Five Tools for Creative Brainstorming

I want to be more creative. You want to be more creative. We all want to be more creative. So why not have fun doing it? I’ve put together five tools for creative brainstorming that are serve as jumping off point for all your crazy ideas. They’ve helped me. They might help you too.

• The first tool is the Idea Bracket, where your ideas compete in a tournament-style competition.

• The second tool is Chain Phrases, where you short-circuit your inner critic with a chain of ideas.

• The third tool is the Idea Mutation, where you submit your idea to rounds of random mutation.

• The fourth tool is the Concept Smasher, where you crash ideas together in a creative flurry.

• The fifth tool is The Power and Thrill of Naming, where you set aside space to list out names for things.

I provide three examples for each tool, in the Artistic, Domestic, and Scientific realms. Winning ideas include a Snack Box Mech Warrior Card Game, an Alternative Dimension that hold Shipwrecks from the Bermuda Triangle , the Top 10 Prehistoric Reptiles You’ve Never Heard Of, Lawncare Parkour, and the Orange Hippogriff Tavern. Each tool also comes with a practice assignment and sheets to copy or print out.