Article Writing – My Magic Idea Generator
Website design By BotEap.comFor years I have tried to create an automatic program to generate ideas for writing. As a professional programmer, I had an idea of how to generate code in my preferred programming language. I was wondering if I could somehow turn that virtual code maker into a virtual word generator. I wanted to create a mental program that could easily generate ideas. I searched the internet for ideas and then explored various suggested methods. Mind Mapping was one of the first. The idea of the mind map left me unsatisfied. There were too many rules. Somehow my mind flowed differently.
Website design By BotEap.comIt did not start from a central point and flowed from points around a circle. And the “one word, one line” rule seemed to leave me blank. My mind flows randomly. I like to write freehand, dropping the words as they fall from my head to the page. They flow onto the page as fast as my pen ink allows. They flow onto the page as complete sentences and ideas, not just single words. And the ideas are random and flow naturally on a page. I gave this method the name ‘random trail mapping’. In my quest for self-development, I studied the methods of hypnosis. I was fascinated by the guided meditation scripts.
Website design By BotEap.comThese scripts usually tell you a story that leads you down a path or suggests that you imagine a favorite place to relax. Hypnosis requires you to fully focus on one idea. My creative juices just weren’t flowing as I focused on a single point. During this search, I noticed that whenever I did some activity that did not fully occupy my mind, such as driving, walking or exercising, I reflected on my programming problems and often found excellent solutions. The activities themselves only required a small percentage of my immediate attention. And then I realized that this was my magic idea generator.
Website design By BotEap.comDo a physical activity that requires little immediate brain attention while letting your mind wander or ponder whatever it is. One of my favorite activities is sitting at the kitchen table overlooking my wife’s beautiful flower garden. Over the years, our backyard has become more isolated from the neighbors as the trees planted by them grow larger. This gives me the feeling of walking through the woods or being alone to meditate. In sunlight it is extremely liberating. While my eyes see flowers and my ears hear birds, my mind goes from one thought to another. It’s those random thoughts, those creative gems that I write down right away. The generator is not a device like a program. You put yourself in a situation that relaxes your body while stimulating your creative mind. Controlling your mind may simply mean that you let it wander aimlessly while focusing your physical senses on something else. My mistake in the past has been to focus on generating ideas. Now, I know that just living day to day, just doing my usual activities, the activities that I enjoy, is the best, my generator of magical ideas.