A picture is worth a thousand words – An exercise for creative writers

A picture is worth a thousand words...

For decades, centuries maybe, visual artists have drawn on this proverb to feel good while writers are left gazing at the 1000-word draft that took them a whole week to write. Not that there is any separation between writers and artists, but there is another way to look at this proverb, that crossed my mind.

 

Sometimes what one picture can say with its compact visual, even a thousand words struggle to express. This is true, indeed. But if you are a writer who is passionate about (or just interested in) writing, this proverb holds a brilliant exercise you can do, to enhance not just your writing, but also your mind.

 

For artists, the proverb presents a contracting exercise, where they have to condense lots of little elements into a single frame and present a big idea in a little space. For writers, on the other side, the proverb presents an expanding exercise. You can call it brainstorming.

 

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, this picture is a metaphorical treasure trove for you to explore ideas, new perspectives, and kick start your writing process each time you feel the block.

 

This is what I mean to say. Take one picture. It can be anything -  a photograph, an illustration, an AI image, a painting you found on Pinterest, a doodle you saved on Instagram, an ad poster, photo from a childhood album, or even your own selfie. Take this picture and take a good look at it. By good look, I mean, immerse your gaze in its details – the colors, the shadows, the patterns, the textures, the setting, the expressions (if there are characters). These details are potent triggers and prompts for you to get your sleeves rolling and dive into a whole writing project.

 

Imagine the possibilities.

 

One picture can help you write a thousand books. This idea can even trigger a dramatic iteration cycle between artists and writers. Artist will produce a picture, writer will write a thousand books, artist will read these books and produce a different picture, writer will again write a thousand books. And the process goes on…forever.

 

This is how just one idea, no matter how good or how boring it is, can generate a whole new universe that can function on an iterative, self-generating loop.

 

From a simple proverb to a writing exercise to a tantalizing possibility…

I am impressed. I am going to try out this exercise. If you too find it exciting, do let me know!