I like to collect and curate silly and provocative headlines and arrange them on a bulletin board in the kitchen for a little writing inspiration (think, those quirky Magnetic Poetry Kit that were all the rage, circa 1995—and I’m still picking tiny pronouns out of the carpet in the living room to this very day).
For me, it’s not import to remember what magazine or newspaper that I clipped them from. In fact, sometimes it’s better to forget what the articles were about. For best results, let them float out of context on the board to inspire new word associations and meanings.
Play with the words. Group them together or use a single clipping to jumpstart a story or springboard into a scene. Add images, postcards, and graphics to make the composition engaging so it catches your eye every time you walk by.
You’ll start to form new connections between the words, and ideas will bubble up. Push yourself to write something. For me, all paths usually lead back to zombies at one point or another in the creative process.
Happy writing!