This is one of my favorite topics, because it combines my two professions: author and music teacher!

When I started my degree in Music Education, I felt like a bit of an imposter because I did not like classical music. Now ‘classical’ is a broad term – encompassing hundreds of years of music history – but I was not a fan of most of it. A requirement of my major was to attend seven recitals every semester. Ugh… seven! I had some favorites, like the percussion ensemble, and seeing the musical. I have enjoyed choral music and I even enjoyed singing classical music, but I just did not want to listen to it.

An oxymoron, I know.

But somewhere near the end of my first year, I stumbled upon a way to truly enjoy myself: imagination. There may be some out there saying “Duh!” but for me it was a revelation! While sitting in the recital hall listening to others perform, I would allow my mind to wander and try to discover what story the music was telling me. Was it a great romance? A battle? A journey?

I came to the realization that every piece of music has a story. Again, not exactly a ground breaking idea, but it really did help me to enjoy what I was listening to.

Now as we grow, our tastes change. I no longer have an aversion to the genre and I do truly enjoy many classical pieces. But what I learned through my experience, is to use my imagination. Some of the ideas that turned into Dawn of Fire came from sitting in those recitals.

One of my favorite activities to do with my middle school students is when introducing a new piece of music, I ask them what story they would write to accompany it. Or, if this is a movie, what would be happening? I love the answers I get back! It makes me very happy to see that there are so many creative, imaginative students out there!

When I was a kid, I vividly remember spending hours sitting in my moon chair by the window making up stories in my head. Usually creating a character like myself at the center of my story – but that was one of my favorite pass times. I never told anyone what I was doing though, because I thought they would make fun of me.

When I taught younger students, some of their favorite games involved imagination. I remember creating a ‘choose your own adventure’ type game where we were pretending to be on a ship. Unbeknownst to them the ship would eventually sink and they would have to choose how they were going to survive. I had sound effects playing from a speaker and little cards with different supplies written on them, but other than that, it was all up to the imagination. To my surprise, they loved it enough that they wanted to play again, and again, and again! I then had to use even more creativity to make up another story on the spot since we had already gone through my prepared scenario.

Now, I love movies and books and absorbing content, but there is so much out there that sometimes we don’t feel the need to use our imaginations. You many be saying, “Well I used imagination when I was a kid, but I don’t need it anymore.” I disagree! When you problem solve and use a creative solution, aren’t you using your imagination? When you use a tool outside of its designed purpose, isn’t that using imagination?

One definition of Imagination from Oxford Languages is: “the ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful.”

Not a definition we usually think of. By fostering the imagination in children, we are able to give them creative problem solving skills as adults.

Imagination, it isn’t just for kids!

But what does this have to do with writing? When I create the scenes in my book, I see them in my head. I watch my book like a movie and I write down what I see. There are times when I need a little help, when my imagination doesn’t quite have the image to correspond. So I have a folder in my Drive with a few pictures to help me along in my descriptions. But for me, that is the fun part of writing!

Not everyone’s mind works the same way, but everyone is capable of imagination and creativity. It just looks different in all of us.

So, if I may wrap this up with a challenge; how can you use your imagination? How are you creative in every day life? There are many different types of creativity, and they are all incredibly valuable.

How do you use your imagination?