I sometimes feel like I don’t know how to deliberately come up with ideas at all, but I’m not sure if I’m actually like that (it’s probably just insecurity or something, lol).
Do people like that actually exist, though? If so, why are they like that? And how do they learn to deliberately think of ideas?
I’m not sure I’m understanding what you’re communicating.
If you can’t deliberately come up with ideas, how do decide what to eat? Have you never had the idea of something specific you’d like to eat? Does someone else select all of your meals and put it in front of you?
What am I not understanding about your question?
Hmm… I guess I mean more like deliberately coming up with ideas for more opened ended/creative stuff? Like coming up with an idea for how the main character of a story survives against the main villain’s super nuke attack. Or coming up with ideas for what a certain painting represents.
That, like most aspect of art and creativity, is a skill that takes practice. For writing specifically, you’d have to read more books, watch more films, and generally study how others do it. Eventually you’d be able remix all your previous experiences and other people’s work into something new and your own. It may come easier to some compared to others, but with practice everyone can come up with great ideas.
For paintings, at least for me, it’s less of deciding what the art to represent and more like I have something in my mind that I need to get out into the world, and painting is just one way of doing it. It’s less “I want to put something in the oven, but what?” and more like “I want chicken. Should I roast it in the oven or deep fry it?” if that makes sense lol
Thank you for your response!
Hmm… I would like to see “how others do/did it” sort of content, can you give me any suggestions for those?
Hello Future Me on yt does analysis of stories with a bit focus on the Avatar The Last Airbander.
Bob World Builder and Ginny Di are tabletop role playing game (D&D) focused channels but they have some videos on world building and such that I think can apply to developing stories in general.
Accented Cinema and Every Frame a Painting are two channels that focuses on film making, but they break down on what makes stories work as well.
Riloe is a channel I came across recently that has a lot of videos about what makes fps games works. I don’t know if that’s what you’re looking for but it’s a great channel nonetheless lol
But generally more exposure to different works of art cannot be substituted. Watching other’s analysis can get you started on what to look for in other’s works but in the end you have to put the practice in yourself too.
Thanks!
This sounds a little like “decision paralysis” apparently also known as “analysis paralysis”. Basically, if you have an open ended situation where a variety of ideas would work, it can be hard to settle on a single option.
Not sure if that is a thing. From what I’ve been taught:
When you concentrate on something your brain will tend to use familiar thought patterns and not be creative.
When you relax and un-focus you get more creative.
So in a way you can’t try to deliberately come up with ideas. The way around it is to focus on something you want ideas about for a few hours, then get up and do something mindless, have a walk or a bath or something.
I knew a guy who had absolutely no creative ideas at all and couldn’t come up with any to save his life. He went into a career for making film and TV.
