Imagination!

Back when Genius Kid was  a sprout, he was obsessed with SpongeBob Squarepants. I often cuddled and watched with him, or I watched from the kitchen while I was making dinner and GK was playing in the family room. I can go on a whole speech about why parents need to pay attention to their kids' entertainment, but that's not quite the point of this.

Imagination GIF from Imagination GIFs

My favorite episode is when SqongeBob and his best friend Patrick find a large box and start playing. In their minds, the box becomes several different things, including a spaceship. SpongeBob's neighbor Squidward mocks the guys for their childish behavior.

Until Squidward hears unusual sounds coming from the box like the engines of a rocket.

Therein lies the problem of most writers when they say they don't have any ideas. Those writers have forgotten how to play. They've forgotten how to make up stories in their head.

When I was a kid, we did all sorts of things. My Barbies became paratroopers (using old baby blankets as parachutes) sent in to save my brother's GI Joe and Steve Austin when their mission in Eastern Europe went wrong. Or a shoe box became their deep sea research vessel. Or our swing set became our own space ship with a baby activity board as the control panel.

If you're stuck, play with your kids a bit. Let them guide you in finding your imagination.

If you don't have kids, go to a park, a store, a café--anywhere you can sit and observe people. Watch them interact. Make up little stories in your head about what they are doing and why.

Let your rainbow come out and see what happens. You may surprise yourself.

Executives Just Don't Understand

I had a bizarre conversation last week. Actually, it wasn't the first time I've had this conversation with this person.

He's been an executive with different firms for the last twenty or so years. With each company, he's been responsible for making and marketing various widgets. It really doesn't matter what type of widgets. But in each case, the widgets were solid, tangible objects.

He has a very difficult time understanding how I, as one person, can produce and market a totally intangible thing that people are willing to pay money for.

The thing he can't quite grasp is that a tangible object or a service is marketed very differently than entertainment.

Why? Because in my humble opinion, it all comes down to a variation of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

People need entertainment. It's an essential psychological need. My executive is used to producing widgets that were more akin to solving physical needs.

If people are living in an area that is or can become cold, they're going to need a blanket. My executive would market to people who lived in areas where they need blankets. They give him money for a blanket so they don't freeze to death. Right?

I don't deal with physical comfort. My customer is looking for a particular emotional experience. In particular, I provide excitement and adventure where justice is served in the end. Bad guys die or are apprehended for their crimes. My good gals get the guy and the acclaim. This is the value I provide to my readers.

Unfortunately, he doesn't quite get how I can upload a book to an online store and attract customers' attention. I pointed out covers and blurbs, which is a type of marketing that signals what kind of story this is. (I mean, come on! Everyone knows a woman with a sword is most likely to be fantasy, right?) I point out that I've been published in anthologies, which are akin to a sampler platter at a restaurant.

Even though I used Netflix as an examples of how people search out what they like, he still doesn't quite get it. And I finally got out of him what the real problem was--he doesn't understand an imagination. He doesn't understand how to make up shit.

I'm not sure how to explain imagination to anyone short of going Spongebob Squarepants on their ass. Anyone who's not a writer got any tips?