Double Word Association

A little trick to help you get something fresh when a scene gets stuck in a rut or you're out of ideas.

There are two steps:

1	Using something in the scene, like a word that was just said or the audience suggestion, silently let yourself notice the first word that triggers in you. For example, if the scene is set in a prison cell, you can word-associate on "prison". For me, the first word that brings to mind is "prism".

2	Word-associate on the word you just got. For me, "prism" just triggered the word "sunlight".

Now you've got something to add to the scene. "We need to open a window in here. I'm totally losing my tan." This seems to come out of the blue, and yet it fits the scene perfectly. The audience has no idea how you hit on something so "right". Just make sure what you do can relate to the scene. Otherwise you will get confused.

Double Word Association is roughly analogous to a creative problem-solving technique. If you're stuck, try opening a dictionary to a random word. Try to find a connection between that word and the problem you're trying to solve. The word comes from outside the limits of your current conceptual space, and often leads to a quick breakthrough or at least a fresh approach.