Sunday, December 18, 2011

John Denver Aspen Glow & The Unpredictable Tale

It's my birthday! Here is a re-post from last year and gift for all of you. Enjoy!



Now that you’ve enjoyed the music, here is the game that Emma and her Dad, Dominic de Mattos came up with called The Unpredictable Tale. If you visit their blogs you can read some of the stories that were generated from the game.

The Unpredictable Tale

Upon looking for some fun and inspiration today, I came up with a game for my dad (over at Writes of Passage) and me. It is a sort of literary exercise in itself, in which you have to write a short story depending on the rolling of a die! Hence the title 'The Unpredictable Tale' came up, and we got to trying it out. Before I post the result of my literary experiment, I'll explain the options that came up, and you can try out the game yourself if you like.

First die determines the basic role of the main character:
1] Spy/Detective
2] Fighter
3] Mage/Sorcerer
4] Child
5] Poor Person
6] Rich Person

Second decides the gender:
1-3] Male
4-6] Female

The third die shows the setting:
1] Forest
2] City
3] Cave
4] Desert
5] Mountains
6] Dungeon

And the fourth the time period:
1] Medieval
2] Futuristic
3] Victorian
4] Present Day
5] World Wars
6] Post Apocalyptic

At this stage you write the first paragraph, which needs to detail the information you have gained so far. It will describe the character and the setting. The first time we did this exercise dad and I decided to limit each paragraph to 100 words. This is great if you want a real challenge! The next stage in the process was to introduce a second character, by re-rolling the first two dice. You then have another paragraph to introduce the second character and make them meet your initial character.

The third paragraph occurs after you have rolled the die once more to determine 'What happens when...?
1] There is an Explosion
2] There is a Thunderstorm
3] A Weapon is Drawn
4] A Prophesy is Made
5] You Find an Object
6] You get Trapped

Lastly the fourth paragraph is the ending. Having a set ending is difficult, but it really challenges the imagination to think outside the box. Here are the options on the die:
1] Joy
2] Fate Confirmed
3] Defeat your Demons
4] Death
5] Love
6] Cliff Hanger!

I know I found this game, difficult and very informative! It was also great fun, and really pushed me to the limits of my creativity. I came up with two short stories that I'm really very proud of, firstly with a hundred word limit to each paragraph and secondly with no length limit. I hope you enjoy reading about, and maybe even playing my game, and check out my stories and my dad's stories when he gets round to posting them!

Thank you Dominic and Emma for letting me share this game with my followers.

P.S. Tomorrow, Guest Author Enid Wilson.

Have fun everyone.

29 comments:

Dominic de Mattos said...

I so glad you liked the game!

Madeleine at Scribble and Edit also gave it a go and she came up with a terrific story!

:Dom

N. R. Williams said...

When I am finished with my edits Dom, I will play the game too. How much fun.
NR

Vicki Rocho said...

hahaha! Fun game! Easily adaptable to all sorts of genres.

N. R. Williams said...

Hi Vicki, you've got that right. Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment.
NR

Jules said...

Where can you buy these dice? I'll add them to my "Hard to Shop For," Christmas list :)

Sounds fun... (she says with story visions dancing in her head, screaming "let us out!") :D
Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

Joanna St. James said...

I am so playing this game it sounds like fun.

N. R. Williams said...

It does sound like fun. Thank you Jules and Joanna for dropping in and leaving a comment.
NR

Joanne said...

What a great writing prompt. It seems like a really effective way to get a story going, thanks for sharing.

Colene Murphy said...

Fun! I will definitely try it out one of these days!

N. R. Williams said...

The credit goes to Emma and her dad Dominic, Joanne. But I think it would be useful for breaking writer's block.

It does sound like fun Colene.
Thank you both for dropping in and leaving a comment.
NR

Southpaw said...

That would make a fun party game too. Just tell the stories out loud.

Bast said...

Seems like fun. That time period one might thrown me though.

N. R. Williams said...

I agree Holly, a really fun party game.

You're a good enough writer Quinn to conquer time lines.

Thank you both for stopping in and leaving a comment.
NR

Golden Eagle said...

I'll have to try this out sometime--it sounds like a lot of fun!

N. R. Williams said...

Yes it does Golden, thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment.
NR

Denise Covey said...

I love this. I'm going to copy it (if you don't mind) and use it when I'm tutoring my students in English.
I will try it myself first of course. Looks like fun!

Denise Covey said...

Oh and I LOVE John Denver. 'Annies Song' is one of my faves as well as 'Country Road' as it has a very Aussie feel to it - we can drive 800klm and still not get anywhere!

N. R. Williams said...

I think that's a great idea to use this game to teach your students L'Aussie. I love John Denver too. He lived here, in Aspen Colorado and changed his last name to Denver. Thanks for dropping in and leaving a message.
NR

Unknown said...

Cool game. I'll try it. Thanks Dominic and Emma!

CD

Unknown said...

This would be so much fun if I had the talent! I may try it anyway, but I have a feeling I won't be sharing my results.

N. R. Williams said...

It does sound like a lot of fun Clarissa.

Kobico, I've read your post. You definitely have talent.

Thank you both for dropping in and leaving a comment.
NR

Patricia Stoltey said...

I don't think I'd ever heard that John Denver recording before. It's lovely.

Romance Reader said...

Sounds a cool game! I'm so going to try this! Thank you!

Riya.

N. R. Williams said...

Hey Romance, I think the game is pretty cool too. Thanks for coming by.
Nancy

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I always liked John Denver.

You are a winner today on my blog.

N. R. Williams said...

Why thank you Diae,I'll be by.
Nancy

Denise Covey said...

Hi Nancy. I adore John Denver. thanks for sharing. The game sounds great. Dom has a very talented daughter.

Merry Christmas Nancy!

Denise

Anonymous said...

Wow looks like the game has been tweaked. A great improvement.
Oh Nancy do we get to read your stories inspired by the game?

N. R. Williams said...

Hi Denise and Madeleine
Thanks for stopping by. I haven't played this game since I don't have anyone to play with. LOL
Nancy