10 Ways to Amuse Your Muse*

Back by popular demand, here’s a list to help inspire the playful side of your creativity:

1. Write something silly, like a haiku about your boss’s tie or the dialogue your dog would have with the cat if he could talk.
2. Make something silly—knit an envelope or create a collage out of pictures of toes.
3. Watch this video of a typing monkey.
4. Freewrite about something silly. Use this prompt: When he appears in my life, the closet monster always takes something from me, but I have to admit, he never…
5. Make a snack that reflects your mood. Like smiley-face pancakes. Or a Ready-to-Erupt volcano Sundae.
6. Write a list of silly things you would never do. Then do one of them.
7. Pick the most outlandish thing on your list of silly things you would never do. Write about doing it.
8. Create a story about a nonsensical image you remember from a dream.
9. Write a journal entry about your day in a Dr. Seuss-like rhythm. Or tell it as a fairy tale.
10. Create a character who’s the opposite of you. Then see what this character does when you write about him/her.
11. Write a story about the two starfish in the picture above.

* plus a bonus Muse-amuser!

Copyright © Sandy Ackers, Strangling My Muse: Struggling to Live a Creative Life in a Stressful World, http://www.stranglingmymuse.com