It's Already Inside You

When people want me to go somewhere with them, they always use the same line: "it will give you things to write about." I hate it when people say that to me. Mostly because it's crap.

"But Kevin, how come?"
Any creative writer is a pretty good what-ifer. They can take a situation and think of a dozen possible causes, a dozen possible stories of what is going on, and a dozen possible outcomes, all without even trying. I don't need to go out and see the world to come up with things to write about. I can come up with plenty of things to write about all on my own.

"But Kevin, can't they give you new ideas?"
Yes and no. If you see something in the world that you have absolutely never seen before, then yes. But these ideas are not unique to the real world. If you explore the realm of possibility thoroughly enough, you will eventually come up with these ideas and situations. You may be upset to find that somebody else already came up with it first, or that somebody else has personally lived through it, but the point is that you still came up with it on your own.

"Damn, Kevin. Is there any positive side to living in the world around you?"
Of course there is. For one thing, it lets you act like a human being. It makes you leave your safe, comfortable writing space, as well as letting you destress from everything you've been doing. But you probably meant in terms of writing. In that case, going outside can act as a catalyst. Sure, we can think of anything with enough time and thought, but we often get stuck in certain loops or themes. We also get stuck in the mentality of what we would do in a situation instead of what the character might do, or what might happen to the character without even expecting it. This is where the real world is helpful. When you have one of those "this is too insane to be real" moments or "I never would have thought of that" moments, then the world has done your work for you. In that case, sit back and cash in on that jackpot.