Look Through Childlike Eyes to be a Better Writer

It's not the content you write, it's how you tell the story.

A psychological study showed that adults pair apples with bananas but kids pair the same bananas with monkeys. As we grow and mature, we become the sum of all our past experiences and education.

We are no strangers to the fact that public schooling lumps all young minds together and teaches according to an antiquated set of rules. by the time we are out in the world we lump similar things together based on rules we have been taught- not the natural way our untouched pristine young minds see the same things. We are conditioned to look at the world through a lens that the powers that be decided is best for us, but in reality is the cookie cutter easy and lazy, but proven, way for them.

This leads us to go with the flow and not question, and we end up doing everything the same way as everyone else with an underlying attitude of why fix whats not broken.

If you look back throughout history you can see that the ones we remember are the ones who did things differently. They were called rebels, crazy and separatists, anything to deter the public from taking them seriously, and many were treated as outlaws and shunned or even killed for going against the grain and defying the rules.

But the ones who did it differently are the ones who have a chapter in the history books. And strangely enough, made a change. And we now follow them.

There are many rules in our reality, writing is no different. Some rules you must abide by, like you can't just walk into your neighbor's house and take his television or dinner. That would not get you very far past the local jail. But many rules have wiggle room and some rules no longer serve a purpose (such as double spacing) and are overdue for an overhaul.

Children look at the world with an untouched innocence. They see the world as it truly is, with no cloudy preconceived notions. This is why they ask so many questions. We adults, on the other hand, believe we are all grown up and have stopped questioning.

Does an apple belong side by side with a banana? They are totally different foods, and although they can taste yummy when paired, perhaps the monkey finds the banana yummier? The banana might pair better with the monkey- you son't know until you try.

I urge you to question everything.

Not only will it help you understand your world on a deeper level, it will show you holes in the system that are begging to be filled.

Don't be afraid to do things differently when it makes sense. And don't be afraid to experiment.