Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-11-01
The Haskin Letter !,
By
= j. HASKLM
STIMULATING THE IMAGINATION.

grades of imagination. We quote her
d;v;sions OF imagination here because
If. nav be of interest to the reader to
classify his own creative faculty.
The divisions are: ~ The inert
Imagination; 90 the stereotyped mag
nation: 81 the melodramatic magma
ton: AZ the generalizing imagination;
90 the particularizing imagination;
(8) the ingenious or inventive magma
ton.
The last class contains persons who
construct an unusual and interesting
situation from a hint such as the per-
sonals give. They avoid the obvious
conclusion which the stereotyped imag-
nation seizes upon. Their IMAGINATION
is stimulated easily. They do not re-
iect the plot germ in q personal as
trivial or meaningless, as the inert
imagination does.
The generalizing type of imagination
is not specific enough for fiction and
the results on paper are apt to be alb
stractions. This sort Of imagination
usually ACCOMPANIES the scientific turn
of mind.
The particuIarizing imagination, on
the other hand, is of real assistance to
fiction writing. The person who notes
the little things thta distinguish people
and situations has fiction material if
he can use it skillfully. When the fifth
and sixth types are combined the pos
SCISSOR has a promising equipment for
creating stories.
The individual who regards himself
as lacking in imagination may be en-
couraged by the fact that this faculty
can, to some extent, be developed. In
a recent book on the subject. Drs.
Slosson and Downey explain their ex-
periments in training, as well as test
ing. the creative imagination. They
point out that certain famous artists
deliberately stimulated their creative
impulse by devices: =.
!sManv of the minor eccentricities of
genius appear to be the outcome of
accidental discoveries of ways of in
creasing brain activity. Rousseau and
Shelley were given to exposing the
barred head TO the hottest of midday
suns: and Whitman wrote much of his
Leaves Of Grass while prone upon
the white sands of a Long Island beach,
with such a sun as only seems to blaze
there"
Music and CoIors Stimulate
DIR. Dovney further points out that
Darwin found scientific reflections
StlTnuIlCP0 Dy MuSitr anu thob NaShNA .
sense of the dramatic was heightened
by the presence of rich fabrics and col
ors. j.,
Undoubtedly, different brains respond
to the stimulation Of different senses.
DR.. Downey tried experiments with
combinations of odors on students. Alu
sic was similarly employed to see
! whether themes would suggest striking
personalities or dramatic situations To
the students. Setting small groups of
| writer's to composing a story together
was still another experiment. Some
well known writer's have produced their
best work by the social stimulation
gained through collaboration.
The experiments were not conducted
by the college professors so much for
the purpose Of making scientific tables
as to show the students the character
of their imagination and its possibili,-
ties. Devices such rs those mentioned.
the two professors call gynnastic ex-
e~rcises for the imagination. When the
subject is explored further We may
find that such exercises can be reduced
to a scientific daily dozen for the busy
and ambitious fiction writer. de has
already the classical precedent of the
t"AIice in Wonderland queen who found
il helpful to imagine three Impossible
things before breakfast.