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Story Ideas – The Power of 1 Bright Idea
By Deb Gallardo
Ideas — they are always “out there” in the air, surrounding us, but the problem is, ideas are often INVISIBLE until we put on special “idea eyeglasses” that make the invisible suddenly clear. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about story ideas, invention ideas, problem solution ideas or What-am-I-going-to-cook-for-dinner-tonight ideas.
Without an idea, frankly, nothing would ever happen. We would have no goods of any kind, no technology. We’d still be wearing homespun clothing made from cloth on primitive looms operated in peasant hovels.
This blog is normally focused on STORY ideas, but today I want to focus on the impact an idea can have, and why it is so important for us as writers to pursue ideas, to court them, if you will. What inspired this post was an article from the Denver Post about a serial inventor who finally hit on a big, BIG idea.
In western civilization we take light for granted. But for about 1.6 BILLION people in other parts of the world, electricity does not currently generate light. The amount of monetary investment just for the infrastructure to get power to those people is staggering. We’ve had over 100 years of electricity spreading throughout the countrysides in the western world.
Hard as it is to conceive, to read or otherwise function indoors during the nighttime hours, a billion and a half more people than live in the U.S. must use kerosene, wood or candles to produce light after dark. Until now.
Enter an eternal tinkerer and his visionary idea for a solar light bulb. Yes, you read that correctly — a solar-powered light bulb. Thomas Edison would be proud and impressed.
The biggest issue for this project has been how to produce the light bulbs so they’re affordable. Technically they don’t even require a lamp in order to work, just someplace to hang the bulb.
As a result of this one idea, third-world countries will be able to go a little bit green while reducing fossil fuel emissions. How much better can it get?
Much better. What about providing clean drinking water for people in these same places?
A compassionate inventor had a bright idea for how to provide safe drinking water through use of special “straws” that safely filter water from almost any source. One straw lasts one person a year. These are given out freely by various charitable and religious organizations. Considering that over 2 million people die each year from water-borne disease, most of them children, this personal, portable water purifier is a brilliant invention. It came from an inspired idea.
So don’t be afraid to dream big, to become inspired beyond what you “know” is possible. You don’t have to be an inventor, you just need to have your “idea glasses” on to see the ideas floating around you if you’ll just pay attention.
Here are links about these two bright ideas.
Solar Light Bulb Article – Denver Post Clean Drinking Water Video
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