Imagination is definitely the main ingredient in thinking up and writing books, telling stories and film making. 

Not only for the author, but for the general public too! It is the thing they subconsciously submit to when reading books, hear stories and watch movies. 

• People love their comprehension and imagination to be stretched beyond whatever they may have previously thought before. Maybe it’s travelling and going into the scary unknown dimensions that seem so appealing. 

First time authors:

For those who have never used their imagination to write exciting books, it is very hard to conjure up weird and way-out stuff. So this blog is for those new aspiring authors. 

State of blankness: 

We so want to write that exciting book. But somehow our imagination powers are dormant! Nothing exciting comes to mind. 

And you think to yourself, “How do famous authors do it?” 

What motivates them? Where do they get their ideas from? And how do they keep their imagination flowing, from one book to another? Wish we could do that too. 

Let’s look at our backgrounds.

The reason why we can’t conjure up weird stuff? In some cases it is the way we were brought up as children. Some children live dull lives, doing the usual stuff, like building blocks and playing ball, etc. 

Or, were you one of those children that their parents opened up your world by: 

• Reading fairy tale books with pictures in them? What fascinated you about those stories and pictures? Was it the drama? Or fluid blur and excitement that pulled you in? 
• Did your parents ever show you the underworld of nature? And look deep down into the grass and see what tiny creatures were doing there. Like following the chain of ants coming and going, to and fro from their nests … that sort of thing? 
• And taking note of other worlds within your own everyday world. Like going to the beach with your family, and looking deeply into the water-pools within the rocks down by the shore to what was happening there? Or watch the fascinating busy life of the crabs scuttling over the beach sand and in and out of their holes as the surf rushes up the shore? 

Imagination is like using upturned psychology:

Have you ever wondered if things were reversed? For example: 

Let’s take those creatures deep down in the grass. What if they were much bigger than you? You, like an insect in their huge world! How would you relate to that? What would they look like to you? 

• The result would be very dramatic, way-out to all that you have ever experienced before! 
• You would be forced to think beyond you usual world. 

Children’s imagination:

Some children resort to having imaginary friends to play with and talk to. They act like they actually see their imaginary friend and the setup (scene) of the circumstances they have created. 

For girls they have toy tea sets and make mud pies to share with their imaginary friends. Boys play with toy cars or aeroplanes, pretending they are the drivers and pilots of those toys, doing those fantastic antics. 

The fact is, we have forgotten to use our childish imagination, because we’ve had to copy with everyday grownup responsibilities and realities. We have to re-learn how to pretend and use our imagination. 

So, what are the main ingredients of imagination?

1. Being more observant. Day dream about what you see and hear. 
2. Seeing the world from different angles or dimensions. 
3. Think up dramatic, powerful way-out stuff, beyond the usual. 
4. And live in a make-believe-word while writing.  
5. Have fantasies like children do. Be willing to pretend. 
6. Be unbelievable. Reverse and twist facts. But make the magic seem believable! 
7. Use visionary powers to see plot scenes. 
8. Use sound effects: Like talking, make and hear sounds like you’re actually there.  
9. Have humorous thoughts to help you add the silly fun stuff to your stories. 
10. Use your emotions and senses, to feel what your characters may feel and how they may re-act to certain and peculiar circumstances. 

In the next few blogs:

In the series of `Writing books’ (books flying icon), I will go into each of these above imagination ingredients in more depth. That is: One topic at a time, and how to do it and use it.