A Creativity Game (Part 1)

Today I want to play a creativity game. You don’t have to be a writer, and really, you don’t have to be an artist, to play along. Please join in, and post a link to your exercise in the comments. I’ll post mine next week so I don’t push you in any particular direction. I plan to use everyone’s results to answer a question (or rather explore a question) people often ask writers, whether they’re beginning (or experienced) writers themselves or just want to peer into the well of creativity because it fascinates them.

Have I intrigued you yet? I certainly hope so because I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with. The curiosity with creativity and creative results is not something I’ve ever outgrown, nor do I hope to.

So first a wee bit of background.

This exercise is not something that came out of a fancy book on creativity, or even a drawing class. I was enjoying a Sudoku, but didn’t have time to do another whole one. So instead, I drew a squiggle in the margin with my pencil. The squiggle looked lonely so I drew another and another until I decided I had a stem and wanted to draw a flower. So I did.

Trust me, it’s not work of art.

But it is a work of creativity. A glimpse into my mind.

And that’s exactly what I’m asking from you.

Take a random piece of paper, draw a bit of marginalia in a workbook, scribble on the brown paper bag covering your school books. You don’t need a drawing pad, or even a whole piece of paper. This isn’t an attempt to create art, though if you want to, feel free. This is a doodle. Put a random collection of marks on the page and let them grow.

Specifically, I do want you to doodle a flower. Bear with me and accept that there’s a point to it.

When you’re done, run it through a scanner, snap a picture with your phone, or use *GASP* a camera even. Load that picture to the Web and link to it in the comments so we can see what everyone did.

I know people are busy, I know people are reluctant to comment, but I really hope you’ll play along in this creative exercise. I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Oh, and don’t be shy. Doodles are by their very nature simple and sloppy :). If you’re willing for me to add your doodle to next week’s post along with mine, please say so. And if you don’t have a place to post it but still want to participate, drop me a note through my contact section and I’ll get the copy up for you.

And that’s it. Go forth and doodle.

Quick clarification: When I say doodle, I mean a sketch, drawing, whatever, that is not intended for a formal audience. Apparently, for you artists out there, having a defined subject before you start makes it a drawing not a doodle, so for you, please draw :).

Check out Part Two and Part Three

This entry was posted in Creativity Exercises, Inspirations, Just for Fun, Muse. Bookmark the permalink.

30 Responses to A Creativity Game (Part 1)

  1. jjmcgaffey says:

    Um, was that “do” or “don’t” want us to doodle a flower? Specifically, I do want you to doodle a flower as I did.

    I doodle quite a lot, but I have rather defined doodles…I’ll try doing it your way and see, but I suspect I’ll get a flower, a tree, or one of my geometrics.

    • Margaret McGaffey Fisk says:

      I removed the “I did” because it’s unnecessarily confusing. Yes, I want you to doodle a flower. How you do it is up to you :).

  2. Dawn says:

    I’m game. I doodled and will post mine after work tonight.

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  4. Mel says:

    Here’s mine:

    http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc32/melissima71/flowerfixed_zpsdea1ef6c.jpg

    Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

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  6. Karen says:

    How fun! I used to doodle more, usually eyes, oddly enough.
    Anyway here’s my doodle:
    http://rainydaywrite.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/flowerdoodle.jpg

  7. tambo says:

    Here’s mine. I draw it a LOT, actually, especially when my mind’s quietly humming on autopilot. 🙂 Usually the one flower, over and over in the available space, but sometimes I’ll ‘chain them’. I drew samples of both (and both are ‘single line’ drawings where my pen (ALWAYS in pen) never leaves the paper. 🙂

    http://tambocreates.blogspot.com/2013/01/posey-for-mar.html

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  9. Here’s mine. I doodle all the time, usually trees, or glasses and cups, or faces, or geometric shapes. One of the reasons I like fountain pens is that they’re better for doodling 😀

    http://bonniers.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/flower-doodle/

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  13. Jack Thomson says:

    I’m really not sure how I found this page. Not sure why I read the challenge, or why I even tried. I’m not an artist at all, I’m an engineer.

    There was a pad of paper sitting beside me, I was bored, so I grabbed a pen and did this in about a minute.

    http://www.tupperwareparty.ca/images/doodle.jpg

    I haven’t drawn anything (other than engineering schematics) for 16 years. I know because I remember the last one. Should I start again?

    • Margaret McGaffey Fisk says:

      I can’t answer whether you should start again, but if drawing offers an outlet, it might be worth giving yourself the choice. If you pop over to the next part, you’ll see my doodle. Don’t let the amazing artwork some of these other folks put together turn you off. The point is to let you see how your mind envisions the word flower, and by implication, how you have a unique picture. Sometimes you need to leave yourself open to a less rigid structure, which is the real difference between doodles and schematics in my mind. No consequences, no requirements, just pure creativity.

      Thank you for stopping by and participating. I enjoyed your vision, and I appreciate you letting my post inspire you to step off your normal path for a moment and experiment.

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