Last time I named these obliques, ways of looking at a problem from a different angle:
- What would it look like made of sheet metal? (My mother’s and grandmother’s question, married to tin smiths)
- Where’s the puce?
- If it were a pig in Angry Birds, how would I attack it?
- Are there mores I need to ignore here?
- What does it look like from above or below?
And I continue thus:
- What do I want to touch?
- Does it have a smell or a sense of smell?
- On a ladder, how high is it?
- Do my sons understand it better than I? How would they describe it?
- Is it bigger than a breadbox or know what a breadbox is?
- Brogans or stilettos?
- Where is the fear?
And speaking of fear, my analytical mind is telling me this is a silly waste of time, that these can never have any validation, could not possibly help, and if I put together a hundred of them I’ll never again look at the list. But my dreamer mind is saying, well, whispering, “Maybe…” so I’ll continue.
- Can it ride on ruby rails?
- Thinking of the last book I bought, how would it change this?
- What is the very first thing to do on it? The seventh?
- Why do I care?
- Toss aside the oughts, where are the wishes?
- Am I just doing this to avoid the one I know is the right answer? What would that be?
- Which superhero does it best?
- Which season of the year suits it?
- What period of history fits best?
- How do you explain the problem to a child?
- Tell an engineer what you want to do.
- Spin a romance novel plot around the issue.
- Who is the villain in the mystery?
- Did Mother have a generational curse? What?
- Did Daddy have a generational curse? Do I have it?
- What gifts (talents) have I received that I do not use?
- What gifts (presents) have I received that I do not use?
- What do I actively not want to do? Why?
- Go to the word of the day and see what it contributes.
- Go to the quote of the day and see what it contributes.
- Look at your favorite comic strip for today’s date.
- Pick up the last thing you write and choose only the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th and 25th words. Put those five words into a sentence about your issue.
- Why do I want to do this if I’m struggling with it so?
- Why do I not want to do this but say I do?
- State the word most closely related. Look up the synonyms of the word. Does that change anything?
- What four ideas do I want to get across.
- What’s the least I can do? Why haven’t I done it?
- What can I do in the next minute to advance this project?
- If it were a seven-piece set of Russian nesting dolls, how would each differ from the last and expand the entire idea?
- If you had or have an imaginary friend, what thoughts does the pal contribute?
- If you dropped the idea on a Monopoly board, where would you want it to land?
- Who do you want to work with you on this from among your friends? Why?
- Who do you want to work with you on this from among your family? Why?
- Who do you want to work with you on this from among famous people? Why?
- Who do you want to work with you on this from among your historical mortals? Why?
- Who do you want to work with you on this from among your fictional characters? Why?
- How would the little engine that could get over the mountain?
- What has convinced Henny Penny the sky is falling?
I’ll have more obliques to write, but next I’ll put these to a practical use and let you use them (and yours) to help me plan the next Silver Boomer Books anthology.