can help us to cultivate that creativity spark and
productive flow.

If we don’t do what helps us to start our day right, the whole day can be a
waste of time and energy.

The next exercise I’m suggesting will help you to figure out what’s
important to you and how to incorporate that in your productive day:

1. Describe what your typical morning looks like: what you do, how you
do it; estimate the time between getting up and starting your work
day (half an hour, hour, two hours?). Write everything: how you feel,
what you do, what you like about it, what you don’t like about it. Write
it in a form of free writing or you can write a poem – it doesn’t matter:
just get it out what’s on your mind.

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 2. Now, turn the page and try to remember what the morning of your
exquisitely productive day looked like: what you did, how you felt,
what was essential for that productive day – write everything down.

3. Compare: is there anything missing in your typical morning routine

comparing to one of the extremely productive day? Are you getting
enough sleep? Do you need extra help around house errands? Do you
skip your workout? Notice that one key element and think of ways to
incorporate more of that in your typical mornings. Don’t try to change
everything, just one thing – start small and see how that affects your
productivity.

Being mindful about your morning routine and applying small changes can
help us get those small increments in our productivity that can turn our day
from boring to fabulous.

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Prompt 2: Awaken your creativity

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated

through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time,
this expression is unique."
- Marta Graham

Sometimes, all that we need is just a little nudge to keep us moving forward
and invoke some new ideas. But often, you don’t know where to start. I
suggest: start simply, from the most basic things:

What makes you smile?

What makes you angry?
What are you curious about?
Who would you like to be?

Write a poem answering these questions – treat them like a little poetry
prompts, with that difference that you don’t have to share them with
anyone, they are for your eyes only, for your own journey to awakening
creativity. You can actually start your own creativity journal where you daily
reflect on your ideas, feelings, experiences, circumstances; how any of these
factors influence your creative power you certainly have residing within
you. It just needs to be properly initiated and directed.

Poetry to us is given
As stars beautify the heaven,
Or, as the sunbeams when they gleam,
Sparkling so bright upon the stream ;
And the poetry of motion
Is ship sailing o’er the ocean
Or, when the bird doth graceful fly,
Seeming to float upon the sky;
For poetry is the pure cream
And essence of the common theme.
Poetic thoughts the mind doth fill,
When on broad plain to view a hill ;
On barren heath how it doth cheer
To see in distance herd of deer.

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And poetry breathes in each flower
Nourished by the gentle shower,
In song of birds upon the trees
And humming of busy bees.
‘Tis solace for the ills of life,
A soothing of the jars and strife;
For poets feel it a duty
To sing of both worth and beauty.

James McIntyre

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Prompt 3: Get acquainted with your creative side

"Talking to paper is talking to divine. It is talking to an ear that will

understand even the most difficult things. Paper is infinitely patient."
- Burgild Nina Holzer

For this daily prompt think of certain words like:

creativity
passion
purpose
inner voice
stillness
success
failure

and try to picture in your mind, metaphorically, what kind of living being
each word could be? What kind of associations does it bring? Is it an animal,
plant, flower, tree, insect, child, another person, describe everything in
detail, write a short story about it. It will help you reconnect with your
creative force to more vividly sense what it means for you to be alive,
creative – where to search for your passions and purpose.

Build on resolve, and not upon regret,

The structure of thy future. Do not grope
Among the shadows of old sins, but let
Thine own soul’s light shine on the path of hope
And dissipate the darkness. Waste no tears
Upon the blotted record of lost years,
But turn the leaf, and smile, oh! smile, to see
The fair white pages that remain for thee.
Prate not of thy repentance. But believe
The spark divine dwells in thee: let it grow.
That which the unpreaching spirit can achieve,
The grand and all creative forces know;
They will assist and strengthen as the light
Lifts up the acorn to the oak-tree’s height.

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Thou hast but to resolve, and lo! God’s whole
Great universe shall fortify thy soul.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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Prompt 4: Let gratitude empower your creativity

"Gratitude opens the door to ...the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the
Universe. You open the door through gratitude."
- Deepak Chopra

In almost any religion and culture we have heard of the importance of

being grateful: to search for positive aspects in life instead of delving on
what is wrong and how world is a bad place to live in. Our modern and fast
paced environment has so much to offer: yet we get trapped into trivial and
petty things instead of concentrating our attention on more important
experiences. Those negative feelings that arise can literally block our
creative energy, potential for problem solving and seizing the opportunities.

Gratitude can help us combat fear and anxiety. That feeling of appreciation
opens the door for receiving even better things to flow into your life.
Experience of positive emotions and nurturing the state of well-being helps
us to engage in the activities that encourage discovery and growth. Your
observation improves; your relationship with the environment improves and
you tackle problems from different angles. Every problem comes with some
sort of stress and crisis, but instead of wasting your precious energy on what
you lack, you can learn from new situation and reinforce your ability to
cultivate sense of inspiration.

Of course, being content and grateful doesn’t mean neglecting the problem
and looking at the world through pink glasses. It’s about finding self-
confidence in every situation and feel liberated to explore the world as what
it is.

Gratitude, like creativity, can be developed through practice.

Here are some ideas where to start:

1. Read something inspirational at the start of your day;

2. Imagine experiencing your good;
3. Celebrate your small everyday victories;
4. End your day with thinking of 3 things you are grateful for.

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Poetry does have that restorative power, so use it into your own advantage:
as you might pour out those negative feelings in your poetry, try also to step
back and write your poem about all good things in your life, that you love
and care about. The more you write, the more things you will find you like
about your life.

This beautiful sonnet by Alan Seeger offers a different perspective on our

modern lives and stuffed cities, where we can see beauty and light in our
ordinary surroundings.

Down the strait vistas where a city street

Fades in pale dust and vaporous distances,
Stained with far fumes the light grows less and less
And the sky reddens round the day’s retreat.
Now out of orient chambers, cool and sweet,
Like Nature’s pure lustration, Dusk comes down.
Now the lamps brighten and the quickening town
Rings with the trample of returning feet.
And Pleasure, risen from her own warm mould
Sunk all the drowsy and unloved daylight
In layers of odorous softness, Paphian girls
Cover with gauze, with satin, and with pearls,
Crown, and about her spangly vestments fold
The ermine of the empire of the Night.

Alan Seeger

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Prompt 5: Blend and tune in

"That is beautiful which is produced by the inner need, which springs

from the soul."
- Wassily Kandinsky

What triggers and inspires creativity in one person is quite individually.

There are a lot of factors influencing this process, but usually it is
something that catches our attention (like curiosity) and initiates that idea
from which everything else begins. So today I want to invite you to pay
attention to your surroundings. We all tend to sink into our own minds,
thoughts drifting on their own ... But focusing and paying attention to our
surrounding is of great importance since it reflects our abilities to spot
opportunities and act upon them; turn that inspirational thought into
something viable and move forward with your creativity.

Listen to everything and everywhere. ‘Blend and tune in’ with your
environment and listen to the sounds, conversations (I’m not suggesting you
spy on anyone!) and notice what randomly catches your attention: a word,
song, laughter, baby cry ... and write about it. Let that be the initial spark of
something you absorbed from your environment and you are creating
further. Don’t censure yourself, just write your story, a poem or whatever
comes – let it surface.

Interesting fact: Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) was a Russian painter and

one of the founders of Expressionism movement. He became famous for his
abstract art. Most of his paintings were influenced by the music he was
listening to. Kandinsky was on quest to break the barriers between different
arts and actually tried to connect them in his work. ‚Concerning the
spiritual art‛ is the most influential piece that left its mark on the abstract
art of the 20th century.

So, as Kandinsky was painting his music, you can go step further and write a
poem influenced by the music you hear. The idea is not to describe the
music, but rather let yourself feel the music - take you to different place,
different time. If you feel like dancing, dance. If you don't want to be
disturbed, secure that peaceful moment and with calm and ease pursue your
activity. Imagine what you hear absorbs you like sponge and you are like

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water: liquid, flexible, traveling through different sounds, shapes, colors and
words. Let music guide you and write without censoring, without limitation.
Along the way you can sketch, you can develop your visual story…whatever
feels right at that moment. There is no goal to achieve, except to escape the
rational and let your inner creativity shine.

For this exercise I propose three classical pieces:

1. The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi

2. Adagio by Tomaso Albinoni
3. Bolero by Maurice Ravel

Or just turn on your radio, play your favorite song and follow the rhythm.
Music evokes different emotions and don’t fight it - just let it be and
surrender to it. Your creative spirit will find its way for the most appropriate
expression. I chose classical music with purpose, because it is believed that
classical music makes you more honest with yourself, improves
communication, memory and in general improves our stress levels, which is
crucial for creative thinking.

A Violin at Dusk

Stumble to silence, all you uneasy things,

That pack the day with bluster and with fret.
For here is music at each window set;
Here is a cup which drips with all the springs
That ever bud a cowslip flower; a roof
To shelter till the argent weathers break;
A candle with enough of light to make
My courage bright against each dark reproof.
A hand’s width of clear gold, unraveled out
The rosy sky, the little moon appears;
As they were splashed upon the paling red,
Vast, blurred, the village poplars lift about.
I think of young, lost things: of lilacs; tears;
I think of an old neighbor, long since dead.

Lizette Woodworth Reese

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Prompt 6: What's in the news today?

"Literature is news that stays news"

- Ezra Pound

I particularly don’t like the news and don’t listen/read them, but for the sake
of this exercise give it a try: pick one news headline and that can be
something you really dislike; now write your own news that are quite the
opposite, news you would like to hear or read in the newspaper, news in the
form of poem or a story. I know, it can feel a bit strange – first writing news
(and you are probably not a news reporter, just like I’m not) and second –
making a poem out of it. But that’s the purpose of this exercise: to stretch
our minds and look for solutions and possibilities where we are unlikely to
find them.

‘T is you that are the music, not your song.

The song is but a door which, opening wide,
Lets forth the pent-up melody inside,
Your spirit’s harmony, which clear and strong
Sings but of you. Throughout your whole life long
Your songs, your thoughts, your doings, each divide
This perfect beauty; waves within a tide,
Or single notes amid a glorious throng.
The song of earth has many different chords;
Ocean has many moods and many tones
Yet always ocean. In the damp Spring woods
The painted trillium smiles, while crisp pine cones
Autumn alone can ripen. So is this
One music with a thousand cadences.

Amy Lowell

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Prompt 7: Fragrance in your words

"What's in a name?
That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
- William Shakespeare

For today, get ready to become nosy. This writing proposal is about object
writing. It's direct and straightforward. Pick a random object and recall
memories and associations you hold towards it. What scent does the object
invoke in you? What feelings? Use different metaphors, adjectives to do this
exercise.

Book - as an object, for example:

It's the scent of history, of collected words to drive knowledge. It's the smell
of rainy days and warm nights as I'm reading my favorite novel...

Senses are very important as they are carriers of information we use to

perceive our environment. Use them frequently in your writing.

Be glad your nose is on your face,

not pasted on some other place,
for if it were where it is not,
you might dislike your nose a lot.

Imagine if your precious nose

were sandwiched in between your toes,
that clearly would not be a treat,
for you’d be forced to smell your feet.

Your nose would be a source of dread

were it attached atop your head,
it soon would drive you to despair,
forever tickled by your hair.

Within your ear, your nose would be

an absolute catastrophe,
for when you were obliged to sneeze,

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 your brain would rattle from the breeze.

Your nose, instead, through thick and thin,

remains between your eyes and chin,
not pasted on some other place—
be glad your nose is on your face!

Jack Prelutsky

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Prompt 8: Find a color contrast that appeals to you

"Nature always wears the colors of the spirit."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

For this exercise, let's play with colors. Observing patterns and how colors
interlay can help us train our focus and flexibility.

Look around you and find a pair of colors - any two colors will do. It could
be just that you spotted yellow-green pattern on your blanket or the book
near you have black-white cover. It doesn't matter. Look in that contrast and
then close your eyes. Write about what you 'see', what you feel. How does it
appeal to you? Let it inspire your writing and focus on pictures coming to
your mind.

Colors passing through us (an excerpt)

Purple as tulips in May, mauve

into lush velvet, purple
as the stain blackberries leave
on the lips, on the hands,
the purple of ripe grapes
sunlit and warm as flesh.

Blue as cornflowers, delphiniums,

bachelors’ buttons. Blue as Roquefort,
blue as Saga. Blue as still water.
Blue as the eyes of a Siamese cat.
Blue as shadows on new snow, as a spring
azure sipping from a puddle on the blacktop.

Cobalt as the midnight sky

when day has gone without a trace
and we lie in each other’s arms
eyes shut and fingers open
and all the colors of the world
pass through our bodies like strings of fire.

Marge Piercy

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Prompt 9: Tip - toe through your bag

"Touch seem essential as sunlight."

- Diane Ackerman

Touch is one of the most essential senses we have. It translates everything

that happens around us through our largest organ - skin. If we are cold,
warm, if something is soft or sharp, we can feel it. Our sensors for touch
give us that information. So today, simply grab your bag and dig your hand
in it: your task is to describe the first object you find (no matter if you know
what it is). How does it feel, what's the color you imagine, is it cold or warm,
how does it fit in your hand?

To make it more interesting, ask for assistance. Let someone else pick
random objects and fill the bag that you will later explore and use for
exercising your creative mussels. Now this is interesting, right?

Go and do it, what are you waiting for?

At the Touch of You

At the touch of you,

As if you were an archer with your swift hand at the bow,
The arrows of delight shot through my body.

You were spring,

And I the edge of a cliff,
And a shining waterfall rushed over me.

Witter Bynner

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Prompt 10: React to given act

"To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction."

- Isaac Newton

I‘ve always been fascinated by the facts how our mind and its creative
processes work. Words and language are the tools we mostly use to express
ourselves and it comes so naturally to us. In the same fashion, I believe that
words and language can be our igniting spark to initiate creative thinking.
And what about using words and language in a different, innovative way? It
can be beneficial for us in any case of creative process and problem solving.

Remember Newton’s Third Law in physics? Every action has a reaction.

That’s simply how Universe works. Thus, use the following statements to
imagine a dramatic situation – express emotions, describe scenery, what
each of your senses feel and try to write your story or poem. It’s a refreshing
activity and your untamed imagination and power of visualization will move
your creativity in a positive direction.
Example statements:

You woke up alone, hurt and wet on the sand beach. What happened to you?

You heard a noise on the stairs, behind the closed door.

What made that noise?

A smiling child runs into you. How do you react?

A crowd has gathered below your window. What do they want?

You are in an unknown country: nobody speaks your language, nobody

understands you. How do you communicate?

This is a great way to initiate your writing. There are endless options of
imaginative situations that can spur your words and keep writing going.

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 O Me ! O Life!

O ME! O life!… of the questions of these recurring;

Of the endless trains of the faithless—of cities fill’d with the
foolish;
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish
than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light—of the objects mean—of the
struggle ever renew’d;
Of the poor results of all—of the plodding and sordid crowds I see
around me;
Of the empty and useless years of the rest—with the rest me
intertwined;
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O
life?

Answer.
That you are here—that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

Walt Whitman

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Prompt 11: The moment

"A whole stack of memories never equal one little hope."

Charles M. Schulz

Go back to some pleasant moment in life – something nice that you

experienced for first time, like your first bike ride, first swim, first love,
hanging out with friends, moments from your travel: those special events in
your life can be an inexhaustible source of emotions for a touching poem.
Re-living the moments again reconnects you with your true nature and
helps you get that intensity you need to move forward with your thinking
and creativity.

A Memory

I remember
The crackle of the palm trees
Over the mooned white roofs of the town…
The shining town…
And the tender fumbling of the surf
On the sulphur-yellow beaches
As we sat…a little apart…in the close-pressing night.

The moon hung above us like a golden mango,

And the moist air clung to our faces,
Warm and fragrant as the open mouth of a child
And we watched the out-flung sea
Rolling to the purple edge of the world,
Yet ever back upon itself…
As we…

Inadequate night…
And mooned white memory
Of a tropic sea…
How softly it comes up
Like an ungathered lily.

Lola Ridge

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Prompt 12: Acrostic alphabet

"A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with
language."
- W. H. Auden

Write a poem, where the first letter of the verse in the poem spells out a
word you choose, subject, and message. You can go even further: write a
poem where each starting letter of the line is a consecutive letter of the
alphabet, from A to Z.

In poetry it is called acrostic technique and poets frequently use it while

experimenting with their own writing.

Below is an example I did using acrostic technique:

Acrostic allowed animated alignment:

Bright blue bird borrows beautiful barn
‚C’mere!‛ – Coherently cried crow, crawling cowardly!
...

Windy waves widely warned

X-rated xylophone:
‚Yuck‛- yawned yak
Zoological zodiac zen.

It’s funny what can really come out – no matter how quirky it might look
and sound. Fun and humor are those additional spices that make the process
of creativity even more enjoyable!

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Prompt 13: Dive in the absurd

"We are all hungry and thirsty for concrete images. Abstract art will have
been good for one thing: to restore its exact virginity to figurative art.
- Salvador Dali

In the paper ‚Connections From Kafka: Exposure to Meaning Threats

Improves Implicit Learning of an Artificial Grammar‛ authors argue that
experiencing (reading, hearing or seeing) something absurd like surreal art
or literature can increase pattern recognition of association unrelated to the
original meaning threat. In other words, mind always tries to justify, explain
what it experiences and ‚nonsense‛ art forces mind in faster mode of
thinking to recognize what body senses.

So for today's challenge give your attention to something abstract, surreal

You can visit an art exhibition, read an abstract poem or story and let your
mind drift, loosen up from everything you were trying to accomplish. Let
your mind ‚recharge‛ this way.

Life is not a dream. Careful! Careful! Careful!

We fall down the stairs in order to eat the moist earth
or we climb to the snow's edge with the voices of dead dahlias.
But there is no oblivion; no dream:
only flesh exists. Kisses tie our mouths
in a tangle of new veins,
and those who hurt will hurt without rest
and those who are afraid of death will carry it on their shoulders.

Federico García Lorca

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Prompt 14: Limit yourself on purpose

"The future author is one who discovers that language, the exploration and
manipulation of the resources of language, will serve him in winning
through to his way."
- Thornton Wilder

This might sound strange at first but when you think about it- it might be
true. Often we try to find the solutions to new problems by exploring
already familiar models and build our new denouement on old foundations.
Furthermore, when we have too many options or resources, we try to
incorporate everything and unnecessarily over-complicate solution we are
seeking. When we put restrictions on what we can use and what path we
should follow, it can actually boost our creative thinking. Here I suggest
you improvise a bit with your solution, tackle it from different perspective
and simplify your approach. It can be that final ‚click‛ you need in your
mind to move thinking in right direction. For this prompt, challenge
yourself to write a story consisting of only 140 characters, using key words
that are crucial for your project, idea or writing. Than you can continue
your writing from there in the same fashion, you can tweet about it, play
with it and see how it goes. The important thing is to train our mind to work
at defined conditions and limited resources.

‚For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.‛

Ernest Hemingway

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Prompt 15: Play with the ‚what if‛ clause

According to the research, presented in paper Implications of

Counterfactual Structure for Creative Generation and Analytical Problem
Solving: "additive counterfactual thinking mind-sets, activated by adding
new antecedent elements to reconstruct reality, promote an expansive
processing style that broadens conceptual attention and facilitates
performance on creative generation tasks‛.

Now, take your problem, idea and try to look at it from the ‚What would
happen if….?‛ point of view. It’s a great way for creativity ‚spikes‛ that we all
need when we feel stuck and lack ideas. It's also a great starter for your
writing of a poem, story and will initiate many new creative thoughts to
come forth.

Whatif

Last night, while I lay thinking here,

some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
and pranced and partied all night long
and sang their same old Whatif song:
Whatif I'm dumb in school?
Whatif they've closed the swimming pool?
Whatif I get beat up?
Whatif there's poison in my cup?
Whatif I start to cry?
Whatif I get sick and die?
Whatif I flunk that test?
Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
Whatif nobody likes me?
Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?
Whatif I don't grow taller?
Whatif my head starts getting smaller?
Whatif the fish won't bite?
Whatif the wind tears up my kite?
Whatif they start a war?
Whatif my parents get divorced?
Whatif the bus is late?

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Whatif my teeth don't grow in straight?
Whatif I tear my pants?
Whatif I never learn to dance?
Everything seems well, and then
the nighttime Whatifs strike again!

Shel Silverstein

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Prompt 16: Dare to compare!

"True alchemy lies in this formula: Your memory and your senses are but,
the nourishment of your creative impulse."
- Arthur Rimbaud

Everyone once in a while face a challenging situation to solve some

problem, find an answer to a question; brainstorm an innovative idea. And
that got me thinking: what if we challenge ourselves even more? What
would happen with our creative flow? Now, I’m not thinking about putting
pressure on ourselves, yet we all know we can ‘move’ ourselves towards
productive creativity through certain exercises, but creativity is still kind
of unpredictable. What I mean by challenge, I mean challenging us by
comparing the problem to something else.

In poetry is very well known technique called similes. Its purpose is to

compare two things, so examples of simile poems include any poem that
makes comparisons using the words ‚like‛ or ‚as.‛ Two things compared
don’t have to be alike (in poetry usually they are not), and they create
different images in our mind, making correlations and connections that
doesn’t actually exist. If we apply this to our creative thinking, we are
training our creative muscle; it gives us an opportunity to conceptualize
different solutions and approaches in problem solving.

Examples of similes in poetry might include something like:

Your eyes were dark as a night without moonlight.

Blank page is like an empty canvas where I paint with my words.

So next time you have trouble getting in your creative mood, try this
exercise:

You write down your question/problem and try to find a simile….‛My

problem is like I... and finish the sentence. The idea is here for you to
challenge yourself to find a similar problem in a completely different life
area.

29
If you have a trouble finding inspiration to start writing, for example, try to
remember how it felt when you were trying something else new: a sport,
travel, diet, even reading a new book, or developing a new habit? How did
you manage to start a new activity? What made you want to stick to your
new routine?

Write down your similes and try to analyze them. What of the written ideas
you can translate in a given problem? As you brainstorm and think of your
answers, probably this will trigger even some emotional response that can
act like a drive for generating a flow of new ideas.

You might not get the desired outcome all at once, but using this effective
brainstorming tool can distract your attention from a problem. In this way,
making distance in your view, will help you get more objective and consider
some approaches that might actually work.

“O my Luve's like a red, red rose

That's newly sprung in June;
O my Luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly played in tune.‛

Robert Burns

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Prompt 17: Catch new ideas while redefining the obvious

"Dance above the surface of the world. Let your thoughts lift you into
creativity that is not hampered by opinion."
- Red Haircrow

Throughout the day we encounter many words – some we like, some we

dislike; some we even avoid to use, or we overuse. Why is that?

To every word we attach our meaning, definition and somehow just one
word can influence our way of thinking and how we form opinion.

The next exercise I’m going to propose belongs to type of writing that some
experts and psychologists call free writing. As in this article, author Joel
Friedlander sees that free writing:

 is a practice that helps to liberate your writer’s voice and connects you
to the vibrant stream of creativity that lies just under the surface of
our ordinary thinking;

 can be used to launch you over a writer’s block, to explore painful

emotional memories, and to work out problems in a longer work. It
can be used for making contact with one’s own unconscious;

 is a simple, structured practice that is flexible and forgiving. It can be

used as the base of a writing practice, or spontaneously whenever you
want to go deeper into a subject.

You pick one word – it can be a word related to your current project you are
working on or just some random word you find interesting, attractive or
annoying. The purpose of the exercise is in your own words to write down
general definition, widely accepted meaning of the word.

Then ask yourself do you agree with given definition and give your reasons
why you agree or disagree.

Afterwards continue writing what’s your own meaning, what emotions it

triggers and ext.

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For example, the word danger. One of the generally accepted definitions is
life-threatening situation. For me, first impression is the feeling of unease,
uncertainty, fear, unpleasant surprise and losing control over situation.

You can write as long as you like. One, two paragraphs. It’s possible that at
one point you will feel stuck and think ‚This is stupid, it doesn’t take me
anywhere!‛ , which is the critical point - by continuing to write, you are
unlocking a new stream of ideas that otherwise you might have stopped
before they had chance to get out. This type of playing with your insights,
examining thinking patterns – opening the word can help you further tap
into your creativity potentials. I personally find this exercise very useful –
especially when it comes to writing/creating something new, from personal
perspective. It can be helpful in terms of crafting a story, poems and blog
post and all you need is just one word to start.

In winter, in the dark hours, when others

were asleep, I found these words and put them
together by their appetites and respect for
each other. In stillness, they jostled. They traded
meaning while pretending to have only one.
Monstrous alliances never dreamed of before
began. Sometimes they last. Never again
do they separate in this world. They die
together. They have a fidelity that no
purpose or pretense can ever break
And all of this happens like magic to the words
in those dark hours when others sleep.

Wallace Stevens

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Prompt 18: Organize your own creativity workshop

"Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at

things in a different way."
– Edward de Bono

This one maybe suitable for some weekend days, when you have enough
time and simply get immersed in your creativity. There are few simple, yet
effective exercises that we can apply and practice in our daily routine which
will help us to cultivate that creativity spark and productive flow.

1. Make your own inspiration box or board

One of the things I like to do is to create an inspiration box or an inspiration
board: just the process of crafting and creating something you believe will
get you closer to your goal is already a step forward. When you collect
pleasant items that inspire you (quotes, pictures, poems – anything symbolic
to you), that represent who you are, who you want to be, things you enjoy
and you find uplifting – whenever you return to your box or board it will
refresh your mind and new ideas will start to pop up!

2. Jot things down

Whenever you have an idea – write it down. No matter how silly, impossible,
distant from the solution you’ve been contemplating, write it down. This
unconstrained writing, where you simply don’t censure your thoughts is a
technique called free-writing‛ or ‚free association‛. You can go even step
further and write it in the form of a poem. Surrealist poets were using
similar techniques which Andre Breton described in the Surrealist
manifesto published in 1924 as a:

"Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express…the

actual functioning of thought…in the absence of any control exercised by
reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern."

This process can speed up our solution thinking abilities and help us focus
on the task at hand.

33
3. Be curious about your immediate environment
When I was very little having dolls to play with was not simply enough. I
was so curios that almost each toy I had to break into parts to see what’s
inside and how it works. Of course I’m not suggesting you take first object in
front of you and break it into pieces, but on the paper or in your mind you
can think of its constituent parts and how the object in front of you is
interdepended of its generic parts and where do they come from.

For example a window: It consists of frame (wooden, aluminum, ext.) and

glass. It might have a blind as well. Glass is made from molten silica at very
high temperatures etc. It’s called the ‚generic-parts technique‛ and usually
people with this habitual way of thinking are better at solving problems
through creative insight.

Choose Life (an excerpt)

Choose life choose life venerable Childhood

The ribbon coming out of a fakir
Resembles the playground slide of the world
Though Sun is only a shipwreck
Insofar as a woman’s body resembles it
You dream contemplating the whole length of its trajectory
Or only while closing your eyes on the adorable storm named your hand
Choose life

Andre Breton

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Prompt 19: ‚Collage‛ your way to creativity: let the rebel out!

"Without freedom, there is no creation."

- Jiddy Krishnamurti

You know those days when you have, like a hundred ideas what you would
like to do, to write, but somehow you are having hard time to convey and
articulate your idea? It’s there, you almost have a breakthrough, but your
thoughts are fast racing and nothing is coming out. Maybe we should try
another way of expressing it?

If you haven't made your inspirational box as suggested in the previous

prompt, you can select different items that appeal to you and try to express
your idea or come up with a new one, by rearranging items in a collage.
The idea here is that we challenge ourselves, as much as a situation, a
question, a problem that we have.

A collage as an art form was especially popular in dada movement. Many

artists used this technique to provoke their unconscious thinking and
explore metaphysical origins of reality. For example Hans Arp was famous
for making a series of collages based on chance; he would stand above a
sheet of paper, let squares of contrasting colored paper fall on the larger
sheet’s surface, and then he would glue the squares – in any position they
took by falling. Arp was interested in I-Ching fortune telling (where coins
fallen by chance were interpreted for future forecasting) and he was curios
what kind of visceral reaction would his art produce.

So how can you use technique of collaging to exercise your creativity?

The basic idea is for you to find small items, pictures, texts and letters from
newspaper –anything that moves you and that you can rearrange into your
own collage poem. By collaging your items, a new reality will start to form.
Prune anything you find excess and look at new relations, surprises,
metaphors, combinations. Your mind will try to justify any item by its
origin, position, and dimension. This is an excellent exercise for your
creative rebel, to shout, to say, to sing, to whisper anything in particular you
can’t. Let this collage poem be the messenger of your creativity. This
exercise is a fun to do in groups also, as a team building game, an exercise

35
in leadership skills, perhaps. Possibilities are endless – don’t restrain yourself
– it’s good to rebel from time to time. For the example poem below, it is
believed, the poet D.W. Snodgrass used a marine manual on self-defense,
with some shockingly violent images:

After Experience Taught Me by

Take the first two fingers of this hand;
Fork them out—kind of a ‚V for Victory‛—
Whether there might be something whose discovery
Would grant me supreme, unending happiness.
And jam them into the eyes of your enemy.
You have to do this hard. Very hard. Then press
No virtue can be thought to have priority
Over this endeavor to preserves one’s being.

D. W. Snodgrass

36
Prompt 20: In between rhyme

"Every little or big problem has a reason,

every year there is a winter season,
Every trouble goes away with time,
after winter spring comes with rhyme."
- Debasish Mridha

The Greek philosopher Aristotle, was originator of advanced human

thinking in ancient Greek and in his book ‘On Interpretation’ he describes
how words were powerful tools for his thinking – especially when words
were connected to a thought he wanted to materialize, execute or one that
conveys a meaning of creativity. He believed that in such way we are
encouraging creativity and paving the road for possibilities to come.
Today let our focus be on language, rhythm and melody of the words that
can also train your creative thinking and especially be useful for other
forms of writing.

I suggest you start with an internal rhyme like:

I try to write, remembering your kiss as you held me tight.

‘Type, type!’ I say to myself; ‘Don’t get fooled by a sentimental hype!’

So, you see the first and the last word in the stanza rhyme, giving the verses
completely new feel and meaning to the written sentence.

For your exercise, you can call to mind an issue you have and pick one word
of your own interest (it might be connected to a topic you are writing on,
project you are working on or any other word that ‘bugs’ you somehow).
Write in flow, without too much thinking – just try to follow this one simple
rule; don’t pay attention to the logic or the meaning behind your verses; use
simple facts about the situation, what you think, what others might think,
what you could try or what you already did, what could be holding you back
and other thoughts related to the issue..

This is more leisure and fun approach to brainstorming, which can be also
beneficial: relaxed manner of thinking decreases tension and helps us
become more open to the hidden treasures that language holds for us.

37
Prompt 21: Reuse

‚Not a wasted word. This has been a main point to my literary thinking all
my life.‛
- Hunter S. Thompson

In many years of environmental practice what I learned is that everything

revolves around resources: how you use them, manage or generate them.

Well, this same notion we can apply in different ways in order to get our
creativity flowing – especially when it comes to writing. Rewriting, revising
our own or somebody else’s work helps us not only to become better writers,
but also it helps us develop our reading and analytical skills. You learn to
question ideas, statements and arguments. You learn to notice and search
for new relations, discover weaknesses and come up with new ways to
improve what’s already there. So, this is what I propose: reuse your old
books, magazines or even shopping receipts and try to create new poem. It
can be similar to collage, but this time try to focus specifically on words and
create your poem out of them. Cut out your favorite words and phrases or
circle them on the given page and make them the constituent part of your
new writing venture. Play with the words. Try different arrangements. Pick
words that somehow inspire you or relate to a project/problem you are
working on. Once you found an arrangement you like, you’ve created a
found poem. What kind of emotions or reaction words trigger? Read them,
play with them and they just might offer some new, fresh perspective on the
questions you have.

38
Prompt 22: Reduce

‚The urge to destroy is also a creative urge.‛

- Pablo Picasso

Now, this one I believe is going to be fun – at least was for me and can
really help you in you writer’s block. Try to find a poem that you dislike,
that you feel negative about and simply wreck it! That’s right: tear it apart! I
don’t mean tearing the physical paper, but omit, reduce, erase, everything
from the poem you don’t like and use it as the basis for writing a new one –
in a way that feels and sounds right to you. This little, simple exercise can be
really helpful later in your own writing.

Belonging not to winter but to another

I face the face that made me

And lie all my hours

Upon your reckless hands

Make myself a prisoner

Of the sky

The sweet vermouth

Of your teeth

Shaping me
Like a spectre

In the attic of my flowering heart

Janaka Stucky

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Prompt 23: Recycle

‚Rebels revel in rewriting reality's restrictions.‛

― Ryan Lilly

This one is similar to the previous, but it refers to your own writing. Find
something that you wrote long time ago, when you were in a different
mood, influenced by other circumstances and give your writing a make-
over. Use your own writing as an inspiration for your new poem, dress it in
new words, develop stanzas out of sentences and see where it takes you. Our
past experiences are our best teachers and what we’ve learned we can use to
adequately manage our creativity and direct future actions. Take the
knowledge you acquired into your own advantage and just let your free
writing do the rest.

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Robert Frost

40
Prompt 24: Mix and match

‚Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know more.‛

- Confucius

I’ve always been criticized by my family members and friends, that I’m at
times childish and how everything I want to turn into a game. Well, in my
opinion life can be dull enough and by adding some playfulness into it – is
my way of getting a sun shine in my dark days: which of course doesn’t
mean that I take life lightheartedly and that I’m not serious when situation
requires. On the contrary! I just think that through gamification and
playfulness we can learn with ease, soften the tension when some problems
arise and is actually a great tool for brainstorming.

But for today’s exercise let’s just play with words. I will suggest couple of
ways – you can add your own or alter this suggestions according to your
preference. Below are written couple of words:

sky table spice medicine

hope flesh doing escape
inevitable immense minuscule golden-brown
chew pull face inhale
in between cryptic soft people

These are random words I picked and we can use them in variety of ways in
different brainstorming sessions.

Version 1
You can circle and chose around 5 words from the list above and write your
poem including those words. But here’s the catch: you also have to include 5
key words related to your project you are working on and incorporate them
in the poem too. Now, don’t get bothered with the logic and form, just write
your poem – no matter how silly it may sound: the purpose is to get your
creativity pumping.

41
For example:

My words from the list: medicine, cryptic, inhale, flesh, chew.

My key words: business, entrepreneurship, art, creativity, purpose

This medicine is a cryptic business.

As I inhale stagnant air
I chew with purpose
while creativity floods my flesh;
I’m the captain of my entrepreneurship:
It’s an art and courage to sail alone
so far and deep.

This poem turned out to be quite funny, but this unexpected relation
between unpairable verbs and nouns can spark unexpected views on
problem and reveal hidden solutions. This poem, produced in the form of
free writing, no matter how funny, does speak of courage and risks I need to
take; that I’m in charge of the outcome and for me is quite empowering.
Just let your inner being play – it already knows what you need.

Version 2:
Write three haikus or very short poems, using in each poem one noun and
one adjective from the list above. Also include your own key words: Let’s
say:

1.
Immense sky covered in blue.
A joy spread with purpose.

2.
Minuscule face enters home.
Love, a life’s art.

3.
Wind gives wings to golden-brown spice.
Split second of nature’s creativity.

42
If I would go in deep analysis of every and each of these sentences – what do
they have in common (as how I interpret them ) is that I always first have to
look at nature as it is the inexhaustible source of inspiration where I will
find new ideas and solutions.

Version 3:
Take one key word and all the verbs in the list. Make a poem out if it.

I inhale and breath as my business goes so well!

With joy and smile I chew this small chocolate
as I pull this feeling deep inside, hoping never to escape.

Now, this example turned almost into an affirmation and self-encouragement;

being present in the moment; taking one step at the time and enjoying life’s
little things.

This is fun and interesting way for us to stimulate our subconsciousness and
it’s like having a conversation with our inner self. Language and words are
that wonderful tool (every time available to us) that can help us move from
stagnant thoughts in direction of creativity, inspiration and hope.

43
Prompt 25: Work with opposites

‚The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts the moment you get up in the
morning and does not stop until you get to the office.‛
―Robert Frost

Many of us get trapped in ordinary, routine thinking which makes it hard to

get into a mood of generating fresh and innovative ideas. We routinely get
up every morning, brush our teeth, drink coffee, go to work – mostly every
day at a same time, using the same route…And to tell you the truth, it can
be a creativity killer. What we need is to mix up things a little bit, challenge
our habits, language and way of thinking.

We are also aware that we do live in the world comprised of opposites. In

Chinese philosophy and especially in Taoism, Universe is seen through the
lens of yin and yang energy, male and female, strong and weak, dark and
bright, cold and warm. Perceiving reality from the opposite side can give us
clue in which direction we need to move forward in order to sort things out.
So for this exercise, as a warm up I propose you pick some ordinary words,
something you frequently use in your language and list the opposite
meaning of that word; first that comes to your mind.
For example:

sky – bottom, ground

water – dry, yellow, sand
coffee – tea, sweet, cold
work – vacation, free time, relaxation

Do this for a limited time, maybe five to ten minutes. The idea of these
warming up exercises is to somehow ‘flush out’ that ordinary thinking, and
give room for more ideas to come and encourage creative problem solving.

As a next step you can pick your real problem/project you are working on
and apply similar technique. If you repeatedly struggle with something,
‚turn over‛ your thinking: instead of trying to develop your best solution,
think of the worst thing could happen. How can your project fail? What is
the worst scenario? Write every detail of that, using some key words related

44
to your project and answering questions when, how, who, why, how
much ext. To make it more fun, write a poem about it.

From that vantage point it might be clearer what you could do in order for
your project to succeed. By being able to imagine what we would like to
avoid, it may open a clear path in our mind of right things we need to do:
who to contact, when to do something, how to prioritize our time.

Knowing what you don’t want to, is a first step to achieving what you do
want.

I am not ambitious at all:

I am not a poet, I know
(Though I do love to see a mere scrawl
To order and symmetry grow).
My muse is uncertain and slow,
I am not expert with my tools,
I lack the poetic argot:
But I hope I have kept to the rules.
When your brain is undoubtedly small,
‘Tis hard, sir, to write in a row,
Some five or six rhymes to Nepaul,
And more than a dozen to Joe:
The metre is easier though,
Three rhymes are sufficient for ‘ghouls,’
My lines are deficient in go,
But I hope I have kept to the rules.Dear Sir, though my language is low,
Let me dip in Pierian pools:
My verses are only so so,
But I hope I have kept to the rules.

J. K. Stephen

45
Prompt 26: Mind mapping through poetry

‚The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.‛

- Plutarch

Since our creativity can be unpredictable, often times we can find ourselves
having that huge idea, but still not managing to record all details, write
everything down without losing a bit of it.

So for today I propose to you little tool that I use regularly to brainstorm a
problem, or a project idea. I have found it to be quite helpful. It’s mind
mapping – with a twist. Probably most of you are aware of this technique
but as the old Latin proverb says, ‚Repetition is the mother of all
knowledge.‛ Mind mapping can help you become more creative, train your
visual thinking, memory, and solve problems more effectively.

The basic notion behind this technique is to visually capture, connect and
sort out information, or even get a great amount of information under
control in order to generate new and fresh ideas.

The process is quite simple:

1. You put in the center (of your paper) your main idea.

2. Around that idea, now write all other topics that relates to your idea,
establishing new relations among main and side topics.

3. It’s almost like forming a tree where each branch further drives you
to generate more details and more connections.

4. And now the twist: try to think of this map you are building
like it is a poem.

46
Instead of dry listing topics and ideas, with the words and phrases you chose,
give your map a rhythm, lyrical note. Use adjectives, describe emotions
related to your idea, expectations, why is it important. Imagine you are
writing a concrete poem for example.

In this manner, your project will become more vivid and real to you. You
are actually mapping your visualization, through words giving your senses
the chance to ‚live‛ everything in your mind. By ‚breathing‛ in that emotion
with your words, positive energy, you become more eager to put everything
in work and apply solutions you came up with. It’s fun and interesting way
to brainstorm every time you need more clarity and focus.

Now, this technique can be used for writing actual poems, novels and books
(great as a storytelling technique as well), but it can help you even in your
vacation planning and job search.

47
Prompt 27: Let’s travel

‚One can begin to reshape the landscape with a single flower.‛

- Mr. Spock (Star Track)

It can be very interesting to play around with notion of travel when it comes
to our creative projects and goals.

In my personal experience, what sometimes happens is that we have too

many options or too many choices that we need to make, and that can keep
us stuck in one place; no matter is it writing, creative problem or something
else. It simply fuels our indecisiveness and we continue prolonging to tackle
problem with some serious determination.

Today, I will suggest some simple exercises that might help you move
forward in right direction or bring clarity when it comes to problem solving.

First exercise: Time travel. That is one of the greatest desires of humans:
time travel. As a kid and a great fan of Star trek series, whenever was
happening something I didn’t like I would pretend I’m teleporting myself to
different world and time. But looking at it from a scientific point of view,
time as a parameter was invented by humans in order to give meaning to
natural quality of impermanence. Eminent scientists, such as Stephen
Hawking and Kip Thorne are allured with the possibility of time travel
and continue to debate about it in their most recent works.

So why not play around with this notion by ourselves?

Imagine you were in a different time period, maybe 10, 100 or 500 years ago
and how then would you deal with the problem? You don’t have your
computer, phone, car or even electricity at your disposal, just met your basic
needs. How would you approach your problem with fewer resources at
hand? Or, you can go in future and imagine you have everything you need
to achieve your creative goals, and more. In 10 years or 200 years ahead,
how your situation would be different?

Second exercise: Space travel. Stage your situation in completely different

geographical (or even planetary) location where conditions are completely

48
opposite. Different climate, different culture and different societal values
influence life: how that would impact your creativity, realization of your
creative goals? It’s interesting where our imagination can take us and how
that can raise some additional points of view – just thinking about the
problem differently conditions new ideas to come forth. In this way, you are
giving yourself opportunity to experience your creativity in an unexplored
manner. You can write a poem about it, or a short story. The point is to stir
up inspiration that just might lies dormant and is waiting for some initial
idea to trigger an avalanche of creativity.

The railroad track is miles away,

And the day is loud with voices speaking,
Yet there isn’t a train goes by all day
But I hear its whistle shrieking.
All night there isn’t a train goes by,
Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming,
But I see its cinders red on the sky,
And hear its engine steaming.
My heart is warm with friends I make,
And better friends I’ll not be knowing;
Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take,
No matter where it’s going.

Edna St. Vincent Millay

49
Prompt 28: Going sideways for boosting creativity

‚Logic will never change emotion or perception.‛

- Edward de Bono

The first definition of the term lateral thinking came in 1967 from Dr
Edward de Bono. He has become the world’s leading authority on
conceptual thinking and has contributed to development of new tools and
approaches to the organizational innovation, strategic leadership, individual
creativity, and problem solving. Present in the innovation industry since
1970, his exclusive strategies and methods have brought remarkable results
to organizations and to individuals from a wide range of cultures,
educational backgrounds, occupations, and age groups.

So, what is actually lateral thinking? It is a way of thinking that solves

problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is
not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be applicable by
traditional step-by-step logic.

This kind of thinking requires of you to go beyond the obvious and even to
take into account parameters that your traditional logic might easily
dismiss.

One really attractive and interesting example is given in this article.

Pretend that you’re trapped in a magical room with only two exits. Through
the first exit is a room made from a giant magnifying glass, and the blazing
hot sun will fry you to death. Through the second door is a room with a fire-
breathing dragon. Which do you go through?

There are many ways we can approach this problem in order to solve it. One
way could be using poetry techniques, for example kennings.

Bed of fish, smooth path of ships, island-ring, realm of lobsters, slopes of the
sea-king, whale-house, land of the ocean-noise, blood of the earth, frothing
beer of the coastline…

50
These are some of the terms and phrases used by the Viking and Anglo -
Saxon poets to name/describe the sea. The word ‘kenning’ comes from the
Old Norse verb að kenna, which means ‘to describe’ or ‘to understand’.
Poetry asks us to think and view the world from the different perspective.
And kennings question our habitual way of thinking. If we apply this
technique to the above problem, we could call sun ‚object that gives light to
the earth, object that brings day… ‚.

So by using this technique, we could come up to a solution by deducting our

thinking: sun, in a day time, in the above example is dangerous for us, but
what happens when the day goes by? Darkness. And the answer presents
itself: we should wait for the sunset, and the first door is a safe passage for
us.

The answer to this puzzle is an example of what psychologists call ‚lateral

thinking‛: instead of going ahead onto the problem, going sideways can
present an elegant solution.

So next time you have a project, creative problem you are working on, try to
name it, describe it differently, focusing on its functions and elements and
solution might unexpectedly reveal itself.

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Prompt 29: Visualize with words

‚Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others‛.

―Jonathan Swift

I like to call visualization: strategic thinking while having fun. When you
read about principles of strategic thinking it might sound too managerial
and business oriented, but it is actually a sort of visualization: where you
tactfully visualize and plan your desired outcome. Once you develop the
ability to relive in your mind what you would like to experience, you are
somehow training and preparing your mind (and body) to achieve in
matching that picture with your performance.

Often guided meditations and visualization exercises are tools with the aim
to awaken all of your senses and help you more easily and vividly imagine
you succeeding in your goals.

But also your writing can help you in visualizing what you want. You know
you read good book if writer is capable in his words to put you in the center
of the story – where you have impression you are experiencing everything
written.

So the next exercise I will propose will help you not only in your
visualization, but also you are practicing your writing.

The exercise is very simple, yet effective:

Your task is to name three things, topics, projects – whatever you are
working on (or would like to achieve) and describe them using words you
never used before to describe them; how that accomplishment looks like,
feels like. Try to be descriptive as much as you can, use your senses and be
precise – write a poem about it.

52
Let’s give it a try:

1. First word: writing

Leaving engraved deep trails, beyond all boundaries and false confinements.
Soundless I’m heard above all mountains and below every
ocean; materialized thoughts in the smell of graphite, focused desires in
every beat of pen on paper, caught ideas with smiley face, released drama in
every vowel.
Where and when I offer me to you.

2. Second word: coaching

In service, empowering, alignment of what I am with fruitful response:
where other side becomes glitter in its own eyes and smiles with confidence
and determination, air is filled with blooming possibilities and every atom
of my knowledge is transferred and received openly, crushing any doubt,
inability and disbelief.

3. Third word: creativity

Every moment, every day is new and gives new beginning; different, weird
and enjoyable – there’s nothing to be afraid, no reason to hide. It’s warm,
exciting, giggly, live, sharp, focused and likes to dance and cuddle.
In the sea of everything existing, it’s the laughter that connects, inspires and
teach: with every key stroke, plaudit nod and receptive silence.
It’s making unbelievable desirable, silly sensible and complex simple, but
truthful.
So this is my take on the exercise. Now it’s your turn.

And therefore, though thy name shall pass away,

Even as a cloud that hath wept all its showers,
Yet as that cloud shall live again one day
In the glad grass, and in the happy flowers,
So in thy thoughts, though clothed in sweeter rhymes,
Thy life shall bear its flowers in future times.

Henry Timrod

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Prompt 30: Try walking in their shoes

‚The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water and breeds
reptiles of the mind.‛
- William Blake

This prompt is all about changing perspective – viewing situation from

someone else’s point of view. If you feel stuck with your writing, or you
experience some oppositions from your peers in advancing with your
project, this can be a good exercise to experience a different perspective and
tackle problem form different angle. You can write about situation seen
from a different cultural, educational background or even about sub-
cultural differences. Prepare yourself for writing by getting acquitting with
the culture you chose - through reading, watching documentaries, ext. For
example, someone addicted to romance novels might try to write as
someone who likes horror movies and stories with gothic elements.

This is skill we want to develop especially if we are engaged in fiction

writing. It can help you foster empathy, broaden your view of the world and
how other people think and feel.

Some time when the river is ice ask me

mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt: ask me what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.

I will listen to what you say.

You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.‛

William Stafford

54
Prompt 31: Group effort

‚When you invite people to share in your miracle, you create future allies
during rough weather.‛
- Shannon L. Alder

Once you become comfortable enough with your own creativity, why not
spice up things and work in groups? So grab some of your ‚pen-friends‛,
play together and see how can you inspire and help each other become
more creative.

These exercises can be also performed in the business setting, they’re fun
and can be a great way to break out of the ordinary working routine.

Inspired by discovered
Each of you, players, has to write down a rare fact about yourself that most
people don’t know about on a piece of paper, fold it and exchange it with
others randomly. Caught by surprise about unknown facts you may find
your own fountain of creativity! Write a poem about it and see where it takes
you.

Pantomime
Let one of your friends or coworkers gesture with hands: your task is to
describe what you see, what you experience and jot it down in words in the
form of poem. This can be quite intriguing way of stimulating our creative
capabilities, as is discussed in this article, using two hands to explain
something prompts the brain to consider issues from multiple perspectives.
To spice up a bit, try everything that you write to put in rhyme (in the
prompt 14. on the page 26, I explained the benefits of putting boundaries
during our brainstorming sessions and how that can stimulate creativity
further).

What’s wrong with this picture?

Visual stimulation can unleash your imagination in the most exciting ways.
You can pick some random picture and each of players has to make a story
in the form of poem, inspired by the picture. Afterwards, you can all debate
and see whose story is the most interesting or you can take it step further

55
and compile all stories into one: it has to be believable and follow some
logical structure. It’s best suited for groups of two, three people.
With certain moderation you can use these ideas for your own creativity
exercises, as well.

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,

But, he with a chuckle replied
That ‚maybe it couldn’t,‛ but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
Somebody scoffed: ‚Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one has done it‛;
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle it in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That ‚couldn’t be done,‛ and you’ll do it.

Edgar Albert Guest

56
Bonus productivity exercise

While you are studying at a Faculty, many of the courses you encounter
(obligatory) you don’t like or you don’t recognize at that particular time you
do really need certain knowledge and skills they offer. And on the other
hand, there are subjects you simply adore and you are always excited about.

When you are young and full of energy you simply don’t want to waste your
time on something you don’t like when there is bunch of other stuff you’d
rather do. And that's exactly what happened to me while I was a student. So
I made a little pact with myself that every day, at least for 10 minutes I will
do seminars and projects that I’m excited about. Every day, consistently!
Why I did this and how it helped me? It helped me in two ways:

Since I had to devote my time also to courses I didn’t like that much, by
doing what I liked for at least 10 minutes a day, I made sure I wasn’t behind
with what I really wanted to learn;

By doing what I liked, the good feeling generated made it easier for me to
do things I didn’t like that much.

At the end, I managed to graduate a year before anticipated time.

These principles we can also apply to our creative projects and make
ourselves more productive and excited about what we are doing.

Here is the exercise:

1. Make an agreement with yourself that you will work on a project you
are passionate about, every day for at least 10 minutes. It can be in the
morning, your lunch break or evening – it doesn’t matter. The key
word here is consistency.

2. Decide on which project you will work tomorrow. If you are a writer,
choose a poem, story or essay you are excited about and that you are
eager to finish. Skip those ‚I must do this one, but I hate it‛! That
feeling of resistance only leads to more procrastination and that is

57
 something we want to avoid. Choose a project that brings smile on
your face and that you simply love.
3. Tomorrow, at your convenient time, set a timer for 10 – 15 minutes
and work on your favorite project. Don’t pay attention to the quality of
your work. The progress you make each day while working on what
you love will generate such good feelings that it will make much
easier for you to jump-start the project you were postponing and
avoiding.

4. When the time’s up, stop! Even if you would like to continue working,
stop and leave yourself a reminder where to continue tomorrow.

5. Tomorrow, repeat your newly established routine.

6. After a couple of days you might consider prolonging your working

time intervals and see how it goes. If it doesn’t and it makes you
nervous and worried you won’t have time for things ‚I must do‛, then
just stick to those 10 minutes. It’s important for us to have fun while
we are creating.

7. If you skip some of the days, it’s OK. Continue the next day where you
previously stopped.

I hope you find this exercise fun and applicable to your creative routine. By
being persistent, it can eventually help you enjoy more your creativity and
writing.

58
Well done! I hope you enjoyed these prompts and that you have found them
useful in your writing and creative projects. We are all creative beings –we
just need a bit of encouragement and inspiration to step forward in the right
direction.

I also invite you to share this book with anyone you think might benefit
from it. Your comments, feedback and suggestions for improvement are all
welcome and you can reach me at businessinrhyme@gmail.com

On twitter you can find me at @businessinrhyme and to connect on

Facebook follow this link.

Thank you!

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 About the author

Maja S. Todorovic is a writer and writing coach from Belgrade, currently

living in the Hague, Netherlands. After finishing her PhD in Organizational
Sciences and years of academic work, she switched her scientific pen for
more creative expressions.

This e-book emerged as a result of her research and adaptation of writing

and creative exercises she developed during the time of her diverse work
with students where she delivered innovative arts-based study courses in
design thinking and organizational management.

Business in Rhyme is her creative corner where she blogs about beautiful
uses of poetry and poetic techniques for improving writing, personal growth
and creativity.

To connect or simply say hi, you can find her also on her Linkedin profile.

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