Zoom in, zoom out
An exercise in changing our perspective
Advice is great, but advice on its own won’t make you a better writer. We become better writers by writing and it’s always easier to write when we’re inspired. To that end, a creative prompt using an ordinary item.
Zoom in, zoom out
Changing our perspective is one technique that can be helpful in our writing, creativity, and even our overall life.
Stuck in a rut? Zoom in.
Caught up in the minutiae? Zoom out.
Let’s practice.
We’ll start with a zoomed-out view
What do you see when you look at this picture? Take a few minutes to explain the scene, create a little commentary in your mind.
Don’t move on until you’ve come up with your perspective. When you’re ready, scroll down…
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Now, let’s zoom in to a specific part of the scene
What do you see when you look from this perspective? Take a few minutes to explain the scene, create a little commentary in your mind.
Did you notice the boy before? How does he change now that he’s the only face in the picture? What other details are you noticing? How does the scene or the story change?
Don’t move on until you’ve come up with your perspective. When you’re ready, scroll down…
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Let’s zoom in even farther to a specific part of the scene
What do you see when you look from this perspective? Take a few minutes to explain the scene, create a little commentary in your mind.
Now that this is the only part of the image you see, what has changed. What do you see now that you didn’t see before?
Did you notice the way he’s holding his hands?
What about the coffee cup?
The single blue block?
The flowering pillow behind him?
The pocket on his shirt?
What new story can you tell?
Don’t move on until you’ve come up with your perspective. When you’re ready, scroll down…
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Now, let’s zoom back out to a different part of the picture
What do you see when you look from this perspective? Take a few minutes to explain the scene, create a little commentary in your mind.
Did you remember there was a guitar in the room? What changes about the guitar now that there are no people in the scene? What story can you tell?
Don’t move on until you’ve come up with your perspective. When you’re ready, scroll down…
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Let’s go crazy and zoom in even farther to a very specific detail
There’s a single sticker on the guitar case. It appears to be an upright bass or cello. If this was the only part of the picture you could see, what story would you tell? What else do you know about the case from this hyper zoomed-in perspective?
Don’t move on until you’ve come up with your perspective. When you’re ready, scroll down…
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Let’s do one more ultra zoom in on one other detail
A single train car was on the table the whole time. Did you notice that? It’s the only train for the entire track. But it’s slightly off the track and perhaps about to fall off the table. How does this change your perspective? What story can you tell now?
Don’t move on until you’ve come up with your perspective. When you’re ready, scroll down…
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Lastly, let’s zoom back out to the original perspective.
What’s changed in your mind? Does the scene feel any different? Are there other things you notice? Go back and look at your original story - would you change anything about it?
Changing our perspective can be a very helpful tool to bring us new inspiration, break us out of ruts, and shake up the ordinary.
What did you think? How did you like this exercise? Share your thoughts and stories by clicking the “Leave a comment,” button below.
P.S. Special thanks to HiveBoxx for the photo (did you notice their boxes during the exercise?)
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