Digital Image Editing (WK1) - Creativity Exercise: The “Object Time Traveler” Game

Hey everyone! I wanted to do a fun, low-stress creativity exercise this week, and I think this fits the bill. This should only take 3 minutes, and who doesn't have 3 minutes to essentially daydream? It was pretty simple once I decided on an object, which was truthfully the most difficult part (but it wasn't that difficult, I promise anyone can do this one).

The “Object Time Traveler” Game

Goal: Practice imaginative flexibility and storytelling

Steps:

1. Look around you and pick any everyday object (a pen, mug, charger, plant, etc.).

2. Imagine that object has just time-traveled from another era, past or future.

3. In 3 minutes or less, write or say out loud:

        - What time it came from

        - Who used it

        - What role it played in their life

        - Why it ended up here, now

*Optional twist: Describe how it’s slightly different from a normal version because of its origin.

 

As an example, here's what I came up with when I tried this exercise:

I picked a quill pen, the kind used for calligraphy. But when I imagined it coming from the 1600s, it turned magical. The feather’s dark near the tip, almost burnt, and I imagined that when you move it around in the light, it gives off this faint green shimmer. I pictured it belonging to an apothecary who secretly wrote spells in between their recipes for herbal medicine. The ink smelled like sage, partly to hide the magic, partly because that’s just what the original owner had lying around. As for how it got here, I imagined someone digitizing an old herbal remedy book, and somehow the quill slipped through a portal in the pages in the process, like it heard the person digitizing the pages calling to it unintentionally, and followed their words into the present. 

By doing this exercise, I learned how quickly you can create a story and get your creativity flowing once you have a jumping-off point. I've done a few exercises similar to this one, and I found this one easier because of the short time limit (others are usually between 5-15 minutes). The 3 minutes went by REALLY quickly once I got started, and I think the most important thing I learned is that when it's a storytelling exercise, there really are no rules. The only limitations are your imagination. As someone who needs structure, but is also one of those "wouldn't it be weird if...(insert something outlandish here)" people, I find these to be really helpful in letting myself indulge in the silly/outrageous thoughts for a few minutes.

Until next time!