Writing Prompt Game

This is a story-telling game I used to play in college with friends. It’s been used in movies. I’ve seen songwriters use it as a challenge for each other. It even gets pulled up from time to time as an icebreaker.

Yeah, I know, the last one isn’t helping my case. But give it a chance. This is both an effective brain stimulator and writing challenge.

The Rules of the Game

Pick 3 Things

The main idea is that you or someone else picks 3 different things:

• people,
• character types,
• careers,
• places,
• animals,
• situations, etc.

Back when we were playing this regularly, I even put a bunch of unrelated topics on slips of paper. By drawing 3 papers, the groupings were much more random / unexpected than trying to think of 3 things on your own.

Put Them Together in a Story

This is challenging (and hilarious) part of the game. Whoever is writing the story has to use all three things together.

Most often, the three choices are almost completely unrelated, which makes it quite a challenge to turn them into a cohesive story. And, in a game, the more ridiculous and awkward the story, the better.

For the writing challenge, you try to make it work. You come up with a world or a situation that makes the combination of things make sense. And if you succeed? If you not only make a logical story but also a good one? You will not believe the rush of accomplishment. It’s pure magic.

Making The Writing Prompt Game Harder

When that gets too easy, you make it harder by adding more choices.

• Try writing the ideas on little pieces of paper (as mentioned above) and draw them to keep your subconscious from picking things that link together.
• Ask friends for their picks. If you ask multiple people who can’t hear each other’s answers, odds of getting very unrelated topics is higher.
• Start putting qualifiers on it – it has to use these words, this method, or that world.
• Increase the number of topics to tie together.

There are infinite ways to make it a challenge again once you master the first version. The endless variety possible is what makes it a continuing challenge.

Here’s one for you to try – 1. tiny decorated hats, 2. submarines, and 3. pigs.