I love hats. My husband is not as fond of them–or he wasn’t. Now he owns five and wears them all the time.

At the Austin SCBWI conference one author said that she has different hats for different… I want to say kinds of books, like middle grade or picture books, but it could have been for different characters. As a fan of hats, I can see this being a good idea.

Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono is a group discussion tool. Each hat color means thinking in a particular way. Black hat means we are going to look for the faults. Red hat means what emotions are connected. Yellow hat means give us all the optimism, benefits, great points.

I can also see having hats in all six colors and wearing them to think about your idea or book or whatever.

Another author (not at the conference) recommended having a ritual to alert your psyche that it is time to write. He did not suggest this, but I like the idea of having a writing hat, maybe a thinking cap, too, and even a creativity hat.

We have hats for celebrations. Santa’s hat is recognizable by most of the Western world (and for all I know the rest, too). Birthday hats are a staple at many children’s parties.

We have hats for identity and recognition. Religious figures and royalty have head gear that identifies them. Mickey Mouse hats transform children into their favorite character. Witches wear hats. Cowboys wear hats. Uncle Sam wears a hat. Police officers’ hats are distinctive.

We have hats for ceremony. Brits still wear hats for weddings. Religious figures wear their hats for important events. We wear hats for graduation exercises.

Hats can mean a lot of things. Why not let them mean we are writers?

Why not let them remind us (and others) we are writers?

I like this idea.