This week, I learned about the power of constraints from Dr. Suess (Theodor Seuss Geisel). He began his career because someone bet him he couldn't write a book using 50 words or less. Not only did he, but he ended up writing Cat in the Hat, and going on to create the most successful children's book franchise of all time.
So I got to thinking... could I do the same? and would trying it change the way I approach other endeavors in my life? Already, it inspired me to code my own website from scratch - that's right, the one you're on now! Click the read more button to see how I did on my very own Geiselgraph.
Here's my first attempt:
A sharp carp lay on a tarp,
On a barge named "Marge" that was oh so large,
On a big bay he lay, for a whole day,
Till' the sun had its fill, and went past the hill.
A mare could only stare till' she took a dare,
To spray, and neigh, by that bay,
To walk to the dock, and start to rock,
the big old barge named "Marge".
It made a wake with its shake,
And spun round til' it found,
itself turned upside down,
and so too did the carp and a shoe.
His fish friends started and parted,
To make the carp wake,
"Don't fret, you're wet, let's get set!"
He joined the swarm, and all went to bed in the fish dorm.
THE END
Okay, so that wasn't exactly 50 words or less. I need to try again! So great is the fear of how my writing may be judged that I struggled to stick to the words I wrote down.
I think the best way is to write down maybe 20 words that rhyme, and then leave the remaining 30 for filler words that come up as you go. Shoot for lots of repitition and simple themes.
That was fun though! I never would have written anything remotely like that otherwise.
Give it a try for yourself, and keep an eye out for future projects of mine about using constraints to spur on creativity. God Bless!