Nurturing New Ideas- Agatha Christy

Nurturing New Ideas

I'm always on the lookout for creative people who share the way they generate ideas and express themselves in their chosen medium. The quote for today comes from the literary world: the "Grande Dame of Mystery", Agatha Christy.

In the introduction to her small volume entitled Passenger to Frankfurt she writes:

"The first question put to an author, personally, or through the post, is:
     'Where do you get your ideas from?' ...
If one idea in particular seems attractive, and you feel you could do something with it, then you toss it around, play tricks with it, work it up, tone it down, and gradually get it into shape. Then, of course, you have to start writing it. That's not nearly such fun- it becomes hard work. Alternatively, you can tuck it carefully away, in storage, for perhaps using in a year or two years' time."

Obviously fresh ideas involve exposure to unfamiliar experiences and "things". Some stick with us, we mull them over, we "play" with the idea a bit. To me, Agatha is saying we have to nurture new ideas, really work with them to make them our own- like cultivating an orchid until it blossoms. She is describing a process of exploring whether or not an idea can be incorporated into our vision for our work.

Sometimes an idea isn't the right "fit". But it could be such a good idea that we don't discard it, we "put it on the back burner", to revisit when we're ready. Hence the wisdom of keeping a "creativity journal", a place to nurture that inspiration for future use.

This process of evaluating and synthesizing ideas keeps the creative process fresh and original... a reflection of our personal artistic development.