Creativity Workshop
"People have to go out of their minds before they come
to their senses" - Timothy Leary
"There is only one trait that marks the writer. He is always watching. It's kind of trick of mind and he is born
with it." - Morley Callaghan
+ Get your right brain working. Try music!
+Write a biography of yourself that does not say anything
about your past, but instead uses similes and metaphors
+ Place random words in a bag and do a "Boombox"
activity - pull words out of the bag and create a story using those words. For example, words: Camaro, potato chips,
onion.
A Chevy
Camaro that smells like potato chips is driving down the road. It runs on onions instead of gas.
Word: "Shoe"
A Chevy
Camaro that smells like potato chips is driving down the road. It runs on onions instead of gas. It uses shoes instead of tires.
Word:
"Cop car"
A Chevy
Camaro that smells like potato chips is driving down the road. It runs on onions instead of gas. It uses shoes instead of tires, and is being
chased by a cop car.
Word:
"Circus clown"
A Chevy
Camaro that smells like potato chips is driving down the road. It runs on onions instead of gas. It uses
shoes instead of tires and is being chased by a cop car with a circus clown
hanging off the siren lights.
+Buy a cheap comic book or painting or picture and use that
as a prompt to write the story behind it.
+Play pictionary - this is a great creativity booster
+Symphony - comeup with a list of characters, create a basic
plot and write from the point of view of every character involved.
+Pick up a random item and write the story behind it.
+Read "Title" by Greg Allen. See a performance of it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9k5C_2Fob0
+ Create a poem using every clichè you can think of, but use
each one differently then was intended
+ Write the same story in three different genres: horror,
comedy, romance, drama, etc.
+Write the same story in three different ways: poem, short
story, play
If anyone can finish the sentence, it is a clichè.
Clichès, idioms, and "word packages":
Wake up and smell the roses / coffee
Put the cherry on top
The icing on the cake
These boots are made for walking
The light at the end of the tunnel
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink
Butterflies in your stomach
It's just scratching the surface
Out like a lamp
The writing is on the wall
The place was crawling with cops
See the big picture
His life would never be the same
Put a cork in it
Finding a needle in a haystack
Time to pay the piper
Dive in head first
Have the upper hand
compare apples to oranges
the best means of defense is a good offense
Keep your friends close, your enemies closer
Never say never
You only live once
Hit it out of the park
Bringing home the bacon
No such thing as a free lunch
Think outside the box
Try some of these instead:
"You know what they say about horses and water" "I felt like I'd eaten a bag (or a
garden) of butterflies"
"His life would never be different"
"Never say never (Again)" "You only live
twice" (James Bond)
"Think outside the bun"
"Nobody wants a free lunch"
