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If you have ever played a fantasy role-playing game or watched others as they've played one, you've got
basic idea. All you need is an imagination, some paper and some dice. You don't need to use fantasy or science fiction as backdrop, but one of reasons it is so effective is that kids love it and respond to it so readily. Magic, dragons and spaceships capture their imaginations and this is especially true for boys.
In our game, we start with a character sheet. A very long, detailed character sheet, where only thing kids have to do is fill in blanks. But questions proposed on sheet cause young writers to think about their characters on a much deeper level than what they're used to. They can't play game until they have a fully fleshed-out person on paper who grabs them emotionally. Next we start story. The story is presented in a completely verbal, interactive format. The game leader, or Legend Guardian, places newly made characters into an imaginary setting, with a plot already planned.
The setting is described in great detail, as settings should be, and then conflict, goal, and reward for achieving goal are all presented to players. The players then set off on an imaginary adventure, led by Legend Guardian, during which time they fight monsters, find treasures, discover new places and struggle for their lives against many obstacles. Finally ending comes when players achieve their goal and win reward. This game is played with nothing but paper and dice.
I find that when I start this game, kids who were tense in beginning when they learned that they would be doing creative writing, are now happy, relaxed, and more than a little fired up. The pressure is off. This is fun!
The game part offers students a setting and a plot to use in their stories if they don't have any ideas of their own of what to write. But it is also a great lure. They don't realize that they already have been writing a story just by playing game. The only thing they haven't done is translate it into words on paper.
Now here's catch. The only way their characters can move up levels in game is to put words on paper. Words are like money. They're very valuable. The more they use, stronger their characters become. Kids understand process of moving up levels. It's basis of every video game they play. This is something they're quite familiar with. I'm not particular about what words they use at first. And I never check their spelling or grammar. The only rule is that whatever they're writing has to be something they're willing to read aloud (maybe just to me, or maybe to group). Kids won't write nonsense if they have to read it aloud. They'll write stories or poetry that matter to them. They'll also hear flaws in their own work as they read it verbally. It will bother them enough that they'll want to improve words so they sound better. And THAT'S where mechanics come into play. Much later, in second or third draft of their story at a time when they've come to care about words that are on their paper. When they want it to not only sound good but look good as well. That's when I teach more advanced writing technique concepts to show them that there are millions of ways to manipulate words to get exactly what you want out of them. I like to show them how many fun ways there are to add depth to their work so that others will cherish stories that they write.
The only way you can get children to care about written mechanics (unless they're natural writers who are self-driven) is to get them to care about stories they've created first. Writing is an emotional process. If you're not emotionally attached to your characters and your story, you're certainly not going to care if it looks good on paper or not.
To summarize, whole point of game is to get kids to start thinking about characters they like and putting them in settings that are important to them. To motivate them, volume of words written is key to moving those characters up levels. Children will care more about these words because they have to write something they'd be proud to read aloud. The editing and mechanics come in later once they're hooked enough on their stories to seek out ways to perfect them. Finally, if they're really into learning all they can, they are taught art form of writing (adding symbolism and metaphor to give words depth and meaning), but not all kids will make it to this stage. Only real writers will, which is how it should be anyway. Just like only real mathematicians will make it to quantum mechanics.
It's teaching writing backwards. But it works to turn non-writers into writers like nothing else out there.
Miriam has been teaching creative writing for over 20 years, often to students who hate writing. She has developed many unique and valuable techniques that work to motivate students to write more original content than they ever have. Visit: Creative Writing Solutions website for more information.
