About the Dice Game!
Most stories have many of the same pieces. There is usually a main character who is telling the story or who the story is about. That character usually begins some place, somewhere. Then the character might find something, or do something, or someone else does something to the character. Then the character does something to respond, and the story keeps on going.
You might call this a story structure, or framework, or outline, but it is just the way a story idea can be built. If you think about some of your favorite stories, I’ll bet you can find a structure like this. Sometimes the character has other characters helping them, and sometimes there are other characters who are fighting against them. You can add as much as you want to the story, but it is usually best to start out with the simple “structure” to get your idea started.
This is a simple little game to help think of story ideas. The game uses dice, just one will do. You will throw the die four times. The first time you throw it, use that number to select the “WHO” in column one. Use the number of your second throw to select the “WHERE” in column two, and so on. After four throws, you will end up with something like…
A teacher…at the store…picked up a shiny rock….the lights went out…
Is that a story? Not yet, but it might be a good story idea…
Last night, my teacher went to the store to buy cookies for the party this morning. As she walked down the aisle, she saw something on the floor. It was shining. She looked closer and saw that it was a rock, a really shiny rock. She thought it might be something cool to show us during the party this morning so she picked it up. She was surprised that the rock felt warm. Very warm. She thought maybe she ought to just put it back down and leave it there, when the lights went out all over the store. There was a very strange humming sound. The lights came back on, but my teacher was gone. She had disappeared.
That’s better. Now I can think and write about where she went, and why? What was that rock, anyway? And who, or what, put it there? Were they after her, or just anyone who might pick-up the rock? Or were they just after the cookies?
You can download the page to help you try using the dice game to create your own stories! There is a sample already filled-out, and a blank copy that you can use to create your own characters and places and stuff. If you create something you really like, I would love to see it!
Have fun!
-Pops
