Using Unexpected Connections to Generate Ideas

Week of August 21—Strategies for Finding Ideas for Writing

Tuesday—Using Unexpected Connections to Generate Ideas

Chickens in a talent show who have to deal with their biggest foes—a bunch of smart-mouthed ducks. A boy who helps his best friend (an old woman) overcome her biggest nemesis—a fading memory. A gang of animals who help a zoo keeper during his sick day. These unexpected connections have made three great picture books: Chicken Dance by Tammi Sauer and Dan Santat, Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas, and A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead and Erin Stead.

A combination of unexpected elements can create a unique story. Today I’ll show you one way to “force” unexpected combinations and produce an idea for a story. Begin by looking at the chart below.

Main Character (Protagonist)	Setting, Situation, or Problem	Nemesis (Antagonist)
Boy	First day of school	Bully
Girl	Dance recital	Ninja
Dog	Baseball game	Wrestler
Octopus	Grandma’s house	Big sister
Substitute teacher	Picture Day	Tattling sibling
Grandmother	Summer Camp	Big bad wolf
Doctor	Field trip	Scary sounds
Bully	Fishing	Substitute teacher
Cowboy	Talent Show	Shark
Duck	Homework	Inability to do something
Dad	Sailing	Feelings
Mom	At the beach	Insecurity
Big brother	4th of July	Weather
Younger sister	Concert	Dinosaur
Alien	Halloween	MC’s biggest rival
Talking tree	In the principal’s office	Witch
Princess	At the library	Dragon
Caveman	Castle	MC’s biggest fear
Witch	Outer space	Baby
Baby	Under the ocean	Cow
Momma bear	Rodeo	Sorcerer
Ghost	Foreign country	Alien
Penguin	Jungle	Wicked stepmother
President	Prehistoric times	Huge dog
Cat	Haunted house	Mangy cat
Football player	UFO	Warlock
Fairy Godmother	Stadium or arena	Spy

NOTE: You can add to the chart (or even create your own).

Make an Unexpected Connection

To use the chart to create an unexpected connection . . .

1.      Randomly choose one item from each column. For instance:

Witch—Concert—Tattling Sibling

2.      Squeeze the ideas you choose together to form a statement that describes the story you will write. For instance:

This is the story of Matilda the Witch who more than anything wants to play the flute in the school fall concert, but her tattling sister keeps getting Matilda in trouble, until Matilda finds the power music has over people, witches, and even tattling little sisters.

3.      Write the story for your newly-found connection.

Warnings!

1.      Don’t be afraid of strange connections. The stranger the better (and the more unique). Push the limits.

2.      Not every connection will end up being a story. But every attempt to force connections will get you closer to a new, fresh, unique story.

3.      Keep forcing those unexpected combinations in your writing. This is not just a one-time experience or exercise.