Word Associations and Inspiration

Boosting Creativity with Word Associations by Debbie Roome

There are many ways to prompt inspiration and I’ve found that word associations work well for me. This is particularly true when writing on a given topic.

How does Word Association Work
Word association is a simple principle. Write the key word or topic on a blank page and jot down any words that spring to mind in connection with it. Here is an example of words I associated with the word “free”.

Free
Liberty
Spirit
Land
Long-haired girl
War
Fighting
Jail
New life
Chemicals
Freedom
Radicals
Oxygen

Writing down Word Associations
Although I’ve displayed the example above as one long list, I don’t do this when writing on paper. I tend to fill the whole page and use arrows, speech bubbles and building blocks to join similar thoughts and ideas. It often looks like a unorganized mess when I’m done but it’s amazing what inspiration pops up.

Allow the Ideas to Develop
Once I’ve run out of words and associations, I read through what I’ve jotted down. Sometimes a story will pop straight into my mind; other times I’ll put the paper away and go and do something else and allow my mind to work on the ideas. By the time I return to the list a few hours later, I normally have a couple of thoughts about what to write.

Word associations work well for me and if I’m stuck on a topic, they normally get inspiration flowing again. Next time you’re writing an article, a devotional, a competition entry or a short story on a given theme, give this method a try and see what ideas you come up with.


Debbie Roome works as a freelance writer from her home in New Zealand. Visit her at Debbie Roome or read some of her work at Suite 101 , Take Root and Write and Faithwriters.