Sentence Starters: Spark Your Storytelling Journey!
A fun and engaging story building technique where participants use prompts to create a collaborative narrative.
Description: Sentence starters provide a springboard for creative storytelling. Participants take turns drawing prompts that begin a story segment, and then each person builds upon the previous contribution, crafting a unique story together. This is a fantastic way to spark creativity, practice storytelling techniques, and have fun with collaborative writing.
Categories: Creative Writing Activity, Group Activity
How to Play:
- Number of Players: Flexible (works well with small or large groups)
- What You’ll Need:
- A list of sentence starters related to a chosen theme or genre (you can create your own or find them online).
- Pen and paper for brainstorming and writing.
- (Optional) Timer to keep the story moving at a good pace.
- (Optional) Display board or projector to showcase the developing story.
- Gameplay:
- Brainstorm or Choose a Theme/Genre (Optional): If desired, decide on a specific theme or genre for the story (e.g., mystery, fantasy, science fiction) to guide the prompts and narrative.
- Prepare the Sentence Starters: Write down your chosen sentence starters on individual slips of paper or create a deck of cards with each starter on a card.
- Take Turns Drawing and Writing: The first player draws a sentence starter prompt. Based on that prompt, they write a short story segment (a sentence or paragraph) that continues the narrative.
- Build the Story Together: The next player draws a prompt and then writes their story segment, continuing from where the previous player left off.
- Keep it Flowing: Continue taking turns drawing prompts and writing story segments, ensuring each addition builds upon the developing narrative.
- Read the Story Aloud (Optional): Once finished, you can read the complete collaborative story aloud as a group to enjoy the unexpected turns and creative flow.
Winning Criteria:
There’s no competition! The main objective is to have fun and collaboratively create a unique and engaging story.
Estimated Playtime:
The playtime can vary depending on the number of players, the length of the chosen sentence starters, and how much time each person takes to write their segment. It can range from a quick 10-minute activity with short prompts to a longer session for a more elaborate story.
Make it Your Own:
- Create your own unique sentence starters based on your interests or a specific theme.
- Use a mix of long and short sentence starters to add variety to the story.
- Include prompts that introduce plot twists or challenges to keep the narrative exciting.
- Set a time limit for each player’s writing segment to encourage focused creativity.
Ready to Spark Your Storytelling?
Gather your fellow storytellers, prepare your sentence starters, and embark on a collaborative journey to build a fantastic story, one creative prompt at a time!
Tags: Collaborative Storytelling, Creative Writing, Story Prompts
Similar Games:
- Round Robin Writing: Players take turns writing a sentence or short paragraph that contributes to the developing story.
- Sentence Starters: Draw prompts that provide the first sentence of a story segment, and each player builds upon it.
- Story Cubes: Roll story cubes with prompts on each side (character, setting, object, etc.) and use them to develop the story’s elements collaboratively.