Creative Toolbox: The Random Word Generator

 

My new favorite journal tool is the random word generator at randomlists.com.  I click on the words button and the nouns button, and then 12 random words pop up on my screen.  When I click refresh, 12 new words pop up.  I love the challenge of choosing to work with ideas/words that did not come from my own brain.

This is a recent list of random words:




I decided to make word tags (an idea from my book, Show Me a Story), which are small little cards with a word and image.  Just cut a piece of card stock into small rectangles, and used the random words to inspire quick sketches.


 I filled them in with color because I love to fill things in with color. 

You can also try to draw a sketch of each word in 1 minutes, then try 45 seconds, then 30 seconds, and then 10 seconds.  I discovered this timing idea from Lynda Barry's book Syllabus.

Arrange them on a journal page and glue in place or maybe make a little envelope for them? Throw them in a jar for writing prompts? Anything goes.