Conceptualizing means coming up with a practical implementation of an idea. It is not enough to simply have the idea. To conceptualize, one must develop an actual mental model of how such an idea might be made manifest. In other words, one might have an idea to build a spacious house. But to conceptualize the house, one must imagine everything that makes up the house — the design, the layout, the colors & textures, everything that is essential to understanding what that specific house is. Conceptualizing requires being able to visualize something as a whole.
Excerpted from The Zen of Story Structure
DEFINITION: Conceptualizing: visualizing how an existing idea might be implemented.
SYNONYMS: visualizing, imagining, envisioning, visualizing implementation, planning.
DYNAMIC PAIR: Conceiving, coming up with an idea.