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Storyboard like a Detective

Storyboard like a Detective

by | Apr 2, 2019

Storyboard Like a Detective

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

Style

Inventor

Skill

Structuring Ideas

Time

15 – 45 minutes

THE WORKSHOP:

Storyboard Like a Detective

 Structured thinking can be difficult for Inventors. Approach the plotting process with a sense of play by tapping into your inner Sherlock Holmes. First define what you know about your storyline. Then, list your questions and choose a line of inquiry where you can start. Collect if-then clues to resolve those questions. Then, return to your list of questions. What is no longer relevant? What is still unresolved? Pick another line of inquiry, and repeat until you have a workable storyboard.

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
  • Pencil
  • Colored Pencils (optional)
  • Index Cards
  • Posterboard, a White Board, or a Large Open Space (such as a wall, a tabletop, or the floor)

1. Set a timer for three minutes.

2. In that short time, capture what you know about your storyline. Stick to who, what, and where, and be as matter-of-fact as possible. Deal with any new shiny ideas the way Sherlock Holmes might … with a withering look and a dismissive attitude.

3. Considering your givens, and all of those ideas bouncing around in your mind, capture a list of questions. They might be “what if,” “why,” “how might,” or any other kind of question that needs to be solved for you to move forward.

4. Look over your list. Some questions will be related, some will be silly. Others will be clearly important. Choose a line of inquiry to follow.

5. 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.

6. If this is your first draft of the storyboard, start your storyboard with the cards that relate to your givens. Then, use if-then thinking around your line of inquiry to define key scenes. Remember, you can always define a scene and an alternate, and decide to make your final choice later. Put one scene on each card, using an interesting title and images if you like.

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

8. When you reach problem spots, or gaps between one major scene and another, use your Sherlock Holmes logic to find a possible way from one scene to the next, and then test that theory. Does it work? What might strengthen it? Would an alternate option be better?

9. Depending on how much time you’ve allotted for this activity, you can spend time now experimenting with variables, or just capture the givens for a scene and plan to play with possibilities later when it’s time to draft that scene.

9. Wrap up your storyboarding session by writing yourself a quick set of notes about any outstanding questions. You might just highlight what’s left on your original list, or write a new summary.

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.

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Storyboard Like a Coach

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

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

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Storyboard Like an Animator

FOR COLLABORATORS

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

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Storyboard Like a Reporter

FOR ARCHITECTS

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

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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!

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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.

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The Question Queue

FOR ARCHITECTS

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

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And Down the Stretch they Come

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

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

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Step Into Your Character’s Shoes

Step Into Your Character’s Shoes

by | Mar 21, 2019

Step Into Your Character’s Shoes

Take on your character’s mindset and play through a scene in a variety of ways.

Style

Inventor

Skill

Improvisation

Time

10 minutes

THE STUDIO:

Step Into Your Character’s Shoes

Many writers have the experience of “hearing” their characters speak once they settle into the flow of a drafting session. Improvisation can be another quick way to tap into this powerful emotional connection with our characters. For me, flow can be an elusive state to find when I’m writing, but improv allows me to tap into that mindset much more predictably.

In this game, you’ll take on your character physically and through that connection, tap into their emotions, perspective, and intuition.

Materials

Step Into Your Character’s Shoes

  • Space to move
  • Paper
  • Pen

1. Stand up and shake out your body. Loosen up and begin to walk around your open space.

2. Take on your character’s body layer by layer, starting with your feet. Imagine a typical day, and what your character might be wearing, how that clothing affects how they move, and what emotion they might feel.

2. As your character, imagine you’re walking to a location where you’ll talk with someone you trust. Be specific about that location, the person, and the timing of this moment. Choose a moment after the scene you’re about to write. Your character will tell the story of what happened to this trusted friend.

3. Using past tense, your character will explain what happened, and how they felt about it. Let your character be as animated as possible. Maybe they stand up while recounting this story, and tell it almost as though they’re reliving it. Choose a method of retelling that feels believable for your character, but make sure they engage emotionally, not just intellectually, in the retelling.

4. Once you finish the telling, pause, and consider the other character. What might they ask? Answer at least one question and note what you discover.

5. Now, it’s time to decide. Would you like to improvise the story again, taking it in a new direction? You may have felt some moments ringing true, while others felt a little off. Review those problem areas and consider what changes might help. Do you need to add a character, change the setting, or add an action? Did your character express an emotion you aren’t sure they’d actually feel? What shifts need to be made?

6. Either play through the scene again, or sit down with your fresh inspiration and write.

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The Who, What, & Where Experiment

FOR ARCHITECTS

Use this structured improv game to experiment with options for your next scene.

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Improvise the Highlights

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

Use this quick-thinking improv game to identify key moments in your scene and shortcut the experimentation process.

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Improvised Storytelling

FOR COLLABORATORS

Create a collaborative scene with a partner, using their questions to help you better understand your main character’s point of view.

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Freewrite Your Heart

Freewrite Your Heart

by | Jan 24, 2019

Freewrite Your Heart

Move your hand across the page speedily to bypass your critic and discover your heart.

Style

Inventor

Skill

Finding the Heart

Time

15 mins

THE ATTIC:

Freewrite Your Heart

You’ll do best with this activity if you can get your heart rate up before you start. Consider turning on some music you love and dancing for a few minutes before sitting down to write. Then, without thinking too hard, dive into the writing with the same intensity that you used when you were dancing. Make writing as physical as it can be, bypassing your brain as much as possible.

You want to race the clock right past your inner critic to find those aha! moments that you might not discover in a different state of mind.

Materials

How to Play

  • Timer

  • Paper

  • Pen

1. Set your timer for ten minutes.

2. Ask yourself: What matters to me in this idea? What are the non-negotiables? How do I hope the outcome will feel and flow? Start writing as fast as you can, using connecting phrases to keep your pen moving.

– And so …

– Which makes me think that …

– Because …

– What I really mean to say is …

– Another way to look at it is …

– It reminds me of …

3. When the time is up, read over your entry. Underline thoughts that stand out. If you think there’s more to say, and you have more time to write, expand on the thoughts you’ve underlined.

5. Tuck this writing away for a day when you need a reminder of why you’re working so hard on this project.

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Frame Your Heart in Three

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

Choose three adjectives that focus your attention on the core of this project, and its importance to you.

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Zoom In On the Heart

FOR ARCHITECTS

Answer three key questions to focus your attention on the core of this project, and its importance to you.

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Share Your Heart with a Loved One

FOR COLLABORATORS

Choose a confidant and write a letter about your project. What is most important to you about creating this artwork?

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Assemble a Think Tank of Mentors

Assemble a Think Tank of Mentors

by | Jan 4, 2019

Assemble a Think Tank of Mentors

Identify one-of-a-kind insights by connecting wisdom from an eclectic group of experts.

Style

Inventor

Skill

Choosing a Mentor

Commitment

Ongoing

THE LIBRARY:

Assemble a Think Tank of Mentors

 When you write a novel, some experts advise that you find at least three ideas to rub together. Your specific combination of ideas is what makes your book unique. In the same way, an eclectic assortment of mentors can help you find fresh insight that might otherwise be difficult to see. For instance, what might a painter, a musician, and a chef teach you about pacing? The opportunities are vast, and only limited by your imagination.

A Think Tank of Mentors can help you:

  • See the same question from various points of view
  • Connect previously unconnected dots
  • Stumble across exciting, perfect-fit ideas for your specific project

Materials

Assembling a Think Tank of Mentors

  • Computer
  • Paper
  • Pen
  • Library (optional)

1. Start by identifying your learning question. If you’re not sure what it is, make a list of ten to twenty questions. Narrow your focus by ranking or revising the questions until you have one clear, focused question.

2. List types of people who might weigh in on your question. Consider artists of all genres, thought-leaders, experts past and present, and even friends, family, and acquaintances. Remember, mentors don’t have to be older than you. You’re looking for a range of people who will provide you with a range of perspective.

3. Your list may include specific names such as “Uncle Gino” and categories of people, like “chef.” Set aside specific names for now. First, look at your categories. Does anyone immediately pop to mind to fill that role? Widen your circle of options by researching on information-rich sites such as YouTube, Amazon, Wikipedia, or your favorite podcast browser.

4. Once you have a list of ten-twenty names, it’s time to follow your intuition. Review the names as though you’re a casting director. What group of four or five people would make for fascinating dinner party conversation?

5. Once you’ve chosen your Think Tank, create a space to collect their thoughts in a way that will spark your creativity. Consider a shared bookshelf, a project folder, a bulletin board, or an online tool … or use a few collection spaces.

6. Let these experts’ thoughts rattle around together for a while. Follow your curiosity. Make sure to take time to write and reflect regularly. Often you don’t know all you’re discovering until you sit down to capture those thoughts.

7. If you start to feel the urge to shake things up, consider adding an expert, swapping someone out of the Think Tank, or creating a brand new group of experts.

Try On Other Creative Styles

Profile Three Experts

FOR ARCHITECTS

Use insight from three experts to lead you to the perfect-fit mentor.

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Create a Learner's Book Club

FOR COLLABORATORS

Collaborate with a few friends to gain the most out of your next mentorship experience.

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Choose One Expert

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

Focus on one expert in this strategic learning exercise.

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