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And Down the Stretch They Come

And Down the Stretch They Come

by | Apr 2, 2019

And Down the Stretch They Come

Choose the frontrunner issues and tackle them head-on with a quick-listing exercise.

Style

Special Agent

Skill

Applying Feedback

Time

20 mins

THE CAFE:

And Down the Stretch They Come

As a Special Agent, your strong intuition is likely to kick in before a feedback session is even done. Chances are high that you already know which problems are the front-runners.

Play to those strengths and tackle the big issues first. You know that 20% of the effort achieves 80% of the results, so focus on those areas where your efforts will pay off most. As far as solutions go, take that same approach. Go with your gut, and remember that you think and write fast. For you, writing a scene and then, if necessary, writing it again, is much faster than procrastinating in the decision-making process.

 

Materials

How to Play

  • Feedback
  • Timer
  • Paper
  • Pen

 NOTE: Once you receive feedback, you may choose to process it with a collaborator, or to take it to a quiet place where you can think it through. Both approaches can be effective as part of your Cafe toolbox.

 

1. Review the feedback you received. You may have your own notes, written thoughts from someone else, or you might be quickly jotting down feedback you just heard.

2. Set a timer for three – five minutes, depending on how long you’d like.

3. On a clean piece of paper, list the top three issues you see highlighted in the feedback.

4. Set the timer again, this time for three – five minutes per issue. Quick list a variety of solutions for each of these three problems.

5. Even if you come up with a strong idea first, keep listing. Remember that a little ahead-of-time thinking can save you time later.

6. Choose your solutions, make a quick plan of action, and make sure to start solving the first problem right away. Momentum is your friend!

Try On Other Creative Styles

Pin the Heart on the Problem

FOR INVENTORS

List the issues raised and then use “Why …?” to narrow in on the heart of the problem.

Try This

The Question Queue

FOR ARCHITECTS

Line up your questions and address them one by one in this structured revision approach.

Try This

Scramble and Sort

FOR COLLABORATORS

After collecting feedback, scramble and sort it into new categories so the group can help the writer choose a starting place for a revision.

Try This

Pin the Heart on the Problem

Pin the Heart on the Problem

by | Apr 2, 2019

Pin the Heart on the Problem

List the issues raised and then use “Why …?” to narrow in on the heart of the problem.

Style

Inventor

Skill

Applying Feedback

Time

20 minutes

THE CAFE:

Pin the Heart on the Problem

As an Inventor, ideas are your jam. When others offer you an idea, you often resist using it because using someone else’s thought can feel like cheating. For this reason, feedback sessions often turn into a tug of war for you. Someone wants you to change your ideas, and you don’t feel like using the suggestions they’re pushing on you.

What’s happening when someone tells you to cut a particular character, or suggests that someone take a different action in your story? They’re not saying they don’t like your ideas. They’re not saying their ideas are better than yours. They’re trying to tell you that something is amiss.

In this activity, we’ll use a series of “Why …?” questions to get to the heart of what feedback means. Then, you can put that idea generating genius of yours to work on a solution that feels creative, exciting, and fitting to you.

 

 

Materials

How to Play

  • Post-it notes
  • Paper
  • Pen

NOTE: Once you receive feedback, you may choose to process it with a collaborator, or to take it to a quiet place where you can think it through. Both approaches can be effective as part of your Cafe toolbox.

 

1. Review the feedback you received. You may have your own notes, written thoughts from someone else, or you might be quickly jotting down feedback you just heard.

2. For each issue raised, ask yourself “Why is this a problem?”

3. If you can identify a clear problem (such as, x character is distracting) list that problem on a post-it. Create whimsical titles for each issue listed. The issue might become “X character hogs the spotlight for no good reason.”

4. If you can’t identify a clear problem, list the issue as a question. “Why doesn’t x like x character?” Once your list is complete, the answer to your question is likely to become more clear.

5. Look over your post-its and sort the problems in an order that makes sense to you. You might see character problems, setting problems, tone problems, tension problems, clarity problems, etc. Stick your related post-its on one page together, and title the page with the overarching problem.

6. Choose one paper as your starting point, and brainstorm solutions for the overarching problem, or for each individual one. Consider inviting a collaborator to a brainstorming session to turn the idea-generation process into a game!

Try On Other Creative Styles

Scramble and Sort

FOR COLLABORATORS

After collecting feedback, scramble and sort it into new categories so the group can help the writer choose a starting place for a revision.

Try This

The Question Queue

FOR ARCHITECTS

Line up your questions and address them one by one in this structured revision approach.

Try This

And Down the Stretch they Come

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

Choose the frontrunner issues and tackle them head-on with a quick-listing exercise.

Try This

Scramble and Sort

Scramble and Sort

by | Apr 2, 2019

Scramble and Sort

After collecting feedback, scramble and sort it into new categories so the group can help the writer choose a starting place for a revision.

Style

Collaborator

Skill

Applying Feedback

Time

15 minutes

THE CAFE:

Scramble and Sort

If you’re a Collaborator, you’ll love gathering with a group of friends for a feedback session. Start there, and ask each person to write their own thoughts on post-it notes so that none get lost through the process.

To begin, read a short selection aloud. Then, listeners should capture three sets of feedback:

  • What they know
  • What they think they know
  • What they wonder

Then, move on to the scramble and sort activity below. With your group, decide how many of your pieces you’ll consider in one meeting, and whether to gather again to finish. If you choose to consider everyone’s in one sit-down, keep each round short, and make sure to bring snacks to keep everyone’s energy up!

 

Materials

How to Play

  • Timer

  • Paper

  • Pencil
  • Computer (optional)

1. Use a blank wall or large pieces of paper labeled, “Know,” “Think,” and “Wonder.

2. Each listener should put their post-its up in the correct category for all to see.

3. Each listener should review what’s up on the wall, and add any additional notes that the post-it’s spark.

4. Then, review looking for categories of questions and ideas. Work together to sort the post-its into new categories.

5. Once you have agreed on the new sort, title each of the new categories. Have fun with the titling process so that you end up with creative names.

6. Then, have a conversation about which area feels like the starting domino. Where would it be most helpful for the writer to focus first?

7. If time allows, after all the writers who will present for the night have finished the above steps, give each writer the floor for a few more minutes. If they’d like additional help, they should ask the group a “How many ways can we think of to …?” question that will help them begin to take steps forward with that starting domino. The goal is a large quantity of ideas to kickstart their thinking.

Try On Other Creative Styles

Pin the Heart on the Problem

FOR INVENTORS

List the issues raised and then use “Why …?” to narrow in on the heart of the problem.

Try This

The Question Queue

FOR ARCHITECTS

Line up your questions and address them one by one in this structured revision approach.

Try This

And Down the Stretch they Come

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

Choose the frontrunner issues and tackle them head-on with a quick-listing exercise.

Try This

The Question Queue

The Question Queue

by | Apr 2, 2019

The Question Queue

Line up your questions and address them one by one.

Style

Architect

Skill

Applying Feedback

Time

15 minutes

THE CAFE:

The Question Queue

 

Your keen eye for detail can be an obstacle when finding solutions to story problems. Each change rattles loose a flurry of other changes, and before long, you’re lost in a landslide of questions.

The “But what about …?” monster shuts down creative problem solving sessions. Head that monster off at the pass by breaking the thinking process into steps. First, list all of the problems without coming up with any solutions. Then, put those problems in order. The biggest ones should be tackled first, because often by solving the big ones, the little ones disappear. Then, tackle them one at a time. If new problems come up as you solve, add those new problems to the list wherever they belong in the line-up.

 

Materials

How to Play

  • Feedback
  • Blank Sheet of Paper
  • Pen
  • Index Cards (optional)

NOTE: Once you receive feedback, you may choose to process it with a collaborator, or to take it to a quiet place where you can think it through. Both approaches can be effective as part of your Cafe toolbox.

 

1. Review the feedback you received. You may have your own notes, written thoughts from someone else, or you might be quickly jotting down feedback you just heard.

2. On a clean piece of paper, list the issues the feedback points out. Write them in whatever order they pop into your head.

3. If you aren’t sure what issue a particular note or question points out, add getting to the bottom of the mystery as a problem on your list.  

4. Once your list is complete, go through and rank the items based on which question is biggest. If you have a long list and are having trouble ranking, put each issue on an index card and sort them that way.

5. Keep in mind there is no perfect ranking. Do the best you can, and remember that the ranking process is there to help save you time. You don’t want to solve irrelevant questions that won’t exist once you solve the bigger problems.

6. No matter how unruly each of those problems may seem, insist that they stay in a single file line. Tackle them one by one.

7. In many cases, you might want to ask yourself, “How might I …” and explore the various ways you might solve a problem before settling on a solution. Often the best solution will pop up after you think up some wild, unexpected answers.

8. On the other hand, some problems will have an immediate, easy solution. When that happens, no need to overcomplicate matters.

9. Wrap up your feedback session by creating a plan for how you’ll tackle the issues in an orderly way.

Try On Other Creative Styles

Pin the Heart on the Problem

FOR INVENTORS

List the issues raised and then use “Why …?” to narrow in on the heart of the problem.

Try This

And Down the Stretch they Come

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

Choose the frontrunner issues and tackle them head-on with a quick-listing exercise.

Try This

Scramble and Sort

FOR COLLABORATORS

After collecting feedback, scramble and sort it into new categories so the group can help the writer choose a starting place for a revision.

Try This

Storyboard like an Animator

Storyboard like an Animator

by | Apr 2, 2019

Storyboard like an Animator

Use the Hero’s Journey to structure your storyboard discussion with a collaborator.

Style

Collaborator

Skill

Structuring Ideas

Time

15 – 45 mins

THE WORKSHOP:

Storyboard like an Animator

You may not work at your favorite animation studio, but that doesn’t mean you can’t approach your next storyboarding session with a playful attitude. Simply working with a collaborator will start you off on the right foot. Together, you can act out scenes, play with possibilities, and crack jokes. Use colorful tools and sketches, too, to keep the process fun. To structure and focus your conversation, start with a simple Hero’s Journey framework and elaborate from there.

When should you storyboard your manuscript? There are a number of times in the writing process where working with a storyboard can be useful.

After idea generation, storyboarding will help you structure energetic brainstorming into a solid plan for your story. For me, the right moment is after I’ve done some full-plot brainstorming, and after I’ve drafted at least two or three scenes.

When drafting, storyboarding is an excellent get-unstuck tool. You might play a game or two to shake up your ideas and then use a storyboard to help you plug your new ideas into the plot. If you’ve already created a storyboard, you can play around with the variables to see if a change here or there might unstick your stuck moment. If not, a storyboard will give you increased clarity.

When revising, storyboarding is a powerful shortcut to help you see the effect of changes. Rather than trying to hold your entire plot in your mind while you experiment with possibilities, swap elements into and out of your storyboard to see how each change will impact your plot. Using this simplified view, you’ll be able to problem-solve with greater perspective and speed.

Materials

How to Play

  • Timer
  • Paper
  • Colored Pencils
  • Index Cards
  • Post-Its
  • Posterboard, a White Board, or a Large Open Space (such as a wall, a tabletop, or the floor)

1. Decide whether you’ll work on one of your stories, or if you’ll split the time in two and work on each of your stories for half of your time. Adjust your timing accordingly.

2. Set a timer for five minutes.

3. In that short time, capture the main points in your story using a Hero’s Journey frame. Here are the stages as I often plan through them:

  • Ordinary Life – What are your main character’s circumstances? How do we see their strengths and weaknesses in action?
  • Call to Adventure – How does the story’s challenge or opportunity show up?
  • Crossing the Threshold – What happens as soon as the character says yes to the adventure? Or, what happens when they’re forced into it against their will?
  • Belly of the Whale – What are the stakes, now that the adventure has begun? How might you show the stakes in a scene?
  • A Wise Advisor – Who shows up to provide aid, information, or training for your character? (This stage can happen here, or sometimes it happens before the character crosses the threshold.)
  • Three Trials – Your story will have the amount of trials that makes the most sense to you. I start by breaking the trials into three sections, each driven by a specific objective that my main character pursues. From there, I identify what doesn’t fit and experiment.
  • Wrestling the Dragon – What about the climax is inevitable? What surprises your main character?
  • The Boon – What physical or intangible boon(s) does your character take away from the encounter with the dragon?
  • The Journey Home – What situation tests your main character’s newfound skill and/or treasure?
  • Home Again – How does “real life” begin again for your character? How might you use circumstances to show how they’ve changed? How does their growth impact their community?

4. Once the time is up, it’s time to storyboard. Grab a stack of index cards. Decide how long you want to spend on the storyboard today. Save three-five minutes at the end of your work session to capture any thinking you haven’t captured on the board and don’t want to forget. Set your timer accordingly.

5. If this is your first draft of the storyboard, use your Hero’s Journey to spark ideas for the scenes you need. Some elements will play out in one scene. Others will require more than one. Create an interesting title for each scene, and (if you like) sketch key images. Each index card should represent only one scene.

6. If you’ve already created a storyboard for this project, compare your Hero’s Journey to the cards on your board. Write new scenes on cards and add them to the board, pulling off cards that are no longer relevant.

7. When you reach problem spots, or gaps between one major scene and another, bounce ideas off one another. Try acting moments out, tossing possibilities back and forth, or sketch options on your own and then compare and decide.

8. Depending on how much time you’ve allotted for this activity, you can spend time now playing around with options, or push yourself to keep moving. If you’re speeding through, capture the givens for each important scene. You can play with possibilities later when it’s time to draft.

9. Wrap up your storyboarding session by capturing any outstanding issues. Grab a stack of post-its, and write “How might I … ” questions on each. As you post each thought on the wall, your collaborator’s questions should enrich your thinking. Snap a photo of your post-its before taking them down.

Don’t forget! If you can’t store your storyboard as is, number your cards (in pencil) so it will be easy to lay them out in this same order again.

Try On Other Creative Styles

Storyboard Like a Detective

FOR INVENTORS

Define the scenario, collect clues, and ultimately, resolve your questions. Capture your thinking on your storyboard.

Try This

Storyboard Like a Reporter

FOR ARCHITECTS

Structure your thinking about a project with a reporter’s questions. Use your discoveries to shape your storyboard.

Try This

Storyboard Like a Coach

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

Run a few quick scenarios for your idea and then choose a game plan for your storyboard.

Try This