The Curious Creative: Week 17

Choose Your Own Adventure MadLib

This is the 17th installment of The Curious Creative, weekly 10-minute writing exercises for busy individuals interested in exploring their creativity. For the complete rationale, click here. 

My Thoughts:

When my students are struggling with a new writing assignment because they are out of their element, being asked to do something they’ve never done before, I often give them templates to get them started. After using the template, many are then comfortable revising to make it their own, by doing things as simple as changing sentence structure or word choice. Maybe writing stories is something completely new for you, and you feel out of your element being asked to write something creative. For this week’s exercise, you will use a template from a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book jacket as your jumping off point.

Your Turn!

1. Before writing, let’s generate topics. On a piece of paper, make a list of difficulties, problems, and challenges you are facing in your life right now, from small to big, mundane to deep. Don’t worry- this will get more uplifting and fun in a minute!
2. Look at your list and make a blink decision – circle one that stands out to you.
3. Use the following template from the book jacket of a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book. Fill in the blanks according to the challenge you circled on your list. You are a _____________, about to embark upon your most challenging and dangerous mission. Equipped with _____________, your objective is to find _________________. You bravely face ___________, ________________, and ___________- but will you return to _____________ with ____________?
4. Once you complete this template, don’t stop. Turn your “editor brain” off (the voice that tells you, “This is silly. This is stupid.”), and just run with it. Think about this as the preface or introduction to your story. Have fun! This is all about creative play!

How did you do? Did some crazy details come out of your pen that made you wonder, “Where did that come from?!” Did the exercise feel playful and light, even though you were writing about a difficulty in your life? Do you even feel a little empowered to lean into this challenge in real life?

To encourage each other and grow a community of Curious Creatives, sign in from a google account so you can share your creation in the comment boxes below. Also, if you subscribe to this blog (submit your email address in the "Follow this Site by Email" box to the right), you will get an email update whenever a new exercise is added. Thanks for playing!