Are You an Idea Swapper?
Posted by lindamartinandersen on September 10, 2013
“Are You an Idea Swapper?” by Linda Martin Andersen
“A Writer’s Playground”–A place to find wordplay, writing, and monthly calendar activities for kids and those young at heart.
September 10, 2013 is Swap Ideas Day
Are You a swapper? What kind?
Q & A–About Swappers
Q. When war buddies get together, what do they swap?
A. War stories.
Q. What do football players swap?
A. Replays from great games.
Q. What do you call people who swap coupons?
A. Coupon swappers.
Q. What do you call people who swap recipes?
A. Great cooks.
Q. What do you call people who swap ideas?
A. Idea swappers. Sometimes they’re called a Think Tank.
Q. What is a think tank?
A. According to MacMillan Dictionary, “a think tank” is “a group of people who work together to produce new ideas on a particular subject.”
Q. What is another name for producing new ideas?
A. Brainstorming. See Tips for Brainstorming–pbskids: http://pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/workshop/process_brainstorm.html
Q. Can one person be a “Think Tank?”
A. It takes a group to make a “Think Tank,” but one person can definitely be a thinker.
Your turn. Please place your answer in the comment section.
1. Can one person be an Idea Swapper? Why or why not?
2. When were you part of an Idea Swapper Group/Think Tank? What was your project?
3, What other things can be swapped? State as a Q & A.
Thanks for visiting “A Writer’s Playground.” Come again soon. Bring a friend.
Copyright © 2013 Linda Martin Andersen
A Writer's Playground 
Joan Y. Edwards said
Dear Linda,
I enjoyed reading your blog post. I believe you have to have someone to swap ideas with to be an Idea Swapper. You can be available to swap ideas with someone, but they haven’t hired you for the job..In that case, you would be an unemployed Idea Swapper.
Have a fun evening
Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards.
lindamartinandersen said
Joan,
An available or unavailable idea swapper? An employed or unemployed idea swapper? Wanted… one idea swapper! Thinking on all this made me smile. It also brought ideas to mind. Now, will I swap them or not?
Thanks for joining in on the idea swap conversation!
joycemoyerhostetter said
Hmmmm I’ve swapped a few ideas around all by myself. Or changed my mind at least. But then again, who knows. Maybe I was influenced by others. i probably was.
lindamartinandersen said
Joyce,
When writing a scene, do you often swap one idea for another? Do you let scenes swap places? Swap chapters? I was thinking along these lines too, but then I wondered is this switching instead of swapping? Who can clear this up?
Thanks for your comments. I hope this brought some playfulness to your night.
Tracy Campbell said
Linda, you always come up with posts that make me think, but right now I can’t think of something to swap. LOL 🙂
lindamartinandersen said
Hi Tracy,
I love that my blog posts make you think.
As for other things to swap–I remember some reality shows where one person would swap lives with someone. It was too much for me. I prefer simpler things like business cards, email addresses, stories for critique, collector cards, rings, etc. Do any of those work for you?
Tracy Campbell said
I prefer your simple lists too! 🙂
lindamartinandersen said
Tracy,
Enjoy your weekend. Maybe you can swap seats with your husband and watch a movie on television.