The great part about that site is that it is just a collection of random content generators. While they do have a community, followers and contests, that all was built around the random generators. Those generators spawn absurd and humerus things like Questionable Anime Attacks and Realistic Character Alignments. Take them for a whirl and you'll see what I mean. To see how this helps cultivate creativity, read on.
Stagnation
stag⋅nate
/ˈstægneɪt/ [stag-neyt]
verb (used without object), -nat⋅ed, -nat⋅ing.
1. to cease to run or flow, as water, air, etc.
2. to be or become stale or foul from standing, as a pool of water.
3. to stop developing, growing, progressing, or advancing: My mind is stagnating from too much TV.
4. to be or become sluggish and dull: When the leading lady left, the show started to stagnate.
–verb (used with object)
5. to make stagnant.
Origin:
1660–70; Citation Info
Input is something I crave, because without it my ideas become stagnate. New and forgotten possibilities are needed to keep the quality creative ideas flowing. Things that get you thinking in different ways are good for you.
I came across the Seventh Sanctum because I needed filler content and wanted variety. So, I searched the internet for random generators. With things like the Writing Challenge Generator, I've been thrilled time and time again to return for silly and serious content to use. They even have contests on the site, which I plan to start participating in for fun and a mental workout.
Creativity
cre⋅a⋅tiv⋅i⋅ty
/ˌkrieɪˈtɪvɪti, ˌkriə-/ [kree-ey-tiv-i-tee, kree-uh-]
–noun
1. the state or quality of being creative.
2. the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts.
3. the process by which one utilizes creative ability: Extensive reading stimulated his creativity.
Origin:
1870–75; creative + -ity
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Cite This Source
Creativity isn't the same old ideas, so why use the same old processes with the same old content and input? I don't, because it doesn't make sense. So let's take a whirl with the random generators to show what is possible really quickly.
First off I need a type of story to choose the right generators to use. I think the old knight trying to save the princess from a dragon will work well for this, especially with how cliche that plot is and how overused it has become.
Knight Possibilities: (Descriptions are copied from www.SeventhSanctum.com.)
Bishotron - "What's anime without artistically pretty guys with great hair? Much more boring, that's for sure. This generator produces detailed descriptions for characters in the vein of the bishounen and biseinen."
Fangirl Fantasy Generator - "Produces a plethoria of painfully pretty personagages of the male persuasion. Great hair, mysterious backstories - what more could anyone want?"
Magical Knight Generator - "Magical Girls need their counterparts - magical knights! Hair, power, costumes, and more, randomized for your convenience!"
Super Ninja Generator - "There are stealthy ninjas - then there's over-the top super-powered super-ninjas in anime, manga, and more. When you need a new ninja with powers and superhuman abilities, come here!"
Vampire Generator - "From standard vampires to anime creatures of the night, all the way to monstrous bloodsuckers, this generator provides all your vampire needs!"
What can I say except that I'm not so picky? Anyways I usually go through 20 to 50 possibilities and combine the results I like into several possible characters. This time I'll do 5 for each generator and see what I come up with.
The Results:
The clever yet mocking knight. This kitsune has abandonment issues and needs love. His medium-length, wavy, silky hair is the color of an overcast sky, and is worn in a simple style. His burning eyes are like two tiger-eye gems. His uniform is white and gray, and it looks like a fusion of a sorcerer's robes and a schoolboy's outfit. He has superhuman intellect. He uses an ancient form of martial arts that emphasizes confusing one's opponent.
This prince is as socially awkward as he is cute. His beautiful hair is amber. This playful magic knight's luminous eyes are burgundy. He has purity powers that are activated by chants. His outfit is gray and orange in even proportions, looks like a fusion of a king's raiment and a stage magician's outfit, and incorporates a series of eye symbols.
Wait, two?! Yes, two knights to take on the dragon. The question is, who get's the princess? Oh, as for how they deal with each other, the one is the brains and the other has the privileges of a prince, they're a team.
So, how about the princess? Well, I could list off more generators, but you should look for yourself. Again, 5 for each generator, 3 this time. Alright I'm using the ninja, vampire and magical girl generators this time.
Results:
This laid-back kunoichi is very tall and has a muscular build. Her silky, straight, shoulder-length hair is the color of dying embers, and is worn in a businesslike, simple style. She has round sky-blue eyes that seem to glow in the dark. Her preferred weapon is a throwing knife. She uses a mixture of weapons and martial arts to produce fire from friction in the air. She can take on the traits of dragons. Her outfits are those of a ranger.
This isn't a typical princess, but she sounds interesting. I'll admit to thinking of having the "princess" as a babysitter rather than a captive. Thus, the above sounded like she'd be able to take care of young dragons.
Time for the dragon. Okay, more than one dragon. Fact is that dragonsitting requires more than one dragon. No young dragon came up, so instead, well here are the results using one of the Dragon Generators.
Results:
Mindblast - She is a young adult dragon. She has black scales and eyes that induce terror. Her breath is a powerful blast of air. She is extremely intelligent. Her ability to detect magic is very strong. She lives in a friendly castle. Her hoard is huge and consists almost entirely of magical artifacts.
Firesoul - She is a mature adult dragon. She has red scales and two large horns jutting from her head. Her breath is gouts of fire. She is surprisingly helpful towards non-draconic races. Her role among other dragons is that of a shaman. She lives in an abandoned temple. Her hoard is impressive.
Skyspell - He is a mature adult dragon. He has violet scales and ridges on his back. His breath is a bolt of electricity. His magical skills are superb. He lives in an exotic forest of strange and poisonous plant life. His hoard is giant and consists almost entirely of valuable tomes.
Why these three? Well the first is a dragon who's child(ren) need babysitting, as she is a young adult. The Second, Firesoul, is the one in charge of doing the babysitting with Skyspell helping with guard duty.
So, how might these characters come together? I'm thinking the princess works occasionally as help for Firesoul. The Prince and his buddy heard about her being carried off by a dragon. Hmmm... intruders anybody? What happens if the princess is the one to encounter those two, and treats them as a threat?
Recap
With an old, overused plot and some random generators, I've had some creative fun. Trying to save the dragon's paid babysitter from the dragons never occurred to me before.
Think about that for a moment. A short, one sentence plot that has been drastically overused and some seriously disconnected content that doesn't quite fit the plot is what resulted in that story. When everything is too simple, little to no thought is required. So, make it more complicated and it takes more thought. Tasks that are safe to fail at give security to experiment with creativity and critical thinking.
Why Does This Work?
First is that the activity is engaging. Each time you read one of the random bits of content you have an opinion about it, and make choices about it. Do you want to see more? What about using another random generator? Making silly random content is not stressful, and it's engaging.
Second is that it isn't a linear path. It isn't a process where you just follow the instructions of another. It's a challenge to find the content you want while being confronted with many possibilities and non-sense. Each result opens up another set of patterns to be used.
Third is that each random bit of content triggers more thought. Take the following for an example.
The enormous radioactive bat-monkey. It is the last survivor of a lost species. It mindlessly seeks someone to give it orders.
... Ya, which part to react to, or maybe the whole. Several phrases bring other information to mind. The physiology of bats and monkeys, the emotional state of a last survivor, the mentality of mindlessly seeking a master; all these are a part of the whole. How they interact defines the creature described. To understand them you think about them and trigger related thoughts. Those concepts would rarely be thought of at the same time, if ever, in normal life.
This is why it works and why it's so much fun.
Have fun, spread the word and tell me what you think,
Igen Oukan
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