Where do Ideas come from

Often I am asked questions about a great variety of subjects - which often end up as articles I write and publish on Caramel and Parsley, but Abbey (my 10-year-old niece in Australia) asked where my ideas come from and if I used a computer program to help me write (brainstorm) my articles. I had not really thought about that. So where do ideas come from and how can we learn to express ourselves so that people who read our stories and articles also understand.  This is simply my point of view and here is my answer to Abbey.

I am still learning.
~ Michelangelo

Dear Abbey

Thank you so much for your email. To answer your questions. My ideas come from a multitude of sources and circumstances and no, not from a computer program. Simply I like to have an explanation for why something is the way it is! I guess I am just a Curious Lizzie! Here are some of my “sources” :

• Often I read about a happening in the news which I don't understand or feel it is too complicated
• If something is "broken" I search to find out how to help make it better or find out if I can fix it
• I may find out something new (or old) and want to know more about it
• Perhaps if something upsets me and I feel it is just “not right” that stimulates me to find out more and write an article
• Simply sometimes I ask myself “what can I do?” (to help)
• There are a multitude of other sources : when travelling (to Denali), shopping for something (Curcumin or Turmeric), meeting or hearing of interesting people or stories (The Starfish story), going to a new place (Skimmerhorn Winery), visiting another country (Australia), learning something new (crab fishing) and countless other topics of interest.
• Or perhaps when someone asks a question I try to find out about the subject – just like you did Abbey
• ..... and limited only by our own imaginations!

Oh, the THINKS you can think up
if only you try!
Think! Think and wonder,
Wonder and think
There are so many THINKS
that a Thinker can think!
Think left and think right
and think low and think high.
Oh, the THINKS you can think up
if only you try!

Dr. Seuss
“Oh, the THINKS You can Think! (1975)

Writing an article can be just like a puzzle

• How (does it work or how did it get that way and how does it affect my family, the world etc)
• Where (does it come from or go to)
• What (on earth is that!)
• When (did that happen)
• Why (should it be that way... and is there a better way)

For myself, and many others, writing an article comes from asking and answering the questions  ~ how, where, what, when and why.

Ideas & Puzzles

When actually writing and putting words on paper it can be difficult to express emotions and feelings accurately so that your thoughts become the readers and they understand your point of view. Although they may not necessarily agree with you! Most people who write for a living spend years at school learning how to do this and for many it is simply hard work which takes many hours. And now you and many thousands of others know my writing "secrets".

There is so much to learn – in fact it's never ending - I think an excellent way to learn is to keep asking questions and then find the answer! And that is what a riddle is! I am sure you are already learning how to write stories and solve riddles at school and I look forward to reading them. Thank you for asking Abbey – this article is just for you! Look forward to seeing you soon.

Love from Auntie Lizzie (in Canada)

Notes

• It's important, whatever you write, to be original and use your own thoughts and words
• People go to schools and universities for many years to learn “how to write”
• I think the more a person reads - it helps  them to think and write
• There is always something new to learn. For example, I learned something new this week – that antibiotics are used to grow fruit and vegetables
• More about riddles next time
• Questions and puzzles are similar – You like riddles and I play Sudoku and read mysteries I try to solve

References

• Dr. Seuss (all)

Here is a riddle to work out before the next article:

I don't have lungs or a chest, but need air.
I am not alive,  but I grow.
I don't have a mouth and I'm allergic to water.
What am I?