An experiment in creativity

When setting out on a creative endeavor, many people embark on brainstorming. We think of ideas, titles, angles, and more. Then we pick something and settle down into the work.

In other words, we go wide with creative associative thinking, then deep with the work. And for most of us, that’s the process.

As I learned about the dual-pathway model of creativity in revising The Writer’s Process, I realized that this pattern might be cutting short the process. So, here’s a creativity exercise to flex the creative cycle and open up new possibilities.

Wide, deep, then wide again

Experiment with something short, like an essay or flash fiction piece. Perhaps you’d like to write about something in your childhood. In my case, I might pick an encounter with my third-grade teacher, Miss Mudd.

Have a topic ready?

First, go wide.

Think of at least five different angles you might take in recounting the episode.

For my third-grade encounter, I might:

• Shift perspective: tell it from my 3rd-grade perspective, or another student’s perspective, or even Miss Mudd’s.
• Shift genre: Tell it like a horror story.
• Shift format: Make it a list of 10 things not to do in third grade.

You get the idea. Come up with at least 5 different approaches—that’s the “going wide” or divergent thinking exercise.

Next, go deep.

Choose an approach for the piece and write. Get at least a a few hundred words down—I’d suggest 600 or more. You don’t need to polish and make it sparkle. Remember, this is an experiment.

You’re bringing focused concentration on the topic to go “deep” with it.

Then, go wide from this new place.

Having written this draft, browse through it for at least five different issues or themes you might pick out. They don’t need to be central to the piece as written at all.

For example, in my third-grade story, I might pull out things like:

• What students learned in third grade in the 70s.
• Corporal punishment in public schools (again, in the 70s)
• My childhood speech impediment (not related to the story, but important to me at the time)
• The family name Mudd — and was Miss Mudd related to Samuel Mudd, who treated John Wilkes Booth after the assassination of Lincoln (and thus becoming the origin of the saying, “your name is Mudd”? I like to think so.

Any of these might be ripe for exploring. I’ll bet you can find interesting, tangential themes or items in your piece.

Pick one and go deep once more. Do a little research, write a bit, see where it takes you.

Return and assess

Now return to your initial write-up. Would you add to or change anything about it after your second wide-deep cycle? Did it spark your curiosity? Was it fun?

Related content

Watch this exercise on YouTube.