Creative Roundup: Too Many Cooks Showdown and Writing Reduction

A Cooking Showcase and a Writing Reorientation...

Video:

Ready to defend your culinary masterpieces in your next game of Too Many Cooks?

Here, I explain the third of four bonus rules for your card game enjoyment.

Writing:

I'm going to be reducing the amount of creative writing I post on my Williamson Writing website. I've been trying to post a short piece of writing every Monday. However, I've recently started working with an editor on my first novel, A Knight of Ur, so I've been pouring my writing time into serious editing. I've still been doing some other creative writing, just not at the same rate. I hope to keep posting on either a staggered schedule (less than every week) or a reduced schedule (every week, but stories broken up more into portions).

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Creative Tool: Idea Mutation

It's mutating out of control! Here is another wild method of improving the creativity of ideas through the process of introducing random 'mutations'. I call it Idea Mutation. Method: Start with an idea. Add it to a circle on the far left side of a piece of paper. That is round 1. Make two branches off the first idea. Each branch has a new circle. That is round 2. For each branch, roll a 10-sided dice and select the 'mutation' from the table below. For each branch, create a 'mutated' idea incorporating that branch's mutation. Continue branching and mutation ideas for subsequent rounds (3, 4, etc.). Modifications: Include different mutations (ex. Add Thrill, More Collaborative, Clearer, etc.) Add null mutation (no changes for certain branches) Change probability of mutations (same mutation for more than one number) Examples:

Creative Tool: Idea Bracket

Let the Best Idea Win. How to generate great ideas? Why not create an Idea Bracket ? It is analogous to a sports league play-off. Ideas are pitted against each other, with the winning idea moving on to the next round. The last idea standing is the winner. I do have a few additional rules. The Three M's : Modify, Merge, and Markup. These rules allow for both idea modification and saving sub-winner ideas. Simple enough, right? Let's try it out on some examples. Story Beginning Location Floating City and Haunted Graveyard merged into Floating Graveyard Screaming Wastelands modified into Blasted Wastelands Winner was Floating Graveyard and Sundered Titan merged into Floating Graveyard of Titans Artistic Inspiration Shack Brainstorming and Review Idea/Notes merged to Shack Review Ideas TCG View modified to TCG Mashup Shack Review Ideas marked for later Monster App and Walk and Song merged to Walk and Song with Monster App Priming Winner was T...

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