Shimpei Takahashi, a toy designer, used the word game Shiritori to develop some of Japan’s most popular toys, which he outlines in a 2013 TEDx Talk. What appears to be a seemingly random list of words can spark your brightest idea. It goes like this: Think of the first word that pops into your head. You can give yourself a prompt or be random. Now think of a new word that begins with the last letter of the previous word. Continue this chain until you have five to 10 words.
Related: 11 Positive Words to Add to Your Vocabulary
Now consider how the words can connect to form a new concept. If you’re writing a murder mystery for example, maybe you never considered using a train as your location, using a drawing of a rainbow left on a napkin as a clue to when the murder occurred. The ideas are supposed to be ridiculous, so don’t hold back.
Related: 5 Ways to Get Ideas Flowing
This article originally appeared in the December 2017 issue of SUCCESS magazine.