Writers and Imagination

 

Albert Einstein's quote seems to fit our writing world in one way but not the other. I would expect the first part to be attributed to him--"Logic will get you from A to B." The second part seemed more like a right-brain person. He said, "Imagination will take you everywhere." Then again, he was a brilliant man who probably looked at all sides of a situation.

We writers probably use imagination more than logic in most instances. Imagination and creativity are close cousins. Isn't 'everywhere' just where we'd like to be on our writing journey? We're not a one-stop kind of situation. We'd love to 'go everywhere with our writing.

We want to use our creativity, or imagination, to take us into the land of fiction, then skip on to poetry, move to nonfiction, and more. It's up to us to make our moves, not stay stuck in one kind of writing all the time.

We do find the niche where we excel, and it's fine to concentrate in that area. But please don't close the door to other kinds of writing. Experiment a little. Dabble in this kind or another. You might find something new that attracts you even more than the original.

I started out thinking I wanted to write for middle-grade kids. But as time went on, I moved into other kinds of writing and found that the personal essay and short memoir were exciting to me and was my stronger type of writing. That didn't mean giving up writing for kids. I did continue and still do write in that genre off and on. I moved into poetry, too, letting my imagination lead me. It's not my main thrust but is still something I enjoy writing now and then. 

I've heard writers say they could never write this or that, but how do they know unless they try? Expand your horizons. Puff up your imagination and try it out on different paths. Not once but many times. You'll know when it's time to say that 'this kind of writing is definitely not for me.' The important thing is that you made the effort to find out. Those who remain in their original comfort zone could be missing out.

We all need a bit of that logic to get us from A to B, as the renowned Einstein said, but I like very much that he added the part about imagination. Use it to the nth degree on your writing journey!