Ways To Get Ideas

Ditkoff’s article is about fourteen ways to get creative ideas. He makes suggestions and examples on how some of the ideas have worked. He emphasizes there is not just one-way to get creative ideas and depending on an individual some work and some do not. In the beginning of the article Ditkoff mentions that there are two schools of thought. The first one is that a person finds a creative idea on purpose and by using a certain process and deep thought to make that creative idea. The other one is that the idea already exists and will only be found if the person opens up their mind for it to find them.
I think that Ditkoff’s suggestions are good. One suggestion is to hang out with diverse people. I haven’t noticed my creative ability and ideas coming from just one fact of hanging out with diverse people. However, some ideas that a diverse group comes up with can spark something inside me and I apply my experiences to one of their ideas. I went to a lock in on New Years Eve. I was in an environment with a diverse group of people. I was playing music with a band called Second String and the way the drummer played and the vocalist sang I was able to think outside of my normal style of playing guitar. I was able to come up with some different strumming patterns for songs that I had previously played less exciting. In that example I was able to get creative ideas for strumming. If I was not with a diverse group and with the usual people I play music with I would have fallen into the routine.
Hanging out with a diverse group of people is a good suggestion for me. There is a problem with this idea. The problem is that certain people may be uncomfortable around those who are different. It actually might lock up their creative mind. Some people work better and more creative when they are in a comfortable environment.
Fantasize is another good suggestion. There are many ideas for my music and lyrics that have been made when I was in fantasyland. My friend always gave me a tough time about my fantasies but personally this helps me get creative ideas flowing. Willy Wonka and The Charlie Factory is definitely an example of a fantasy. That movie would have never been created had it not been for people getting caught up in their fantasies and letting the creative ideas come out. Fantasy I believe removes the confines of reality that in turn opens up your mind to create.
Defining the right challenge idea for me was one of the weaker points. To say it is a bad suggestion is not the right word but I believe there are far more important ways to get ideas than this. I usually come up with an answer before the question is asked. I guess you could say that my creative ideas are backwards. Usually my idea starts with something I am passionate about. One thing leads to the next and sometimes I don’t know why I am running with a certain idea or doing something but I just feel like I need to do it. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense until I finish and then reflect on it. Then the question can be asked. The times I have tried to question something to find the answer for a creative idea I end up getting stuck and get frustrated.
Brainstorming in a group for me is good but it does have some drawbacks. The drawbacks are deciding on what the final outcome will become. The next topic that I will discuss in my next brainstorm is with the youth team meeting about how we can get teens to want to come to our church’s youth group. We usually start by trying to think what will get their attention. Eric Leeson will facilitate, Adam Farnsworth, Cody Grogg, Kerry Joseph, Pam and Gary Cheavront, Wayne, and I will be invited to the next youth team meeting. We usually come up with events that are fun like super bowl parties, skii trips, concerts, and Cedar Point trips. For Sunday evenings we are going to discuss what kinds of themes we can use that will help teach people to learn the important things in life (spiritually, physically, emotionally). Grace might be one month, leadership may be another one, and mercy might be one. Once we come up with a theme then we try to emphasize that theme visually and what Leeson will speak on that night. Leeson makes the final choice and facilitates but we make suggestions and he considers and carries them out while we help him.