Anna Tizard
  • About
  • The book of exquisite corpse
  • More fiction
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  • How (and why)
  • The Haunt of Ideas
  • About
  • The book of exquisite corpse
  • More fiction
  • Brainstoryum
  • Play
  • How (and why)
  • The Haunt of Ideas

How to Take Your Imagination to the Next Level - with Exquisite Corpse

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​Do you ever think, "It's all been done before"?

With so many stories and fables being retold, how can you find (or write) anything truly "original"?

Another fairytale retelling, another vampire story - another comic hero movie?

Well, it's true that each author will have a different approach... different characters, tone, and so on...


If there's "nothing new under the sun," then unique ideas must come from unusual connections.

In Exquisite Corpse, each player contributes a different word or phrase to the same sentence - without seeing each other's entries - but following this sentence structure:

"Describing word - thing - action - describing word - thing."

The results are bizarre, hilarious, creepy - or a bit of all three.

​They also make incredible story writing prompts.  

​Examples include:

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“The lush telephone salesman stupidly sat on the metaphysical fingertip.”

This led to a peculiar tale of a door-to-door salesman visiting a haunted house - with strange flood markings on the walls.

"The bright red sock puppet lustily opened the fridge that belonged to the empty danger."

Woah! I couldn't do anything with the first part, but I wrote a novella based on "the empty danger". (Subscribe to my private email list and it's yours for free!)

"The humungous vampire angrily washed the engorged cheese."

Okay, this is one I haven't dared try yet! But it's definitely on my list of creative challenges.


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Why not try using one of these to come up with your own story?

Better yet, listen to Brainstoryum where I play the game on air (and discuss the weird, wild world of inspiration)! 

Enter a few words here and they may be pulled out of the Socks of Destiny in the very next episode.

Story ideas are everywhere, if you just know where - and how - to look.

Apart from being ridiculous fun, Exquisite Corpse is also an amazing way to stretch your imagination, especially if you're an author - aspiring or experienced. 

If you dedicate just 10 minutes to brainstorming a story idea from an Exquisite Corpse, you will be exploring ideas you've never even dreamed of before.

​Something unique; something truly original.


So try it! Challenge your imagination to new heights and new worlds.​

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In Brainstoryum, I delve into the surrealist origins of the game of Exquisite Corpse, and explore the enigma of inspiration. Can we learn to become more inspired?
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Join in the inspirational fun and submit words here! You may spark the next story - yours, or mine?
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​Why not try a round or two of Exquisite Corpse with friends or family? Download and print off this game sheet, and get chuckling! Minimum 5 players.
Exquisite Corpse game sheet (print as landscape)

Thanks for reading. All written contents copyright of Anna Tizard, 2020.
"Glaring Genie Cloud" image rendered by Jon Smith, 2019. All rights reserved.
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What readers are saying

Review of The Empty Danger: 5.0 out of 5 stars 
"I've never been one really to read novellas taking place during the current climate, but the way Anna Tizard composed The Empty Danger was inspiring. I appreciated her unique take on the pandemic and how to keep hopes alive in troubled times." - Scottish Hunni

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"One of those writers whose work makes me itch to write as well... effortlessly profound, yet with a tongue in cheek kind of edge." - Tonya Moore, author 

"The form for the Exquisite Corpse seems pretty clear...  I like your style of writing- it is easy and draws you in. I really wanted to carry on reading as it was quite magical." - Gill
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