Mad Libs Create Your Own

Brainy Bunny is a mother of two. Together they read, craft, and play games for fun.

I made this Thanksgiving Mad Lib in less than 15 minutes. — I fabricated this Thanksgiving Mad Lib in less than 15 minutes.

Brainy Bunny, CC Past ii.0

What Are Mad Libs?

Mad Libs are a word replacement game. The concept was created in the 1950s, and information technology has been a huge commercial success for its creators, Roger Price and Leonard Stern. Although the term is trademarked, it has passed into mutual utilise to refer to any funny fill-in story.

I was 8 or ix years quondam the first time I e'er tried Mad Libs. My friend and I laughed at the pure silliness that resulted whenever we filled in the blanks. Today, the only thing that's different is that I now spend hours laughing with my kids (9 and 6 years former) instead of my childhood friend. I even do developed Mad Libs with my sister!

I'm going to show you how y'all can share in the fun and become started making Mad Libs of your ain with just a few simple steps.

Write a Curt Text

The starting time step to making your own Mad Lib is writing a (very) brusk story. Your inspiration tin come from anywhere: a holiday theme, a life bicycle event such every bit a hymeneals or a birth, or fifty-fifty your everyday routine.

Blazon the paragraph in a word processing program or handwrite it with pencil. (This will brand it easier for y'all to erase words afterwards.)
Write a few sentences. Don't stress if they're not funny to kickoff with; they will exist when yous play the game afterward on!
Keep writing until yous have between 100 and 200 words. It tin be in one long paragraph, divide into several brusk paragraphs, or even set as a listing of bullet points.
Add a title that reflects the subject of the text yous wrote.

Parts of Speech Used in Mad Libs

If you're non certain about the parts of speech, take a moment to review the ones commonly used in Mad Libs. (This listing is not comprehensive!)

noun: a person, place, or thing (the President, living room, loving cup)
adjective: a word that describes a noun (smelly, light-green, alive)
verb: a word that shows an action (run, jump, play)
adverb: a word that describes how you lot do an activity (chop-chop, gracefully, badly)
interjection: a short word or phrase that expresses emotion (Hey! Oh! WTF?!?)

Choose Words to Pull Out

Once your text is in good shape, you take to make up one's mind which words to pull out.

Choose between one and iii words to take out of each long sentence. Very curt sentences can stay whole, but interjections are platonic to substitute.
Make a annotation telling what part of speech fits nether each word you erase, in case y'all forget.
In some cases, yous may want to further limit the scope of words immune. For example, body parts, types of liquid, foods, and gendered names are very often specified instead of just asking for a substantive.
Reread your text once, saying "blank" instead of the original words that you lot erased. If funny ideas beginning to pop into your head, you'll know you lot've washed it correct.

How to Format Your Mad Libs

If you're simply dashing off a quick game to keep your kids busy in the eating place while you're waiting for your nutrient, you lot tin can't do meliorate than pencil and paper. It'due south easily accessible, and the pencil's eraser makes pulling words out to get out blank spaces a snap. Remember to leave space between the lines for noting the parts of speech, though!

Special Occasions

If you lot're preparing a personalized Mad Lib for a special occasion, you'll want information technology to look nice and be legible.

Using your discussion processing program, write your story.
Once it's finished, hit return twice at the end of each line, then you accept a blank line of space between lines of text.
Then highlight a word to erase, and replace information technology with a row of underscore marks.
In the blank line beneath, tab over to a spot underneath the write-on line and type in the part of spoken language.
Repeat this process for the whole story (information technology doesn't take as long equally it sounds!). You may want to decrease the size of the font in the office of speech rows so they don't distract the reader.
Save your file and impress it, and you're set up to have a great time laughing with your friends.

The Star-Spangled Banner is in the public domain, so it was easy to grab the lyrics online and quickly pull some words out. — The Star-Spangled Banner is in the public domain, so it was easy to grab the lyrics online and rapidly pull some words out.

Brainy Bunny, CC BY 2.0

Texts You Tin can Accommodate for Mad Libs

Every bit long as you are using your Mad Libs for only personal, not-commercial use, you can adapt copyrighted material. These are some great sources to utilise:

Scroll to Proceed

song lyrics
advertisements
travel brochures
recipes
excerpts from Television set or movie scripts
a paragraph from your favorite (or least favorite!) novel

Did your boss write a peculiarly asinine email today at work? Drop some words out and make it a Mad Lib with your coworkers (just don't let him notice information technology!).

Mad Libs are everywhere, just waiting for you to pull out a few words and discover them!

Perfect Occasions for Mad Libs

Mad Libs are swell at keeping kids occupied and happy for x–15 minutes at a fourth dimension (or fifty-fifty longer, if your kids actually get into information technology). Bring your homemade Mad Libs forth or dash off a quick one while you're in these situations:

earlier you get your nutrient in a restaurant
in the waiting room at the doctor'southward office
on a road trip (have someone else write the words down if you're driving)

Mad Libs are likewise great at parties for older kids or adults. Gear up a few special themed stories for occasions such as:

birthday parties (the silly story should feature the guest of laurels, of course)
bridal showers (adult-only plots virtually the nuptials night or honeymoon can exist hilarious)
baby showers (try writing a Mad Libs nascence scene!)
holiday get-togethers (There are plenty of official Mad Libs books for Christmas, just if you want any for Thanksgiving or about non-Christian holidays, you'll have to write your own.)

bruuh on May 18, 2020:

artistic

Me on May eighteen, 2020:

Prissy ideas

OwO? on May eighteen, 2020:

its very fun

OOF on May 18, 2020:

I like madlibs

A on May xviii, 2020:

I beloved madlibs they're amazing

A teacher on March 24, 2020:

Can I use your mad Lib and put it on my Google Classroom?

jo on June 29, 2019:

love these mad libs. I love them and so much that I made a few of my own.

Alexandria Shand on June 10, 2019:

I love these

Tabular array on June 05, 2019:

I honey mad libs

Poppy from Enoshima, Nippon on November 19, 2018:

I desire to play this with my students, though I'm not entirely sure if they'd get it. A very clear and informative article about Mad Libs.

smart2387 on February 24, 2018:

i beloved mad libs so much that i can practice them all day. I always laugh my center out every fourth dimension they are and so funny!!!!!

rayven on December xvi, 2017:

i love this game

Nathan Kiehn on November 02, 2017:

This is a great idea. My sisters and I have had a lot of fun doing official MadLibs, merely I've never idea of making my own. It'd be cool to endeavor whenever we're bored or have a long wait. Cheers for the idea.

Crazyfern784 on July 08, 2017:

The first time I ever heard almost MadLibs were ii years ago.

eliizabetn on April 26, 2017:

I love madlibs

Brainy Bunny (author) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on March 24, 2016:

Same for me. Mad Libs taught me the parts of spoken communication while also existence a hilarious way to pass the time.

Robert Levine from Brookline, Massachusetts on March 23, 2016:

Mad Libs were all the rage at my uncomplicated & centre school in the 1980s. I'm sure they contributed immensely both to my honey of language and to my appreciation for absurd humor.

Brainy Bunny (author) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on February 22, 2016:

Aye, Bob! It is great for kids as soon equally they can learn parts of voice communication (which may be younger than you lot think). When my son was 3, he started to play with united states of america -- we would merely explain to him what kind of word nosotros needed and give an example (e.chiliad., for a verb, we would say "an activity word like run or jump").

Bob Schroeder on Feb 09, 2016:

This is a game I can play with the grandkids. Don't remember playing it as a child, simply I think information technology volition piece of work for young people.

Erudite Bunny (author) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on December 07, 2012:

Thanks for reading, Monis Mas. Enjoy!

Erudite Bunny (writer) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on December 07, 2012:

Melovy, maybe you tin can grab them at one of those rare moments when they're interested in being part of the family, or when they can't escape, such as on car rides. Or file this hub away for some other ten or fifteen years until you accept grandkids! ;-)

Erudite Bunny (writer) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on December 07, 2012:

Starbright, thanks for reading and voting.

DzyMsLizzy, I'chiliad then glad you're going to give it a try! Information technology'due south a good intergenerational game, since it doesn't involve running around -- but a sense of sense of humor!

Agnes on December 07, 2012:

This is very fun! Thank for reminding me of these!

Yvonne Spence from UK on December 07, 2012:

Congrats on HOTD. This looks a fun way to keep kids occupied - wish I'd had your hub a few years ago equally mine a teenagers at present and occupy themselves with the ubiquitous ipod, mobile phone etc.

Erudite Bunny (author) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on Dec 07, 2012:

Thanks, Biter. I always appreciate being appreciated!

Erudite Bunny (author) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on December 07, 2012:

Cheers, lovedoctor926. I actually got the idea to write the hub after searching for a book of Thanksgiving Mad Libs. Turns out they make them for tons of holidays (dozens of titles just for Christmas, of form) but non Thanksgiving. So I made upwardly my own!

Erudite Bunny (author) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on December 07, 2012:

Victoria Lynn, y'all tin definitely make them for adults! They're a keen icebreaker for bridal or infant showers, and they tin can be a fun action for a retirement political party or anniversary party, also. And if you want truly adult material for, say, a bachelorette party, all yous accept to do is tell the participants to make their answers on the raunchy side. You can turn any normal, innocent text into something full of allusion and double entendre, if that's what you're looking for!

Liz Elias from Oakley, CA on December 07, 2012:

Congratulations on HOTD!! What a fun matter to practice! My mom and I used to have great fun with "Mad Libs," and she also joined in with my kids, and they enjoyed them besides.

It never occurred to us to write our own. What a fabulous thought! (Just equally an aside, well-nigh WP programs have a menu choice for "subscript," which will automatically be in a much smaller typeface.)

I'yard going to dash some off right now, and send them to MY grandchildren! Voted up, funny, interesting and shared!

Brainy Bunny (writer) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on Dec 07, 2012:

Thank you lot, pstraubie48. You can definitely use Mad Libs every bit a fun teaching tool, whether you're working with elementary schoolhouse kids learning their parts of speech or adult ESL students working on vocabulary and idioms.

Brainy Bunny (author) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on December 07, 2012:

Paradise7: It sounds similar you're describing "Exquisite Corpse," which despite it's strange proper noun is too a actually fun party game. If you like that, you'll actually enjoy making your own Mad Libs equally well.

Lucy Jones from Scandinavia on Dec 07, 2012:

Great idea and fun hub. Thank you for sharing. Voted upwards.

Biter on December 07, 2012:

This is the best HoTD I've seen in a while. Great stuff! Prissy job.

lovedoctor926 on December 07, 2012:

I've ever loved Mad Libs. This game is so addicting. As a affair of fact, I was at Barnes & Nobles the other day and actually picked up a Mad Libs book. What a creative topic for a hub. Congrats! I can see why information technology'southward hub of the day.

Victoria Lynn from Arkansas, Usa on Dec 07, 2012:

I always loved Mad Libs--for adults, as well! It would be funny to brand i out of a song! or a recipe! Groovy hub. Congrats on HOTD.

Patricia Scott from North Key Florida on December 07, 2012:

These are fun. We enjoyed so much making up our ain when I was still educational activity. It was fun to use silly words in the blanks so nosotros could all express mirth a lot. Congratulations on HOTD ps

Paradise7 from Upstate New York on December 07, 2012:

We've had a (sort of) similar version going on, where 1 person starts a story, and then in the centre of a sentence passes it to the next person, and and so forth...This is fifty-fifty improve in some ways.

Thank you for a truly delightful share.

Brainy Bunny (author) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on December 07, 2012:

PracticalMommy, I did this at my daughter's altogether party and at a friend'due south bridal shower, and it was tons of fun. Merely make sure you explain the rules clearly when you're playing with larger groups, or some people will get confused. Cheers for reading!

Brainy Bunny (author) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on December 07, 2012:

Thank you, whonu. I had a lot of fun writing this hub.

Erudite Bunny (writer) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on December 07, 2012:

Dorota, thank you for reading. It'due south always dainty to be appreciated!

Erudite Bunny (author) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on December 07, 2012:

You and me both, snakeslane! Thanks for reading.

Verlie Burroughs from Canada on December 07, 2012:

Congratulations BBunny on a fun Hub of the day. Hope the feed is fixed soon so people will run across it! Regards, snakeslane

Dorota on December 07, 2012:

Great commodity, many thanks for that, wish to have more like this:)

Marissa from United States on December 07, 2012:

What a peachy thought to write your own Mad Libs! Doing so would be an awesome game for a kid'due south birthday party or whatever developed commemoration.

Congrats on the Hub of the Twenty-four hours!

whonunuwho from United States on December 07, 2012:

a very unique arroyo to Hubbing and well washed, my friend. whonu

Brainy Bunny (writer) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on December 07, 2012:

Thanks, Suzie HQ. "Mad Libs" is really a trademarked term for this game in the United states, simply I've heard from several readers that the Mad Libs books are either not available or non pop across the pond. All the more reason to brand your own!

Suzanne Ridgeway from Dublin, Ireland on Dec 07, 2012:

Smashing Thought ,Brainy Bunny

Love the inventiveness yous can exercise and it is something that is perfect for Christmas! Not that familiar with the term "Mad Libs" but do remember something similar as kids we would play. Congrats on HOTD

voted upwardly, interesting, funny useful!

Erudite Bunny (author) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on Dec 07, 2012:

Hi, Gloshei. I'g glad I could innovate you to Mad Libs. Try making ane, and you'll run across how much fun they tin can be!

Gloria from French republic on December 07, 2012:

This looks fun to do Brainy Bunny, merely I too must acknowledge I accept never heard of information technology. Gee we must exist deadening in Europe!!

Looks like we will accept some with this one thanks

Brainy Bunny (author) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on December 07, 2012:

Thank you, Heather! Mad libs are so much fun, and I'm glad your willing to try making them on your own. It'due south really rewarding when yous can make your kids laugh (on purpose!) at something you've written.

Heather63 on December 07, 2012:

Great hub, Brainy Bunny! I dearest doing mad libs - they ever leave me giggling, whether I'm the i filling in the blanks or the one reading them. I've tried making a few of my own on long machine trips with my kids. You've got them down to a science!

Brainy Bunny (author) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on October 29, 2012:

Thank you, clevercat! Anyone who likes word games should honey Mad Libs, and they're really easy and fun to create. Let me know if you make whatever smashing ones!

Rachel Vega from Massachusetts on October 28, 2012:

Oh my gosh, I merely love Mad Libs. I shared this on Facebook and voted up and others. Thanks for the dandy thought!!!

Brainy Bunny (author) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on Oct 26, 2012:

HAHAHAHA! Greekgeek, that is absolutely fantastic. Get-go of all, "moist" is one of those gross words that is always perfect for Mad Libs, but "noseflute"? That's phenomenal. And the imagery in your version of "Trees" is disturbingly brilliant. I hope I don't have nightmares of a battery acid-encrusted snout!

Ellen from California on October 26, 2012:

Yep! My parents got me started on Mad Libs at most age 9 as a fun educational game, to teach me parts of spoken communication and grow my vocabulary. I started out with "stinky" "barrel" linguistic communication, too, but my parents took turns with me in supplying some of the words, so I learned past example that it'due south worth acquiring more artistic vocabulary similar "moist" (a Mad Libs favorite adjective in my household), "spleen," "bitchy," "stagger" and "noseflute."

I can still call up one of our Mad Libs thirty years subsequently, since we saved it and posted it on the fridge. With apologies to Joyce Kilmer:

"I think that I will never run into

A verse form lovely equally a snout.

A snout who on a summer'south day

Lifts its crusty bombardment cables to pray.

Upon whose crock pot snow has lain,

Who intimately lives with guppies.

Poems are made by fools like me,

just only Mickey Mouse tin make a lizard."

(Mad Libs of Kilmer'southward "Trees" poem, 1913.)

Biter on October 26, 2012:

I LOVE THIS HUB! Mad Libs are terrific. Voted up, funny, and awesome.

Erudite Bunny (author) from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania on Oct 26, 2012:

Seriously, Wilderness? You've never tried Mad Libs? Allow me know how it goes -- I'm certain y'all're going to exist laughing up a tempest.

LauraG, I am a huge fan of teaching with Mad Libs. My son started learning his parts of voice communication at just four years old considering he wanted to play, too!

Oh my gosh, Greekgeek, that is hilarious. It totally pays to play with someone who has a creative listen and can come up with more obscure words than "stinky" and "barrel", which seem to exist the words most frequently volunteered when I play with my kids!

Ellen from California on Oct 25, 2012:

I beloved Mad Libs. I confess I will sometimes have a favorite book off the shelf and copy out a particularly dramatic paragraph -- in-dwelling house use only, of course, and then as not to be posting copyrighted material somewhere.

I tin can assure you that the Scary Galadriel Speech in The Lord of the Rings is never quite the same later your friends have helped you lot produce the "In place of the Nighttime Lord, you would have a HAGGIS!" version.

LauraGSpeaks from Raleigh, NC on October 25, 2012:

Mad Libs are dandy! This is a very useful hub for me--side by side week I am doing a Halloween language arts lesson in my daughter's grade using Mad Libs!

Dan Harmon from Boise, Idaho on Oct 25, 2012:

Mad Libs has been effectually for 60 years? And I never saw information technology? This looks like fun and I have a large group coming for Thanksgiving in a few weeks; a perfect time to effort information technology out.

Now if I could only notice a writer to pen me upward a good story to start with...