I sometimes feel like I don’t know how to deliberately come up with ideas at all, but I’m not sure if I’m actually like that (it’s probably just insecurity or something, lol).
Do people like that actually exist, though? If so, why are they like that? And how do they learn to deliberately think of ideas?
I’m not sure I’m understanding what you’re communicating.
If you can’t deliberately come up with ideas, how do decide what to eat? Have you never had the idea of something specific you’d like to eat? Does someone else select all of your meals and put it in front of you?
What am I not understanding about your question?
Hmm… I guess I mean more like deliberately coming up with ideas for more opened ended/creative stuff? Like coming up with an idea for how the main character of a story survives against the main villain’s super nuke attack. Or coming up with ideas for what a certain painting represents.
This sounds a little like “decision paralysis” apparently also known as “analysis paralysis”. Basically, if you have an open ended situation where a variety of ideas would work, it can be hard to settle on a single option.
There is a process called “learning how to learn.”
Essentially its a series of questions or question-templates you ask to gain deeper understanding of something beyond what the source material you are learning from provides.
The basic versions of them include “how” and “why”, where the “who”, “what”, and “when” matter less in most cases (and if they matter more, it will be extremely apparent).
Then, listing out every answer to each of those questions you can possibly think of and testing them against logic and evidence.
“How do apples fall to the ground?”
Warping of spacetime?
flat disc that we stand on accelerating through space?
The pull of the aether?
You would then test each of these ideas by gathering evidence and eliminating others. Eventually in the example through rigorous testing, logic (including mathematics), you’d come to the correct conclusion of the warping of spacetime.
Then, if you are trying to come up with new ideas, you apply this method of thinking to the unknown and reverse it a little. Take facts and evidence that exist, and ask the same questions against the unknown. For example, if you’re writing a story, the who and the what become important in the reversal, but the how and the why stay relevant.
“What would the main character do after they realize they were betrayed by the grand duke of blahshire?”
Who+Why: what are the main characters beliefs and convictions? What drives them?
How: What kinds of actions has the main character taken in the past? Have they grown since then?
What is the current sociopolitical climate that the story is taking place in? What kinds of behavior is expected of the main character and those around them? Are things like revenge frowned upon, or is not exacting revenge considered weakness? Maybe both depending on who you ask?
You can also apply this to general ideas, making yourself or a project/concept/etc. the main subject.
This kind of thinking is a muscle you have to exercise until it becomes natural. Eventually you start doing it without realizing.
That, like most aspect of art and creativity, is a skill that takes practice. For writing specifically, you’d have to read more books, watch more films, and generally study how others do it. Eventually you’d be able remix all your previous experiences and other people’s work into something new and your own. It may come easier to some compared to others, but with practice everyone can come up with great ideas.
For paintings, at least for me, it’s less of deciding what the art to represent and more like I have something in my mind that I need to get out into the world, and painting is just one way of doing it. It’s less “I want to put something in the oven, but what?” and more like “I want chicken. Should I roast it in the oven or deep fry it?” if that makes sense lol
Thank you for your response!
Hmm… I would like to see “how others do/did it” sort of content, can you give me any suggestions for those?
Hello Future Me on yt does analysis of stories with a bit focus on the Avatar The Last Airbander.
Bob World Builder and Ginny Di are tabletop role playing game (D&D) focused channels but they have some videos on world building and such that I think can apply to developing stories in general.
Accented Cinema and Every Frame a Painting are two channels that focuses on film making, but they break down on what makes stories work as well.
Riloe is a channel I came across recently that has a lot of videos about what makes fps games works. I don’t know if that’s what you’re looking for but it’s a great channel nonetheless lol
But generally more exposure to different works of art cannot be substituted. Watching other’s analysis can get you started on what to look for in other’s works but in the end you have to put the practice in yourself too.
Thanks!
Look at the world as it is today. Imagine what it would be like if it were better. Imagine what that world would look like. What would different about it than it is today? Would things cost the same? Would there even be money? How would your life be different in that better world?
Now, I used the word “better”, but you filled in all the gaps about what “better” means. That definition of “better” is entirely your own. That same set of questions asked of 10 different people would result in 10 completely different answers. Congratulations! You’ve just come up with creative ideas!
Now imagine if the world were worse. And now worse yet. And now worse than that. These are now 3 completely different sets of creative ideas that are completely unique to you.
Try doing "what if"s. Meaning just come up with a question about a scenario, like “what if the sun suddenly disappeared?” The scenario doesn’t have to be good or make any sense, it’s just a question - “What if?”
You combine real With what ifs, and no restrictions