Tombstone, Arizona, Photo Prompts  Posted June-1-2007
Inspiring the Creative Outlaw in YOU!
One way we can deepen the experiences of our lives and relish in the details is by writing about them. This can be done in any number of ways no matter how skilled you think you are as a writer. (Trust me, if you can write an e-mail, then you can do this.)
Whether you choose to use a private diary or journal or share your experiences with others on a Web site or blog, capturing meaningful events can be as easy as writing the context around a souvenir, memento, or photograph through narrative, historical story-telling, personal essay, or a combination of these.
Here's one way I've done this: Last fall I spent three weeks in Southwest Arizona visiting family, sightseeing, and taking in the wonders of the arid desert and historical Old West. Along with my personal memories, I have hundreds of digital photos and an overflowing journal I wrote in every day for two weeks. This trip was a rich life-changing experience for me on so many levels; one that continues to provide seeds for my creative work.
So in addition to my personal essay writing, to make good use of these seeds I've began a series of southwest writing prompts on the Creativity Portal Web site. Tombstone, Arizona, is the first in the series and also functions as a digital scrapbook page from my life. How so? The photos I chose of Tombstone and the prompts that sprang forth from them are a projection of my experiences: what I found meaningful in the city, its evolving culture, and ghosts from its past. Eight prompts are only a sampling of what I carry within me from this trip, but you get the idea.
When you think about it, much creative expression springs forth from personal experience. Whether you create something in an art medium, write a piece in a particular genre, or invent a product that makes a task easier, this manifesting thoughts into things communicates our own ideas, understandings, questions, and quandaries. Whatever "it" is, it's a projection of our inner-ness, and for some, this is the core of creativity. •
© 2007 Chris Dunmire www.chrisdunmire.com. All rights reserved. |
