15*15 CREATIVITY EXERCISE SERIES — 9

Create 15 imaginary settings and scenes that evoke different emotions

This is your opportunity to go on creative adventures of scenario writing

Ladies and gentlemen;

In this series (15*15), I am very excited to design and present you 15 adventures and challenges in 15 days. The goal of these challenges is to help you expand your imagination and exercise your muscles of creativity.

I am developing these challenges in real-time — I hope you do enjoy and benefit from these exercises. And I hope you are not tired! This is the 9th day and 9th installment of that series.

This challenge builds on an earlier article I have written on doors and creativity. You can read it here:

In this challenge, you will imagine a magic door that can open to any time, any scene, or any world you can think of.

You will think of 15 settings or scenes or scenarios you will travel to. Each setting and scenario will evoke a different emotion for the traveler (you!)

You will be creating stories, scenarios, and settings inspired or prompted by the following door (i.e. keywords and emotions):

1. Fun
2. Nostalgia
3. Anxiety
4. Disgust
5. Surprise
6. Relaxation
7. Happiness
8. Adventure
9. Gloom & Doom
10. Stimulation
11. Anger
12. Success, Pride, & Celebration
13. Wonder & Enchantment
14. Joy & Bliss
15. Fun & Laughter

Think like a writer and imagine 15 journeys and stories. Each story will unfold as you travel through that door.

For the purposes of this exercise, please do not delve into too much detail though. Aim for 3–4 minutes of writing for each scene. You do not need to put the details of each scene or event sequence. Try to write down the minimum viable scene/story or provide just a snapshot (or you might list several bullet points). If you want to delve in and go deeper, leave it for later.

Try to come up with 15 different scenes/stories prompted by each portal — follow the words/emotions on each portal.

Is this scene indoors or outside? Is it light or dark, large or small, cold or warm? How does the setting evoke these emotions? Which objects or furniture or scenery elements might best represent these emotions? What type of characters or events/situations might evoke these feelings?

If you want to get further inspiration and suggestions on how to create good settings and write good scenes, check out the following guides:

You will benefit a lot from exercising your creative muscles and getting out of your comfort zone. We need to give our brain creative challenges every day. If we make this a habit, the process will help us rewire our brains to be more open to creativity.

You will also experience a lot of ambiguity and uncertainty — because this is an activity which requires going out of your comfort zone.

It is important to start very small and treat these exercises as pure play. They are small experiments in imagination. They work much better if you stop judging your work and obsessing over the quality of your writing.

Remember: All masterpieces start with small steps. Small actions are all that you need. You will instantly jump in the water without thinking. Thinking too much hurts your creativity because it paralyzes you. Every creative act starts with taking a leap of faith into the unknown. Each time you jump into the unknown makes you more adventurous, confident, open, and creative.

See you in the tenth episode of this journey tomorrow.

I hope we can all be good storytellers and writers.

Fahri

Fahri Karakas is the author of the Self-making Studio. You can explore more here.