Creativity and imagination

Good old-fashioned creativity and imagination are rolling around in my head this morning. Both, without the aid of AI.

I still believe in the endless possibilities of the power of imaginative daydreams to guide me through the creative process.

I credit my mother who read many books growing up and loved to daydream. She was an only child with no playmates. Although she didn’t choose to be a writer, she loved to read poetry and mystery novels. My father loved to read as well. His favorites were non-fiction and science fiction, as his choice of books to enjoy reading.

My parents met in the UCLA university library, where they both worked while attending school. Dad was a stock clerk, shelving books, and my mom worked at the front desk. They shared a love of books and started dating soon after they met.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, they hurriedly got married. He went off to war, joined the Air Force, and she moved back home with her mother. When the war was over, they found a house to live in and began living the American dream.

They both grew up during the Great Depression, dreaming of a life better than the ones they knew as children. They were daydreamers, sharing their love of books which helped shape my writing to this day.

As for me, I was considered an unusual kid, and still sometimes feel on the outside looking in. Daydreaming was my best coping mechanism as a child and remains the best thing going for me whenever times get tough.

I started writing poetry at age 13. My favorite poet at the time was Rod McKuen. He wrote a poem in a book called, “Listen to the Warm.” Instead of playing it cool, he encouraged his readers to engage the warm fuzzy feelings close to their hearts. My heart and spirit were uplifted by the poetry he wrote. His poetry helped me to stay in touch with my inner spirit.

Portrayed as a sorrowful loner, Rod knew the true meaning of the words sad and lonely. His poetry resonated with me, as I too, was a poet lost and alone.

Many years later, I reached out to a man behind the counter of a bookstore called Borders. I asked him to turn me on to the best poetry happening. He showed me a book by Charles Bukowski, and I fell in love with poetry all over again. He was what I called, the everyman’s poet and made me think I could write as well as he did.

I began writing poetry and sending it to many different poetry journals. Finally, in 2009, I had my first poem published in a journal called Backstreet Review. I was excited and hooked on the publishing game. After being published over 100 times, I thought I had found my niche.

Then, in 2016, I joined a writing site called Fanstory and was reintroduced to rhyming poetry. I have since found my niche in writing prose and essays. Yet, I still return to my roots of writing poetry from time to time.

When I think of the creative process and daydreaming I remember how Walt Disney daydreamed of making a theme park, and he made Disneyland a reality. Many other people from all walks of life, imagined fantastic ideas from daydreams to create a bigger reality than they thought possible.

George Lucas also comes to mind, as he daydreamed a futuristic space-themed series of movies that set the pace for the whole genre. Star Wars, and Return of the Jedi, are two of my favorite movies to watch when I want to enjoy fun-packed entertainment with plenty of action.

Searching for my internal creative imagination to write the perfect poem or essay, I hope to avoid all the pitfalls associated with AI. Imagination within the creative process is meant to rescind the superficial, and instead, gain the many creative complexities involved with writing anything worth reading.

Using my ‘choice’ daydreams as material for writing is the best way I know to keep my imagination active. An active imagination helps me to keep my pulse on the events of the day and turn them into commentaries fit to be published, or posted on Fanstory.

Poetry comes from the heart and soul of my internal being and is best written down on paper, with a pen or pencil, whichever is handy. Then, I transfer it to my laptop, where it often becomes a bigger and better poem with greater chances for entertainment and thought-provoking than previously imagined.

All in all, I still encourage writers to use their nature-given talent and creativity without the use of artificial intelligence. It’s best to stay real and keep it real for as long as we can.

There might be a time in the future when robots write poetry for us. I shudder to think of that day, and hope others will rise and speak out for reality, instead of this other futuristic nonsense.