Profoundly Creative

Telling stories is how we connect with each other and make sense of the world. As parents, we ask our children to tell us about their day when they get home from school. When we meet someone new, we want to know where they’re from, what music they like, what shows they watch. We binge on TV shows and movies because we want to enter into other people’s lives and experience more than the small piece of the world we live in.

Creating stories allows us to expand our imaginations and try on new ways of being. Whenever I buy a lottery ticket, I inevitably start thinking about all the ways I could use the winnings. These are stories of future possibilities and alternative realities. What if? Why not?

Making up stories is a fun way to engage in creative play. Take the image below. Who are the characters? What happened in the lead up to this scene? What might happen next? What emotions does the image evoke?

Or this image—what do you imagine is happening? Who and where are they? Why?

I’d love to hear your version of these stories in the comments below.

If you’d like to try playing around with storytelling using photographs as prompts for creating dialogue, developing characters, and uncovering hidden secrets, join me on Sunday, March 30 for a free on-line storytelling workshop. Details and links to register here.