Writing Activities

October 22, 2023 12:14 PM

I'm running a "narrative summit" for the 8 writers at my game company. Folks want workshops or activities. What sort of workshops/activities could be fun and illuminating?

For example, two that have been suggested are: bring in some writing you love and explain why you love it. Team pitches how to integrate such a thing in a game story, or achieve the same effect in a game story. Paint a narrative on a non-narrative game.

Please bear in mind that game writers tend to be introverted, and anything requiring spending too much social mana may be difficult!

posted by musofire to Writing & Language (5 answers total)

Best answer: I wonder if running a storytelling game from the early 1800s would work. I've written up some notes on how I've demoed them very briefly, and as mentioned at the first link, I think one of the rules involved in them overtly plays with possible directions for the story in a way that is implicit in film and in text adventures. These games also involve being penalized in some fun way for making a mistake, and a very traditional 16th Century penalty was just having to answer a thoughtful question related to the game's theme--in this case, storytelling itself--as a way of sparking a conversation.
posted by Wobbuffet at 1:47 PM on October 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

Use a passage or poem that everyone has to mimic the structure of, but with their own content. A classic example this is William Carlos Williams' "This Is Just To Say" where you replace the content but keep the structure and the gist of the piece. But you can choose anything...Wall Street Journal article, diner menu, postcard message, etc.
posted by cocoagirl at 2:12 PM on October 22, 2023

The Moth has an interactive card deck. Taylor Mali has metaphor dice. You could play with those.

This (though not in the gaming realm) is literally my job, feel free to memail me.
posted by knile at 2:43 PM on October 22, 2023 [4 favorites]

could you have an activity that uses different viewpoints/perspectives to retell a story? maybe participants bring something they’re working on but feel stuck with and have another person write something based in this. as example, i bring in a passage i’m working on about a turtle making pancakes for their fish friend, and then you write a story from fish friend’s perspective.

this suggestion is not going to blow any minds, but i hope your event goes well!
posted by tamarack at 9:27 PM on October 22, 2023

You might want to consider playing The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Available as a download here. It is a game for story-tellers, but I get it if you think your group might be too introverted to enjoy it; I'm putting it here also for anyone else reading this who might be interested.
posted by Beverley Westwood at 2:32 AM on October 24, 2023