One method I use to boost creativity is to challenge myself to write 42 lines in 42 minutes. There isn’t any sort of limit on subject matter, or how lines are written. Punctuation, grammar, and even style are unnecessary. The only limit is the time to write out these 42 one-liners: one minute each, though definitely even that is malleable since some lines take less time to write and others get instant revision. Often one line encourages another, so if one line ends up being two, that’s perfectly fine.
Here’s how this particular creative exercise might look:
42 jellyfish in 42 minutes—here comes the tide again.
Sometimes I wish I could type 4,000 words a minute. Other times I’m more sensible.
Does anyone want to think any more?
Make goals with plans to accomplish them.
Does everyone blow loose bits of toilet paper away from themselves when sitting on the toilet?
Float like an ex-girlfriend. Sting like a memory of a kiss.
Couldn’t thaw out anything meatier than a half pounder?
What’s your secret identity name?
Nothing can stop you—if your ego is a rhino, your legs are pistons, and your blood is mercury.
Grandmas know when the timing is right for cookies.
How am I going to mow the yard? With a track hoe.
Slightly different time zone, same grouchy attitude.
Purple isn’t a color, it’s a flavor. You know what flavor it is.
If you’re only missing one parent, are you half an orphan?
There are people I know who could play the role of Snake Eyes.
Star Trek or Star Wars? Why not both?
Seventeen has the same number of syllables as forty-two.
If you wash before bed, you keep your bed clean.
If you turn your underwear inside out on the second day, you don’t keep anything clean.
Helicopters don’t have to be noisy, but they’re more fun if they are.
Drifting is a skill tire manufacturers wish more people had.
I spelled it Stare Trek. That’s a new spin on it. The universe is in your eyes.
Selective listening is what many religious people do.
Haters got business with everyone else’s but not their own.
Are you ready for the weekend? Kosher recreation.
What makes a hot dog hot, when most of the time it’s not?
Which is better, forks or knives? What if they’re plastic? Does your answer change?
Motorcycles were like e-bikes long ago: a way to get around without your own power.
Florida gators are not as tough as Alaska gators. It’s proven.
Honda pilots are not the same as Honda Pilots.
I broke one of those once.
Jagermeister, or Jaegermeister? Does it matter?
Drops are just cookies. Unless they’re raindrops.
Freaky lengths of white, which tickle your nose when you least expect it: spider webs.
Baseball greats and baseball legends. On my to-meet list.
Gargantuan tongues must make it hard to speak. Gargling definitely does.
Crass morningstar swingers.
Crass-backwards is more accurate.
38 ways to twist a system out of the norm.
Tales fall short if they’re told without forethought.
Who cares about upstarts? They do.
Blessed be the name of…
Silence is a weapon? Dubious offense.
Xenosthesia.com 