Friday Funday - Part 3

Happy Friday, everyone! Because these posts have gone over so well, I'm bringing you another awesome post about things you can do with your family to keep your writer brain engaged and still have a ton of fun. I enjoy weekends with my husband and kids, and I love anything that lets me do that while keeping my creative side going. My first post was about free games you can play, the second was about word board games, and this one will be about getting to know those around you while creating new storylines or characters. Ready? Grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

Game #1 - Whodoneit? For four players (if more, increase the numbers accordingly)
Write down three personality types on tiny pieces of paper and put them in a hat. Write down killer, not killer, and not killer on three more. Put those in a hat. Have each person write down a motive for murder and put those in a hat. Have each person choose one slip of paper from each pile. Play detective and interview each participant. Make notes of their quirks, how they speak, and their body language while you try to solve the crime. Not only will this keep you all rolling on the floor laughing, you're getting some great research done!

Game #2 - Interview with the...? For two or more players
Dress up like an interviewer. Grab a clipboard, paper, and pen. Have the other player(s) write down on a sliver of paper one paranormal creature. They'll need to keep these slips in their pocket, so make sure they're small pieces of paper. Don't cheat and look. Now, you have to ask questions of the person to try and determine what paranormal creature they are. When you win, swap places. Reason for the piece of paper? So they can't change their mind halfway through and mislead you. *grin* This game can also be played with super powers. On your notepad, be sure you're writing down how vague you can be when identifying a creature. This will help you in your writing. You'll learn quirks, habits, and body language.

Game #3 - Fear This! For four or more players
Grab some paper and pens. Sit down with the other players in a circle. Round 1: Have each person tell about a scary incident that happened to them. Write down the key phrases they use as description. Try and psychoanalyze what's on the page. Ask questions about how things could've been done differently and what the possible outcome of those actions may have been. You can use fictional situations, but you won't get as visceral a reaction. Whoever comes up with the most alternative directions for the scenario, wins round 1. That person gets to throw out a scenario first in round 2. Now, for round 2: All players close their eyes except the winner of round 1. That person asks the others, one by one, to describe an encounter with something (spider, cockroach, creepy zombie, etc...). When they're done, everyone but the asker rates the story from 1-5. Tallys are kept by the asker. Winner of this round moves into sudden death with winner of round 1. Sudden Death: Round 1 winner must step out of the room. Round 2 winner will then spin a tale of what they believe it would be like to die. Answer is rated by remaining players (1-10) and round 1 winner is then allowed to return and do the same. Person with the highest score wins. I'm sure you can guess how this helps your writing.

Game #4 - Make Me Laugh! For two or more players
You're all familiar with the old game show, right? Same idea. Only you need to have a tape recorder or video recorder on. This will give you funny sayings, facial expressions, and other fodder to use in your books.

What do you think? Will you use any of these?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Friday Funday Part Two

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! It's time for the weekend, and I couldn't be happier. Today, I'm giving you some more great games you can play that'll help your wit and grammar skills while spending time with the family or friends. Unlike last week, these are games you can go to the store and buy. So grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

First up, we have Scattergories!

This game is a fun way to see how many words you know that begin with the same letter. You see, you have a die with 26 sides (one letter on each side) and ten categories. You roll the die, start the timer, and everyone tries to fill in the blanks with a word starting with your chosen letter in each category. Bonus points are given if you can come up with descriptive words that also begin with the letter rolled. For example: Food (letter C)-Crusty Cheddar Cheese or Curdled Colby Cheese. Each of those answers are worth three points. It's a seriously fun game that will have you giggling at some of the words people try to pass off. But if you have the exact same answer as someone else, you have to cross it out (no points are given to either of you). So, you have to be creative and think outside the box for this game. 2+ players.

Second, one of my all time favorites, Balderdash.

The actual definition of Balderdash is: Senseless talk or writing; nonsense. I freaking love this game because I'm a total word-nerd. Here's how it works: You draw a card with a word and definition on it (only the drawer gets to see the real definition) then read the word out loud to everyone else. They write down the word and have to come up with a definition that'll trick everyone else into believing it's the right one. Whoever drew the card writes down the real definition and collects all the papers. That person then reads the definitions out loud and people get to choose which they think is the right one. This game is a hoot when the reader can't stop laughing long enough to read the definitions, or you have someone in the circle who comes up with clever alternatives. Bonus points for every time you choose the right one out of the submitted ones, OR if folks choose your definition as the right one when it's not. Bigger bonus points if you write the correct definition on your piece of paper. Warning! There are some really obscure words in there! *grin* 3+ players

Third, and one you may not think of as a word game, Pictionary!

I think this is a super game for writers. You have to take a word and make people guess what it is by bringing them a visual. What better way to flex your descriptive muscles than having to draw something on paper? Besides, you may get an obscure word you've never heard and have to look it up. Great for vocabulary expansion! You get two teams of at least two people each. A card is drawn and you have to get your teammate to guess the word on the card by drawing pictures on a whiteboard. You can do as many of these as time (one minute) allows. Super fun for a weekend with the family or a party game. 4+ players

For my final suggestion, I give you Taboo.

This game will make your brain become a walking Thesaurus. You get two teams of at least two people each. One person tries to get their teammate to guess as many words as they can from the ones on the cards. But there's a catch! You can't use any of the words listed under the main word to get them to say the highlighted one. It becomes difficult to think up alternative ways to communicate your thoughts to your partner. Think: $100,000 Pyramid without the ability to use any word you want because you have a restriction list. One thing you'll love to hate about this game is the buzzer. Someone from the other team stands behind you and makes sure you don't use any of the words on the card. If you do, buzz! and you have to throw that one out. 4+ players


I do hope, if you've never tried any of these, you'll give them a shot. If you don't really want to put out the cash for a pre-boxed game, I have some great, free games on my last Friday Funday post you may want to check out.

What do you think? What's your favorite word/writer game?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Friday Funday

Happy Friday, everyone! The weekend is almost upon us and I figured I'd give you a few things to do in your downtime that will help your writing skills. Just a little weekend fun to keep your writerly brain engaged and on target for the workweek ahead. I know you don't really want to think about Monday, but it behooves us all to be prepared. I'll begin by giving you the name of the exercise, and then move on to how you can accomplish it (and maybe have some fun, too). Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going.

Exercise #1: Dialogue Dissection
Grab a friend or family member and chat with them. Be sure you have a recorder of some kind running (voice notes on an iPhone work great for this). Give yourself ten to fifteen minutes then shut the recording device off. End the conversation and move to a room where you can be alone. Play back the recording and recall what each of you were doing as you spoke. Mentally add commas and periods where you think they belong. Listen to it again. Pay attention to the words used, pronunciation, and inflection. Think about how you might write the conversation out. If you feel so inclined, you may do so; but, this is more of an exercise to get your brain thinking about dialogue in general.

Exercise #2: Title Trivia
Sit down with a friend or family member and grab a couple of sheets of paper or 3.5"x5" index cards. Cut them into pieces and have everyone write one word on each piece. Fold them up and throw them into a bowl. Take turns picking out two pieces and sticking them together. Pretend it's the title of a book and come up with a synopsis to support it. This is all verbal, so no need to write anything down (unless you hit upon the next great novel idea!).

Exercise #3: What's That Word?
This, again, is a two or more person game. Grab a sheet of paper and write down a sentence with at least ten words in it. Exchange with others. Now, try and come up with as many words as possible in place of the ones written. Whoever has the most variations (accurate ones) wins! Don't cheat and use a thesaurus! I find chocolate is a great motivator as a prize for this game.

Exercise #4: Acting Gone Awry
Take a character from one of your favorite novels and pretend to be them for the day. Respond to other people the way you think the character would, do things you think they would do, and really try to walk in their shoes. Take little notes as you go if you want. At the end of the day, reflect on your actions and try to flesh out the character in your head. Were there circumstances that made you wonder about the character's personality or how they would react or did it all flow very naturally? What part of the book let you know that? Use this knowledge the next time you're building your own characters (or when writing scenes of discovery).

Exercise #5: Cover Collection Craziness
Go online and take a look at other books in your genre. Save images of the covers. Print out a quick copy on regular paper or pull them up in a photo editing program. Make notes about what you like and don't like about each one. If you wanna get crazy, cut them up and glue together a whole new cover with some of the elements. Kids love this one.

These are just a few games you can play with your friends or family members to help you become a better writer. An added bonus is: You get to spend time with your loved ones while sharpening your skills!

Which one of these sounds the most fun to you?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo