My brain lights up when it meets a word game. It’s like a puzzle that’s begging to be solved. So, on those inevitable occasions when I sit down to write and my brain just doesn’t want to cooperate, playing a game is a good solution. It helps me relax and get my head in the game–literally!

With this in mind, I devised a word game that is meant to trick my brain to putting words down on the page. The words might not connect into a smooth narrative yet, but I can do that later. The point is to get some forward momentum and get some actual written material that I can work with. Here’s how it works:

I started with some blank index cards, twenty-four to be exact. I wrote each of the following words on its own index card:

Action5 SensesThoughtsEmotionsDialogueDetailWildDraw Two

Then I did it again. I now had sixteen cards, two for each word. With me so far?

Next, I took a minute to think about the kind of story I was writing. Is there a lot of action? Or do I want to spend more time on thoughts and emotions? Am I going to need a lot of dialogue? I made eight more cards using the above words, repeating any extra that I thought I might need more of. Your choice might be different than mine. Maybe you’ll make three more Thoughts cards, three more Emotions cards, an extra Dialogue card and an extra Detail card. Maybe you’ll make four more Action cards and four more Dialogue cards. Whatever you think is good for your story. Now we have twenty-four cards.

The cards are finished. Once I shuffle them and place them face down, I’m ready to start the game. Here comes the fun part. Yay!

To begin, I draw the card on top and write a sentence from my scene that communicates that aspect of the narrative.

If I draw…
then I write…Action
a sentence that shows something happening.5 Sensesa sentence in which the character is seeing, hearing,
tasting, touching, or smelling something.Detaila sentence that describes a small detail from the setting that
character zeroes in on.Thoughta sentence that shows what the character is thinking.Emotiona sentence that shows what the character is feeling.Dialoguea sentence that shows what someone is saying.Wildany of the above. Writer’s choice.Draw TwoDraw the next two cards and write one sentence
that includes both.

I don’t necessarily have to write sentences that follow the sequence of the scene. I just try to write anything that I can visualize with this particular scene. I continue drawing cards and writing sentences to help me get in the flow of writing. If I get to the end of the deck, I can shuffle the cards, turn them face down again, and start over. When my brain kicks in and wants to make its own choices, I know I don’t need the cards anymore. It’s time to forget the cards and just write!

Later, when I’m ready to edit, I can go back and move those sentences around to make they flow nicely. Some of them won’t fit at all anymore and will need to be cut. The sole purpose of the game is to get myself into the writing groove. Try it and see if it works for you!

More ideas:

Instead of having generic “5 Senses” cards, you could make one card for each of the five senses.Stack the deck by making more wild cards and adding them at the bottom. This will get you weaned off the cards gradually as you get closer to the end of the deck.Play a round-robin storytelling game with your friends where each person in turn has to draw a card and add that kind of sentence to the story. Use this game in a writing workshop to teach narrative weave.Make additional cards that are more difficult or more subtle, such as Mood, Tone, Theme, Foreshadowing, or anything else that fits with your writing style.