THE PRINCIPLE

Making up stories warms up your brain

A great way to limber up your mind is to start making connections, and there’s nothing the creative mind likes better than making up stories. Randomly pick one element from each of the columns below, so you have TWO CHARACTERS, an EMOTION and a SETTING.

Spend 60 seconds making up a story by mashing them up. If it’s good, write it down and send it to George Lucas because this is exactly how he came up with Star Wars.* Otherwise, just use it to get your brain warmed up.

For example, let’s say we randomly choose Gardener, Gangster, Revenge and London Eye. Our story might be that a rich gangster’s gardener overhears his plan to steal a hugely valuable painting from the National Gallery. The gardener blackmails the gangster for 10 per cent of the proceeds. With this money, the now former gardener starts living it up. A beautiful woman approaches him and suggests they hire a pod on the London Eye so they can have some privacy to do naughty things. He agrees, but when their pod is at the top she throws him out – the first fatality on the London Eye. We realise she’s the gangster’s girlfriend and has exacted revenge … Crime does not pay! Hey, it doesn’t have to be great, it’s just an exercise!

Your turn!

* I made that up.