EXERCISE: Creativity Supercharged (3)

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original posting 23 May 2009

Writers' Digest, August 2006, pages 30, 32 and 33, have an article by Joe Ortiz with some discussion of creativity followed by six -- a half-dozen! -- exercises. The title of the article is, "Supercharge Your Creativity."

From drama: A Sound, a Key, a Knock at the Door

Theater games make actors build stories around arbitrary props and actions. Some seeds, a quick rehearsal, and show us the scene. Improvisation often makes lively scenes. Given this scenario: clashing swords clang off stage, a key slides under the door, and someone knocks at the door -- add gestures and movements and the actor has a lively scene.

Your task: use the same sort of improvisational strategy in a paragraph game to spark writing. Just fill in the blanks connecting these words into a paragraph. You can use your own set of words, although nouns or active verbs are best.

The fireplace [fill in the blanks] flames. [Fill in the blanks] smoke.

Connected words like this may make it too easy. Try again with words you normally wouldn't find in the same paragraph (raked, sauteed, dropkick). This should take two and a half minutes.

You can also pick three words from a dictionary. Just flip the pages and put your finger down. That's a good word! Now do it again. Oh! And once more! There you go, three words, just waiting for you.

Write!