July 10, 2012 - Guest Blogger Nancy Napier

Hi friends & writers,

I was an Army Brat growing up so moving was just part of life. To remember the places I was leaving, I became good at taking “mind photos.” I still use the technique today (see below), especially when I write about a place.

I just returned from two weeks in Hanoi, Vietnam, and the morning I left I took a mind photo of the mannequins in shops selling skinny faded jeans or ethnic shirts or polyester business suits. The male torsos are big and square and the heads look like praying mantis heads without eyes, pointy and far too small in proportion to the torsos. They are shiny like black lacquer and since every store on Hang Gai uses them, the mannequin supplier in Vietnam must do a bang up business. The female mannequins are shiny white, with helmet hair heads and, if they are lucky, hands with long fingers. Too many, though, are handless, chopped off like thieves. 

~ Nancy Napier

PROCESS: MIND PHOTOS

A mind photo is simply that – a snapshot, usually small, that’s in your mind, not on a camera. Nothing big, nothing flashy, just a quick snapshot, tucked away for possible future viewing. For me, it was the narrow stone garage under our house at 15A Forsyth Avenue in Fort Riley, Kansas, made for an old car or horse carriage, not for a Chevy Impala.  Or, it was the school bus rocking back and forth in the morning when the older kids sang, “Under the Boardwalk.”  I imagined the bus step rocking away from me as I tried to step up.

Try this: Take a mind photo of something you see today and file it away for later use.

FEATURED VENUE: BREVITY

Brevity is an online journal that looks for short snappy nonfiction pieces, 750 words or less.  Good for reading, good in a classroom, and good examples for many of us.  

Submission guidelines here: http://brevitymag.com/submissions/

PROMPT

Take a mind photo of your desk and then write about one item on it that you forgot you had. (8 min)

GUEST BLOGGER BIO: I’m Nancy Napier, professor at Boise State University.  I study creativity a particular Gang…not your normal gang, but rather one of high performing, highly creative organizations that happen to be based in Boise, Idaho…..learn more from my books and blog:

My latest books....

 The Creative Discipline: The Art and Science of Innovation (2008)

 Insight: Encouraging Aha Moments for Organizational Success (2010)

My blog....
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/creativity-without-borders