I learned this game from my friend Darcy. Basically, you write out a set of 10 constraints and give yourself 2 min to respond to each – write them out, toss them in a pile, draw one at random, start the timer, write, repeat.
Just like the songwriting game, the goal is to get yourself out of your head. You can use this as a warm-up, or, if you like what you come up with, shape it up into a proper poem.
I’ve loaded this up to generate a set of constraints from the ones I’ve used over the past few months. Every time you refresh the page you should see a different combination. Feel free to use these or create your own!
Prompts:
- describe something around you
- use an element (earth, wind fire, etc), an -ing verb and a room of the house
- describe something out the window of your childhood bedroom
- compare & contrast
- describe something you hear
- compare & contrast
- use a #, an animal, and an -ing verb
- compare & contrast
- include a foreign word
- describe the taste of a shape
I’d love to hear what you come up with – either ideas for constraints or what you create. Drop me a line or comment here to share!