WORDS & THE ARTIST: creating verbal images

(viewer beware: contains language, both visual and verbal -- no double-think intended)

Ironically, I've never seen Pulp Fiction. But for this scenario, dear reader, I'm going to assume that you are more cultured than I and have watched said movie.

What did you think? How did it affect your perceptions of the movie? It's impact?

VERBAL IMAGERY

- sharpens the senses
- has a stronger impact
- puts to use multiple abilities of the viewer (cognate skills such as seeing, observing, reading, assimilating information, applying, assuming, drawing conclusions, appreciating, analyzing -- to name a few)

 But what if we were to take this kind of dual imagination and put it to use in a totally new context?

LET'S "IMAGINATE"

For example. Here is an apple.

What else do you think of when you HEAR the word apple? What do you see in your mind's eye?

Here's a few of my first thoughts:

Adam; Eden; snake; dunking; Newton; motion; f=ma; gravity; core; computer; Johnny Appleseed; recycling; compost; worms.........

Now let's assimilate like with like.

To wit:

Main idea: apple.

Branch: Adam. Twig - snake;

Branch: Newton. Twig - f=ma, gravity, motion

Branch: Core. Johnny Appleseed, recycling, compost, worms

etc.

Here is a visual communication of said mind map (from here)

So, for starters:

- know what it is you're mind mapping (ahem, yes); 
- branch off this subject with associated nouns; 
- then branch off these branches with less meaningful but still pertinent associations

WHERE IS THIS MAP HEADED?

That's the cool thing about maps - they are tools. We can use our mind map to route a path - wherever we'd like to go. We can compose a thesis much more easily; we can choose a perspective to pursue, an avenue of thought not really explored; we can take the highway straight to the goal or we can purposefully choose the scenic route (or you can REALLY take a segue)...

But the map guides us, gives us a clue as to where we came from, where we're at and where we're headed.

(Next stop: concept maps. Stay tuned, we'll be back after these few messages...)

Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love) on Nurturing Creativity