[Exercise] Speed Story Concepting

[holland]

General Summary

This exercise involves plotting a story under strict time constraints. For artists who want to incorporate a narrative aspect to their work, this helps to develop their comfort and confidence in the early process.

If you have any interest in GM-ing for something like Dungeons and Dragons, this is also a helpful exercise, especially if you incorporate the verbal elements and prioritize their delivery as improv practice.

Purpose of the Exercise

- Become less precious about your story ideas.

- Get comfortable using and elaborating on random prompts.

- Identify when guiding questions are needed and think of what to ask on-the-spot.

- Be pushed somewhat outside your comfort zone in terms of genres and themes through random influences.

- Get comfortable describing your thoughts and ideas around stories with words.

Prerequisite Skills

You should have some basic knowledge of storytelling already and be capable of writing a 50-word drabble, however poorly executed it may be. You should also have some experience making random decisions using dice.

These types of timed exercises are meant to cement the things you already know into an automatic form you can use more easily. They don't teach brand new concepts.

Required Materials

- A book or pamphlet you can select random words from with little friction and little distraction.

- A writing tool and surface for taking notes and logging the final product.

- A six-sided die for answering questions asked while plotting. (You can use specialty dice instead if you're familiar with them or already have a kit you work with for this sort of thing.)

- An adjustable timer with an alarm. If you don't have a physical one, there are other options -- just be mindful of what might distract you. For example, youtube has timer videos, there are timer apps / websites, and most devices with voice control will allow you to ask a timer to be set.

- (optional) A voice recorder device or app. Even if you don't playback the audio, knowing you're recording can be enough to change how your brain approaches an assignment. But if you can't access one or find it causes too much stage fright, feel free to skip it. This is more of a "step up" in difficulty for those already doing well with the exercise.

Exercise Instructions

First Attempt Handicap: You can go past the timer alarm on your first pass through, as you're learning the rules and trying to understand the process. After that, the timer is strictly applied.

If you have a disability etc, please make adjustments as needed to accommodate your needs. This exercise should be hard but fun. Not physically painful and not mentally draining to the point of worsening your day.

1. Stand or sit somewhere that you're comfortable and can easily access both your source book and notes. If you're using a recorder, place it someplace close enough for it to pick up your voice. You can record the full session or one rep at a time.

2. Set a timer for three minutes. When this time runs out, you have to stop brainstorming and skip to step 7.

3. Select 2-3 random words from your book. (Flip to random pages and place your finger in a random spot without looking. If it's between words or on a preposition, select the nearest usable word, or just flip the page and place your finger again.) Even if you don't like the word, you still need to use it. These first words provide the inital seed for your story. Write them down so they are not forgotten.

4. Brainstorm aloud how these words might be related. (You can whisper if the walls are thin. But it's important to put narrative matters into a tangible form, as the brain will play tricks that make your story ideas seem deeper than they are otherwise.) Do these words suggest anything about the setting, characters, genre, props, or plot? Do they have a particular mood to them?

5. Once you have established some narrative relationship between the words (even if it's not set-in-stone), you may randomly select another word and write it down. Again, you must find its relationship to the previous words in the story by brainstorming aloud before you are permitted to draw a new word. Rinse & repeat. The more words you draw, the more you should be solidifying the story premise into one concrete idea.

6. If you are unsure how something might play out, consult your die. A D6 (six-sided) die can easily accommodate questions that require basic yes/no answers, yes/no with context (like "yes and" vs "yes but"), range/severity, and multiple choice questions. For example, perhaps you get the word "pouring," but you're on the fence about whether it should refer to pouring  blood or pouring tea and just how much is coming out. So you assign one to evens, one to odds, and roll. The higher the number, the more of that liquid is coming out. Jot down the roll/conclusion as briefly as possible. You can ask questions at any point during your process, but if you rely on them too much, they'll eat up all your brainstorming time.

7. When the timer does finally run out, you cannot select any more words, but you can finish connecting the last one chosen.

8. Write or verbally narrate the complete story idea using only what you have available from the brainstorming portion of the exercise. This should be a drabble that takes no more than 10 minutes to complete. 5 minutes is preferrable. You're just logging what's already known, plus filling in minor gaps needed to tell the story as prose.

9. Set the timer again and repeat the exercise.

Do as many reps as you are comfortable with.

For first timers, I reccommend no more than three reps in one day with a break inbetween each.

For experienced storytellers, I recommend five reps, a longer break, five reps, a longer break...

When it's no longer useful or becomes unpleasant, find something else to do. Exercises are not meant to be grinded for eternity.