< previous page page_104 next page >

Page 104
Making Them Concrete
Avoid vague images in your picture-making. Use only down-to-earth, everyday objects.
Making Them Dynamic
Your pictures should indicate movement. A bustling scene is better than a quiet and still landscape.
The First to Spring to Mind Are Often the Best
The first pictures which spring to mind are often the best. This will, to some degree, be due to the fact that if you reject the first picture to come to mind and choose another, there will be some retroactive interference from the first picture you thought of. Retroactive interference is distortion of stored material as a result of materials stored previously. If you reject one idea after another before deciding on a picture, your stored picture will be subject to several sources of distortion.
Exploiting the Absurd.
Remember that we tend to recall humorous things best. Don't forget, therefore, to exploit the absurd in your picture.
Advantages and Disadvantages
As with all memory techniques, there are advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages
One of the main advantages of a visual representation over a verbal one is that you can scan the whole picture more or less at once. With a story, however, you have to chug through it from start to finish. Random access to material is, therefore, more readily available in visual representation.
Some people will feel more at home building a picture than building a story. It depends where their best talents lie.
Disadvantages
Some people may find it a little difficult to decide where to put each image in the picture. In contrast, the story method does not present such dilemmas. The sequence in which you link things must be the sequence in which you hear or see them. This sequential method of linking can, however, also be used in formulating a picture.

 
< previous page page_104 next page >

If you like this book, buy it!