I love stores for ideas, because they're everywhere. The ideas, not the stores, I mean. Stores *are* everywhere, but what I meant is that you can walk in a store and there are ideas literally lying around on shelves and hanging from the walls. That's my idea of a fertile idea-ground, a great creativity resource.
The obvious idea-generator in stores is the people; they're usually very interesting, and just watching people can occupy me for hours.
But if you're in a store, you're in a veritable warehouse full of ideas. From the way the soda cans are stacked, to the way the shoe department is organized, to the color of the walls, to the name of a product on the shelf.
If you're in a store, you can probably come up with five good ideas in five minutes. Maybe they're not all "usable" ideas in your current situation, but that doesn't keep them from being good ideas.
Next time you're stuck for an idea, try this.
Get your problem or issue firmly in mind, and go to the grocery store, looking for ways to resolve your dilemma.
Don't look hard, either.
Look soft.
Look in curves, not straight lines.
If you see the butcher putting meat out on the discount rack, what does that tell you? Could you discount your product, or offer it for a limited time? I once heard a butcher in the grocery store tell a customer that once meat has been on the shelf for 24 hours, it has to be discounted. How can you use this?
Stores are great idea fields. Use them.
**Children**
I think children are great. I have two, and I love them. Sometimes they're annoying, but I can live with that. There are dozens of things I love about them, but one of those things is how great they are at coming up with ideas.
If you don't have an 8-year-old and an 11-year-old in your house, you might want to borrow some when you're feeling "idea-dry."
Just tell the kids, "I'm thinking about doing something like. . ." and see what they come up with.
My son is helping me with a video game idea I want to develop. He's an 11-year-old gamer, and he's got some great ideas.
My daughter, 8, has helped me more than once in choosing a design. She has impeccable taste, and if she likes a logo or a book design, I usually end up going with it. Of course, she usually says "I kind of like it," until I prod her for higher praise, but I can live with that.
If you have kids in your life, use them in your creative work.
**Eavesdropping**
Okay, *this* is my favorite creative technique. I love to go to restaurants, stores, coffee houses, even the library and eavesdrop.
Some people don't feel "quite right" about eavesdropping on other people's conversations, but I get some of my best ideas from other people's words. I have used many snippets of conversation in short stories and my unpublishable novel.
My very favorite snippet of overheard conversation is over a decade old. My husband and I use it as an inside joke, but someday, I'm going to use it, because it's just too good to leave out of something I write.
We were in the grocery store and overheard an elderly woman and her middle-aged daughter. The older woman was in a wheelchair and trying to tell her daughter what she wanted to buy. The daughter said, "Kroger's a name brand."
To this day, I think that's one of the funniest things I've ever heard.
