Creativity Jumpstart: Projective Identification

It's said that a problem or premise can be viewed from two distinctive points of view -- the observer viewpoint and the merged viewpoint. Today's creativity method focuses on the second viewpoint.

The merged viewpoint occurs when you become the object of the observation. You become the subject of your observation, and you observe from the point of view of your subject. This is referred to as projective identification.

Projective identification can be purely fantasy:

What's it like to be a potato about to become French fries?
How does it feel like to be a gum stuck in a shoe?
Imagine what it's like to be an ink cartridge.

Or it can be empathetic:

Seeing the situation through a laborer's eyes
Getting inside the skin of an AIDS victim
Being in the shoes of a chronically depressed person

For your creative activity today, write 2 short texts (100-200 words) using projective identification for the following:

Fantasy: What's it like to be a picture frame?
Empathetic: Being in the shoes of a petty thief.

Here’s a list to try this creative method on. Write in the voice or perspective of the following:

a banana about to go bad
a woman unable to conceive
a spare tire
a harassed telephone operator
a Band-Aid
an owner whose business is about to go bankrupt
a blank diskette
a guy about to break up with his girlfriend
a computer keyboard
a woman about to give an answer to a marriage proposal

About Shery: Shery is the creator of WriteSparks!™- a software that generates over 10 *million* Story Sparkers for Writers. Download WriteSparks!™ Lite for free at http://writesparks.com

If you want 3 writing *sparks* delivered to you every day for 31 days, check out WriteSparks!™ Daily HERE for info on how to get started -- it's free :o)

Thank you for reading. Keep writing!

The Stories for Children show 11/14 by WorldOfInkNetwork | Blog Talk Radio

Blog Talk Radio’s World of Ink Network Show: Stories for Children will be chatting with award-winning authors Natasha Yim and Gretchen Maurer. Natasha Yim’s current book, Cixi, The Dragon Empress and Gretchen Maurer’s current book, Mary Tudor, “Bloody Mary” are two of the six books (all written by different authors) in Goosebottom Books’ series, The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Dastardly Dames. The series profiles six women in history who have earned dastardly reputations. The show will air live November 14, 2011 at 2pm EST. You can find out more about Natasha Yim and Gretchen Maurer’s World of Ink Author/Book Tour schedule at http://storiesforchildrenpublishing.com/YimandMaurer.aspx The Stories for Children show 11/14 by WorldOfInkNetwork | Blog Talk Radio

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VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

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