I've been using this nice little strategy for making up ideas. There are three stages.
Stage one: finding an object for focus of creativity
I start with the directive:
Name an X-object
I will use the pangram trigger or directed-free-association to find the 'X'. In this case I choose 'red' and thus the directive reads:
Name a red object
I choose 'post box'.
Stage two: choosing an aspect of the object and cloning
I choose an aspect of a typical postbox and clone that aspect. I choose the slot (where the letter is posted). So I visualise a post box with hundreds of slots. (As explained in cloning aspects, I don't worry about functionality problems; in fact the new multi-slotted postbox concept could be treated as a lateral thinking provocation.)
Stage three: creating ideas
I use pre-listing to create ideas. This is done by creating X-versions of the post box slot. The directive is:
Create X-version of the post box slot.
Using pangram trigger, I create the random word 'call', resulting in:
call-version of post box slot
and consider what ideas this suggest.
This led to an interesting idea: 'a postbox you call with your mobile phone'. This would be useful for posting letters when you have no stamps: you would call a number on the postbox with your mobile and the slot would open when called. The postage costs would be paid for with the cost of the mobile call.
Further points
At the first stage - the 'name X object' stage I will try to list at least five objects from the directive. So 'red object' could lead to: post box, Liverpool shirt, post van, no-entry sign, my rubbish bin etc.
At stage two - the cloning aspects - I will sometimes pre-list again to choose what aspect to clone. The post box example could have led to:
Name X-aspect of post box
And, as an example:
pot-aspect of post box
could suggest that the basket inside the post box (where the letters rest) could be the aspect chosen for cloning.
At stage three - X-versions - I will always make sure I complete an idea and guarantee newness - even if the final idea is quite weak. This takes off the pressure to come up with a good idea every time. Quantity should lead to quality.
Another approach I use at stage three is to imagine that each of the cloned aspects has a sign above it with the random word as the title of the sign. So with the post box example, I would imagine a slot with a sign above it saying "Call slot". Then I have to think of a purpose or function that the sign suggests.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Friday, April 15, 2005
The pangram trigger for generating random words
About this post
Type of technique: random word generator
Post in a nutshell: pick two random letters and form words - starting with one syllable and then increasing the number of syllables.
Example: B & L = bell, balloon, bellicose, belligerent etc.
I use a pangram trigger to generate random words. My pangram of choice is:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
I will choose two random letters from the pangram. Example:
A and C
I will begin by forming the shortest words possible from the letters, thus I will consider if there is a two letter word that can be formed and then if there are three letter words that can be formed. Next I consider words of one syllable, then proceed to words of two syllables and finally list the longest words I can think of triggered by the two letters. Throughout I try to list as many words as possible.
When I use the technique I will list the pangram twice on my pad of paper/PC with the words in various order. This helps me to avoid the habit of leaning towards certain areas - and thus letters - of the pangram as I start to 'get up to speed' creatively. Thus:
brown fox jumps over the lazy dog the quick
over the lazy dog the quick brown fox jumps
Then at the start of the next piece of paper I will change the order again:
dog the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy
fox jumps over the lazy dog the quick brown
Variation
Sometimes I will list the two letters in order: A C
and sometimes I will insert a space between the letters: A_C
as these two arrangements suggest different words (Ace and Arc, for example).
Type of technique: random word generator
Post in a nutshell: pick two random letters and form words - starting with one syllable and then increasing the number of syllables.
Example: B & L = bell, balloon, bellicose, belligerent etc.
I use a pangram trigger to generate random words. My pangram of choice is:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
I will choose two random letters from the pangram. Example:
A and C
I will begin by forming the shortest words possible from the letters, thus I will consider if there is a two letter word that can be formed and then if there are three letter words that can be formed. Next I consider words of one syllable, then proceed to words of two syllables and finally list the longest words I can think of triggered by the two letters. Throughout I try to list as many words as possible.
When I use the technique I will list the pangram twice on my pad of paper/PC with the words in various order. This helps me to avoid the habit of leaning towards certain areas - and thus letters - of the pangram as I start to 'get up to speed' creatively. Thus:
brown fox jumps over the lazy dog the quick
over the lazy dog the quick brown fox jumps
Then at the start of the next piece of paper I will change the order again:
dog the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy
fox jumps over the lazy dog the quick brown
Variation
Sometimes I will list the two letters in order: A C
and sometimes I will insert a space between the letters: A_C
as these two arrangements suggest different words (Ace and Arc, for example).
Thursday, April 07, 2005
'X-versions' for development of idea germs
The X-versions approach can develop, evolve and suggest alternative applications for existing idea germs.
There are four stages to using this approach.
With the following Global Ideas Bank idea as an example:
Lottery entry slips - tick box for 10% of winnings to charity
Stage 1
I will pretend there is a dictionary entry for the word and that the dictionary compilers have invented a word to describe the action of the idea. Thus:
10%ing: when a lottery has a tickbox indicating that the player agrees to ten percent of winnings being donated to charity
This is the IDEA.
Stage 2
I will state the following directive:
Creat an X-version of the IDEA
Stage 3
I will create the X-word. That is, I will create some short words that, as adjectives, will describe/modify the version of the idea. I create the X-words by listing the following pangram:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogs
and I will pick two letters at random and consider what words are triggered by these two letters. I aim to form words of just two or three letters (although if I cannot do this then I will try to form the shortest word possible).
Example:
C and T could trigger: cut, cat, cot
I choose 'cut'.
Stage 4
I will restate the directive, with the random word replacing the 'X'. Thus:
Create a cut-version of the IDEA
and I consider what variations are suggested by the directive.
Cut-version to me suggests that the player could choose the percentage that would be donated to charity instead of automatically agreeing to ten percent. Expressed as an idea:
Lottery players can choose a percentage of winnings that will be donated to charity.
More examples
I generated the following random words: final, sync, bit, chip, spot, do, age, act, chq and sad which led to these variations of the idea germ:
Final-version = the '10 percent to charity' idea would be done on one lottery draw only per year - perhaps at the end of the year or Christmas. In buying the ticket the player would automatically agree to the arrangement.
Sync-version = all the world's lotteries would carry out the tickbox idea to see the total that could be raised (perhaps this could be a once-per-year event).
Bit-version = the idea would only be implented online, for online purchasers of lottery tickets.
Chip-version = players of casino fruit machines (particularly fruit machines with substantial jackpots) could agree that ten percent of jackpot winnings would go to charity. (Perhaps there would be a special button on the fruit machines that is pressed to indicate the agreement.)
Spot-version = the lottery player 'spots' a cause and indicates on the lottery slip that the ten percent should go to that specific cause.
Do-version = a group of people could agree to defintely do (implement) the idea of their own initiative. The lottery organiser's website could have a place where players can register their names and agree that a percentage of winnings goes to charity.
Age-version = the lottery player's agreement on 'ten percent to charity' would 'last an age'. That is, they would register once and the agreement would stand for life.
Act-version = the big musicals could, in their first week, put a ten percent premium on ticket sales. Punters would be informed of this arrangement.
Chq-version = cheques could have a tickbox where the account holder agrees that ten percent (or perhaps a set amount of £1) of a transaction would be given to charity.
Sad-version = young people could agree to ten percent of their 'wealth' being donated to charity on the (unlikely) event of their death.
Further notes:
Following the precept that 'quantity leads to quality' it can be worth expressing the directive with the plural of 'versions'. Thus:
Create X-versions of the idea
This is also a reminder to 'look beyond the first idea'.
Sometimes I will adapt the dictionary definition to a broader concept level.
Example:
10%ing = when something has a tickbox agreeing to ten percent to charity
or
10%ing = when ten percent of a transaction goes to charity.
This helps to open up the idea germ to other possibilities.
There are four stages to using this approach.
With the following Global Ideas Bank idea as an example:
Lottery entry slips - tick box for 10% of winnings to charity
Stage 1
I will pretend there is a dictionary entry for the word and that the dictionary compilers have invented a word to describe the action of the idea. Thus:
10%ing: when a lottery has a tickbox indicating that the player agrees to ten percent of winnings being donated to charity
This is the IDEA.
Stage 2
I will state the following directive:
Creat an X-version of the IDEA
Stage 3
I will create the X-word. That is, I will create some short words that, as adjectives, will describe/modify the version of the idea. I create the X-words by listing the following pangram:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogs
and I will pick two letters at random and consider what words are triggered by these two letters. I aim to form words of just two or three letters (although if I cannot do this then I will try to form the shortest word possible).
Example:
C and T could trigger: cut, cat, cot
I choose 'cut'.
Stage 4
I will restate the directive, with the random word replacing the 'X'. Thus:
Create a cut-version of the IDEA
and I consider what variations are suggested by the directive.
Cut-version to me suggests that the player could choose the percentage that would be donated to charity instead of automatically agreeing to ten percent. Expressed as an idea:
Lottery players can choose a percentage of winnings that will be donated to charity.
More examples
I generated the following random words: final, sync, bit, chip, spot, do, age, act, chq and sad which led to these variations of the idea germ:
Final-version = the '10 percent to charity' idea would be done on one lottery draw only per year - perhaps at the end of the year or Christmas. In buying the ticket the player would automatically agree to the arrangement.
Sync-version = all the world's lotteries would carry out the tickbox idea to see the total that could be raised (perhaps this could be a once-per-year event).
Bit-version = the idea would only be implented online, for online purchasers of lottery tickets.
Chip-version = players of casino fruit machines (particularly fruit machines with substantial jackpots) could agree that ten percent of jackpot winnings would go to charity. (Perhaps there would be a special button on the fruit machines that is pressed to indicate the agreement.)
Spot-version = the lottery player 'spots' a cause and indicates on the lottery slip that the ten percent should go to that specific cause.
Do-version = a group of people could agree to defintely do (implement) the idea of their own initiative. The lottery organiser's website could have a place where players can register their names and agree that a percentage of winnings goes to charity.
Age-version = the lottery player's agreement on 'ten percent to charity' would 'last an age'. That is, they would register once and the agreement would stand for life.
Act-version = the big musicals could, in their first week, put a ten percent premium on ticket sales. Punters would be informed of this arrangement.
Chq-version = cheques could have a tickbox where the account holder agrees that ten percent (or perhaps a set amount of £1) of a transaction would be given to charity.
Sad-version = young people could agree to ten percent of their 'wealth' being donated to charity on the (unlikely) event of their death.
Further notes:
Following the precept that 'quantity leads to quality' it can be worth expressing the directive with the plural of 'versions'. Thus:
Create X-versions of the idea
This is also a reminder to 'look beyond the first idea'.
Sometimes I will adapt the dictionary definition to a broader concept level.
Example:
10%ing = when something has a tickbox agreeing to ten percent to charity
or
10%ing = when ten percent of a transaction goes to charity.
This helps to open up the idea germ to other possibilities.
Monday, April 04, 2005
Directed-association: a type of free-association
About this post:
Type of technique: Free Association
The post in a nutshell: Write down a word, A. Then write down something associated with A to create word B. (This is done using a list of guide-words to help trigger an association.) Continue onwards from word B.
I have developed this directed free-association tool (directed-association) that is a variation of standard free-association.
(See Mycoted Free Association for a description of standard free-association)
This directed-association method serves four purposes:
1) To provide a list of words and concepts that can be used as an alternative to a dictionary when providing words for random stimulation
2) To suggest possible subjects for further creative effort
3) To uncover ‘forgotten’ ideas and discover ideas on the periphery of awareness
4) To warm up before a brainstorming session
I carry out this directed-association either on a sheet of A4 paper or on the PC.
The Start
At the start of the exercise I will form a list of people; these can be any people - including famous people, fictional characters and people I know. There are two ways to form this list of people.
1) Using the pangram:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
I will pick two letters at random and name someone with those initials.
2) I will select some random images on Google image search, and in any picture with people I will ask: “Who does this person remind me of?" or "who do they look like?”
Using these two methods I will make a list of about thirty people. The page of directed-association will now look like this:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forrest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hillary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Kiefer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
I will choose one of those people at random and this person (or that word) becomes the 'focus word'. (Eg John Wayne).
Guide-words
At the next stage – the main directed-association phase - I will list the following ten guide-words:
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
and choose one to suggest an association for the focus word (in this example 'John Wayne'). I choose 'has', and the page now looks like:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has)
Each of the ten guide-words can be expressed as a directive (to help reach the association)
Has: directive = “Name something that (focus word/concept) has”
Is: directive = “Name an adjective that describes (focus word/concept) ”
Does: directive = “Name something (focus word/concept) does”
Thing: directive = “Name something associated with (focus word/concept) ”
Person: directive = “Name a person associated with (focus word/concept) ”
Time: directive = “Name a time (or duration, era, event etc) associated with (focus word/concept) ”
Place: directive = “Name a place associated with (focus word/concept) ”
Activity: directive = “Name an activity associated with (focus word/concept)”
Specify: directive = “Specify/Name a(focus word/concept) ”
Utterance: directive = “Name an utterance (speech, quote etc) associated with (focus word/concept) ”
^: directive = “What IS (focus word/concept)? (step up to concept level)”.
With specify, if I have already named the person (eg John Wayne) this can lead me to consider if I’m thinking of THAT John Wayne or another person with the same name. Or I may consider if I'm thinking of a representation of John Wayne - such as a model or photo etc.
With ‘^’ I will step up to concept level. The concept level I use is dictionary concept level, where I consider a word/concept in the dictionary that represents this person. So with John Wayne it could be ‘actor’ ‘cowboy’ ‘legend’ or even ‘person’ etc.
Examples of possible associations for 'John Wayne' prompted by each guide-word:
Has: directive = “Name something that (John Wayne) has” GUN
Is: directive = “Name an adjective that describes (John Wayne ) ” MEAN
Does: directive = “Name something (John Wayne) does” ACT
Thing: directive = “Name something associated with (John Wayne) ” WESTERNS
Person: directive = “Name a person associated with (John Wayne) ” CLINT EASTWOOD
Time: directive = “Name a time (or duration, era etc) associated with (John Wayne) ” OSCARS NIGHT
Place: directive = “Name a place associated with (John Wayne) ” WILD WEST
Activity: directive = “Name an activity associated with (John Wayne)” HORSERIDING
Specify: directive = “Specify/Name a (John Wayne) ” THE ACTOR JOHN WAYNE
Utterance: directive = “Name an utterance (speech, quote etc) associated with (John Wayne) ” THE HELL I WILL
^: directive = “What IS (John Wayne)? (step up to concept level)” COWBOY
As I chose HAS as the guide-word, and the association I made was ‘gun’, my directed-association page now looks like:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has) gun
Then, ‘GUN’ becomes the focus word/concept and once again I choose one of the guide-words to produce the next association.
So, if I choose ‘^’ then I will choose a dictionary-level concept that represents gun – ‘weapon’ for example. Resulting in my directed-association looking like this:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has) gun. (^) weapon.
And ‘weapon’ becomes the focus word/concept
I will continue selecting guide-words and making associations until I have about half a page of words/concepts. Thus:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has) gun. (^) weapon. (does) kill. (has) victim. (time) Bhopal. (is) disaster. (^) tragedy. (thing) grief. (utterance) good grief! (is) exclamation. (thing) surprise. (time) surprise party. (has) alcohol. (thing) drink driving. (is) illegal act. (specify) mugging. (is) upsetting. (time) funeral. (has) flowers. (specify) sunflower. (is) tall. (person) Robert Wadlow. (is) record breaker. (thing) Olympic games. (has) athlete (does) training. (specify) weightlifting. (is) strenuous. (thing) carrying suitcases. (does) tire. (time) late at night. (^) hour. (specify) witching hour. (thing) Halloween. (has) pumpkin. (activity) carving pumpkins. (has) knife. (^) cutlery. (is) sharp. (thing) razor. (does) shave. (utterance) ouch! (thing) ET. (^) character. (time) writing a story. (thing) writer’s block. (specify) songwriter’s block. (person) Sting. (utterance) walking on the moon. (specify) first moon landing. (utterance) one small step for man…(^) quotation. (person) Oscar Wilde. (utterance) either this wallpaper goes or I do. (^) humour (thing) Darwin awards. (^) award. (specify) Nobel prize. (has) prestige. (place) Lourdes. (has) miracles. (utterance) it’s a miracle!
One guide-word per line
On the second half of the paper I change tack slightly so that each line of the paper is dedicated to one guide-word:
Has
Is
Does
Thing
Person
Time
Place
Activity
Specify
Utterance
^
Starting with the ‘has’ line I will choose a word/concept at random from the body of directed-association ('writer's block', for example). I will answer the directive (in this case “Name something that (writer’s block) has”) and write the association on the 'has' line ('frustration'). Then I will pick another word/concept at random from the body of directed-association and find an association prompted by the guide-word. I will continue picking words/concepts at random and forming associations until I complete the ‘has’ line. I then proceed to the ‘is’ line etc, proceeding through all the guide-words until the page is full.
Has: (writer’s block) frustration. (quotation) humour. (pumpkin) roundness. (carrying suitcases) effort
Is: (Halloween) yearly. (knife) dangerous. (cutlery) metal. (athlete) fit. (killing) illegal. (Robert Wadlow) tall.
Does: (first moon landing) inspire. (Lourdes) attract pilgrims. (prestige) impress. (sunflower) grow
Thing: (funeral) vicar. (either this wallpaper goes or I do) humour. (Olympic games) torch. (humour) laughter
Person: (miracles) Virgin Mary. (tragedy) John F Kennedy Jr. (kill) Columbo. (illegal act) Robert Ressler
Time: (walking on the moon) 1969. (it’s a miracle!) winning the lottery (award) Oscars ceremony
Place: (carrying suitcases) airport. (flowers) florists. (ET) outer space. (ouch!) dentist's surgery
Activity: (Lourdes) prayer. (alcohol) suffering from hangover. (ouch!) regret. (knife) sharpening
Specify: (Lourdes) Madonna’s daughter. (sunflower) the one in my garden. (training) learning to drive
Utterance: (record breaker) YES! (victim) why does this happen to me? (yearly) Merry Christmas!
Final page:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has) gun. (^) weapon. (does) killing (has) victim. (time) Bhopal. (is) disaster. (^) tragedy. (thing) grief. (utterance) good grief! (is) exclamation. (thing) surprise. (time) surprise party. (has) alcohol. (thing) drink driving. (is) illegal act. (specify) mugging. (is) upsetting. (time) funeral. (has) flowers. (specify) sunflower. (is) tall. (person) Robert Wadlow. (is) record breaker. (thing) Olympic games. (has) athlete (does) training. (specify) weightlifting. (is) strenuous. (thing) carrying suitcases. (does) tire. (time) late at night. (^) hour. (specify) witching hour. (thing) Halloween. (has) pumpkin. (activity) carving pumpkins. (has) knife. (^) cutlery. (is) sharp. (thing) razor. (does) shave. (utterance) ouch! (thing) ET. (^) character. (time) writing a story. (thing) writer’s block. (specify) songwriter’s block. (person) Sting. (utterance) walking on the moon. (specify) first moon landing. (utterance) one small step for man…(^) quotation. (person) Oscar Wilde. (utterance) either this wallpaper goes or I do. (^) humour (thing) Darwin awards. (^) award. (specify) Nobel prize. (has) prestige. (place) Lourdes. (has) miracles. (utterance) it’s a miracle!
Has: (writer’s block) frustration. (quotation) humour. (pumpkin) roundness. (carrying suitcases) effort
Is: (Halloween) yearly. (knife) dangerous. (cutlery) metal. (athlete) fit. (killing) illegal. (Robert Wadlow) tall.
Does: (first moon landing) inspire. (Lourdes) attract pilgrims. (prestige) impress. (sunflower) grow
Thing: (funeral) vicar. (either this wallpaper goes or I do) humour. (Olympic games) torch. (humour) laughter
Person: (miracles) Virgin Mary. (tragedy) John F Kennedy Jr. (kill) Columbo. (illegal act) Robert Ressler
Time: (walking on the moon) 1969. (it’s a miracle!) winning the lottery (award) Oscars ceremony
Place: (carrying suitcases) airport. (flowers) florists. (ET) outer space. (ouch!) dentist's surgery
Activity: (Lourdes) prayer. (alcohol) suffering from hangover. (ouch!) regret. (knife) sharpening
Specify: (Lourdes) Madonna’s daughter. (sunflower) the one in my garden. (training) learning to drive
Utterance: (record breaker) YES! (victim) why does this happen to me? (yearly) Merry Christmas!
Further point
I’ve found that naming people throughout the directed-association is a good tactic because a person – as a concept – is at a set level of specificity, and the mistake of listing concepts that are too abstract is avoided. Also the name of a person usually suggests a bundle of associations, activities, behaviour etc.
An example of directed-association results.
Type of technique: Free Association
The post in a nutshell: Write down a word, A. Then write down something associated with A to create word B. (This is done using a list of guide-words to help trigger an association.) Continue onwards from word B.
I have developed this directed free-association tool (directed-association) that is a variation of standard free-association.
(See Mycoted Free Association for a description of standard free-association)
This directed-association method serves four purposes:
1) To provide a list of words and concepts that can be used as an alternative to a dictionary when providing words for random stimulation
2) To suggest possible subjects for further creative effort
3) To uncover ‘forgotten’ ideas and discover ideas on the periphery of awareness
4) To warm up before a brainstorming session
I carry out this directed-association either on a sheet of A4 paper or on the PC.
The Start
At the start of the exercise I will form a list of people; these can be any people - including famous people, fictional characters and people I know. There are two ways to form this list of people.
1) Using the pangram:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
I will pick two letters at random and name someone with those initials.
2) I will select some random images on Google image search, and in any picture with people I will ask: “Who does this person remind me of?" or "who do they look like?”
Using these two methods I will make a list of about thirty people. The page of directed-association will now look like this:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forrest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hillary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Kiefer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
I will choose one of those people at random and this person (or that word) becomes the 'focus word'. (Eg John Wayne).
Guide-words
At the next stage – the main directed-association phase - I will list the following ten guide-words:
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
and choose one to suggest an association for the focus word (in this example 'John Wayne'). I choose 'has', and the page now looks like:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has)
Each of the ten guide-words can be expressed as a directive (to help reach the association)
Has: directive = “Name something that (focus word/concept) has”
Is: directive = “Name an adjective that describes (focus word/concept) ”
Does: directive = “Name something (focus word/concept) does”
Thing: directive = “Name something associated with (focus word/concept) ”
Person: directive = “Name a person associated with (focus word/concept) ”
Time: directive = “Name a time (or duration, era, event etc) associated with (focus word/concept) ”
Place: directive = “Name a place associated with (focus word/concept) ”
Activity: directive = “Name an activity associated with (focus word/concept)”
Specify: directive = “Specify/Name a(focus word/concept) ”
Utterance: directive = “Name an utterance (speech, quote etc) associated with (focus word/concept) ”
^: directive = “What IS (focus word/concept)? (step up to concept level)”.
With specify, if I have already named the person (eg John Wayne) this can lead me to consider if I’m thinking of THAT John Wayne or another person with the same name. Or I may consider if I'm thinking of a representation of John Wayne - such as a model or photo etc.
With ‘^’ I will step up to concept level. The concept level I use is dictionary concept level, where I consider a word/concept in the dictionary that represents this person. So with John Wayne it could be ‘actor’ ‘cowboy’ ‘legend’ or even ‘person’ etc.
Examples of possible associations for 'John Wayne' prompted by each guide-word:
Has: directive = “Name something that (John Wayne) has” GUN
Is: directive = “Name an adjective that describes (John Wayne ) ” MEAN
Does: directive = “Name something (John Wayne) does” ACT
Thing: directive = “Name something associated with (John Wayne) ” WESTERNS
Person: directive = “Name a person associated with (John Wayne) ” CLINT EASTWOOD
Time: directive = “Name a time (or duration, era etc) associated with (John Wayne) ” OSCARS NIGHT
Place: directive = “Name a place associated with (John Wayne) ” WILD WEST
Activity: directive = “Name an activity associated with (John Wayne)” HORSERIDING
Specify: directive = “Specify/Name a (John Wayne) ” THE ACTOR JOHN WAYNE
Utterance: directive = “Name an utterance (speech, quote etc) associated with (John Wayne) ” THE HELL I WILL
^: directive = “What IS (John Wayne)? (step up to concept level)” COWBOY
As I chose HAS as the guide-word, and the association I made was ‘gun’, my directed-association page now looks like:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has) gun
Then, ‘GUN’ becomes the focus word/concept and once again I choose one of the guide-words to produce the next association.
So, if I choose ‘^’ then I will choose a dictionary-level concept that represents gun – ‘weapon’ for example. Resulting in my directed-association looking like this:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has) gun. (^) weapon.
And ‘weapon’ becomes the focus word/concept
I will continue selecting guide-words and making associations until I have about half a page of words/concepts. Thus:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has) gun. (^) weapon. (does) kill. (has) victim. (time) Bhopal. (is) disaster. (^) tragedy. (thing) grief. (utterance) good grief! (is) exclamation. (thing) surprise. (time) surprise party. (has) alcohol. (thing) drink driving. (is) illegal act. (specify) mugging. (is) upsetting. (time) funeral. (has) flowers. (specify) sunflower. (is) tall. (person) Robert Wadlow. (is) record breaker. (thing) Olympic games. (has) athlete (does) training. (specify) weightlifting. (is) strenuous. (thing) carrying suitcases. (does) tire. (time) late at night. (^) hour. (specify) witching hour. (thing) Halloween. (has) pumpkin. (activity) carving pumpkins. (has) knife. (^) cutlery. (is) sharp. (thing) razor. (does) shave. (utterance) ouch! (thing) ET. (^) character. (time) writing a story. (thing) writer’s block. (specify) songwriter’s block. (person) Sting. (utterance) walking on the moon. (specify) first moon landing. (utterance) one small step for man…(^) quotation. (person) Oscar Wilde. (utterance) either this wallpaper goes or I do. (^) humour (thing) Darwin awards. (^) award. (specify) Nobel prize. (has) prestige. (place) Lourdes. (has) miracles. (utterance) it’s a miracle!
One guide-word per line
On the second half of the paper I change tack slightly so that each line of the paper is dedicated to one guide-word:
Has
Is
Does
Thing
Person
Time
Place
Activity
Specify
Utterance
^
Starting with the ‘has’ line I will choose a word/concept at random from the body of directed-association ('writer's block', for example). I will answer the directive (in this case “Name something that (writer’s block) has”) and write the association on the 'has' line ('frustration'). Then I will pick another word/concept at random from the body of directed-association and find an association prompted by the guide-word. I will continue picking words/concepts at random and forming associations until I complete the ‘has’ line. I then proceed to the ‘is’ line etc, proceeding through all the guide-words until the page is full.
Has: (writer’s block) frustration. (quotation) humour. (pumpkin) roundness. (carrying suitcases) effort
Is: (Halloween) yearly. (knife) dangerous. (cutlery) metal. (athlete) fit. (killing) illegal. (Robert Wadlow) tall.
Does: (first moon landing) inspire. (Lourdes) attract pilgrims. (prestige) impress. (sunflower) grow
Thing: (funeral) vicar. (either this wallpaper goes or I do) humour. (Olympic games) torch. (humour) laughter
Person: (miracles) Virgin Mary. (tragedy) John F Kennedy Jr. (kill) Columbo. (illegal act) Robert Ressler
Time: (walking on the moon) 1969. (it’s a miracle!) winning the lottery (award) Oscars ceremony
Place: (carrying suitcases) airport. (flowers) florists. (ET) outer space. (ouch!) dentist's surgery
Activity: (Lourdes) prayer. (alcohol) suffering from hangover. (ouch!) regret. (knife) sharpening
Specify: (Lourdes) Madonna’s daughter. (sunflower) the one in my garden. (training) learning to drive
Utterance: (record breaker) YES! (victim) why does this happen to me? (yearly) Merry Christmas!
Final page:
People:
John Wayne, Mick Jagger, Ben Steele, Quincy Jones, Rocky Marciano, Nick Faldo, Forest Gump, Julie Andrews, Jenny Hall, Sir Edmund Hilary, Judy Garland, Swiss Tony, Chris Patten, Snow White, Sir George Martin, Captain Caveman, Jenny Pitman, Dusty Springfield, Abominable Snowman, Nostradamus, Bill Oddie, Keifer Sutherland, Barbara Cartland, Jasper Carrot, Terence Stamp, Dolph Lungren, Santa Claus, Buddha, Fay Wray, Joan of Arc
Has/Is/Does/Thing/Person/Time/Place/Activity/Specify/Utterance/^
John Wayne. (has) gun. (^) weapon. (does) killing (has) victim. (time) Bhopal. (is) disaster. (^) tragedy. (thing) grief. (utterance) good grief! (is) exclamation. (thing) surprise. (time) surprise party. (has) alcohol. (thing) drink driving. (is) illegal act. (specify) mugging. (is) upsetting. (time) funeral. (has) flowers. (specify) sunflower. (is) tall. (person) Robert Wadlow. (is) record breaker. (thing) Olympic games. (has) athlete (does) training. (specify) weightlifting. (is) strenuous. (thing) carrying suitcases. (does) tire. (time) late at night. (^) hour. (specify) witching hour. (thing) Halloween. (has) pumpkin. (activity) carving pumpkins. (has) knife. (^) cutlery. (is) sharp. (thing) razor. (does) shave. (utterance) ouch! (thing) ET. (^) character. (time) writing a story. (thing) writer’s block. (specify) songwriter’s block. (person) Sting. (utterance) walking on the moon. (specify) first moon landing. (utterance) one small step for man…(^) quotation. (person) Oscar Wilde. (utterance) either this wallpaper goes or I do. (^) humour (thing) Darwin awards. (^) award. (specify) Nobel prize. (has) prestige. (place) Lourdes. (has) miracles. (utterance) it’s a miracle!
Has: (writer’s block) frustration. (quotation) humour. (pumpkin) roundness. (carrying suitcases) effort
Is: (Halloween) yearly. (knife) dangerous. (cutlery) metal. (athlete) fit. (killing) illegal. (Robert Wadlow) tall.
Does: (first moon landing) inspire. (Lourdes) attract pilgrims. (prestige) impress. (sunflower) grow
Thing: (funeral) vicar. (either this wallpaper goes or I do) humour. (Olympic games) torch. (humour) laughter
Person: (miracles) Virgin Mary. (tragedy) John F Kennedy Jr. (kill) Columbo. (illegal act) Robert Ressler
Time: (walking on the moon) 1969. (it’s a miracle!) winning the lottery (award) Oscars ceremony
Place: (carrying suitcases) airport. (flowers) florists. (ET) outer space. (ouch!) dentist's surgery
Activity: (Lourdes) prayer. (alcohol) suffering from hangover. (ouch!) regret. (knife) sharpening
Specify: (Lourdes) Madonna’s daughter. (sunflower) the one in my garden. (training) learning to drive
Utterance: (record breaker) YES! (victim) why does this happen to me? (yearly) Merry Christmas!
Further point
I’ve found that naming people throughout the directed-association is a good tactic because a person – as a concept – is at a set level of specificity, and the mistake of listing concepts that are too abstract is avoided. Also the name of a person usually suggests a bundle of associations, activities, behaviour etc.
An example of directed-association results.
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