In my last post I promised I would share with you the technique I use to come up with stories. All you need is paper/card and small bags. Write a list of charcters, settings and plot triggers on the card/paper. Cut them up so you have one word or sentence (in the case of plot triggers) on each piece. Put the pieces in seperate bags and label them i.e. 'characters' , 'settings' etc. You can include more headings such as 'problems', 'emotions', 'personalities' etc.
This is the fun bit - pick one piece of paper out of each bag and see what stories you can come up with. The more ridiculous, the better. This is how I came up with the plot for 'You Can't Eat A Princess!' I picked out 'princess' and 'space'. This made me think "What is a princess doing in space? Has she been captured? Is she looking for someone else? Is she on a rescue mission? If so, who is she looking for and who has taken them?"
To help you on your way here is a list of characters, settings and plot triggers :
Characters : princess, prince, king, queen, mermaid, dragon, wizard, unicorn, monster, alien, pirate, snowman, ghost, giant, goblins, fairy, troll, elf, witches, wizards, monkey, shark, spider, rhino, tortoise, tiger, butterfly, hippo, bear, duck, kangaroo, horse, dolphin, owl, parrot, elephant, hedgehog, squirrel, mouse, snake, giraffe, lion, fish, cow, dog, frog, sheep, crocodile, cat, gorilla and zebra.
Settings : space, castle, palace, forest, mountains, sea, beach, island, home, school, museum, shop, cafe, cave,pond, farm, haunted house, jungle,magical land, underground, secret tunnel, planet, zoo, desert and library.
Plot triggers: a quest for something that is lost, overcoming a monster, the 'ugly duckling' scenario, conflict of loyalty, weak character overcomes a bad character, mistaken identity, magic gone wrong, voyage and return, rags to riches, puzzle or mystery, hero has to keep a sceret, a mistake - wearing wrong clothes, getting on wrong train, picking up someone else's bag etc.
I'm sure you can find many more to add to your list. When picking your characters you can have one as the hero and one as the villian.
I've just picked out a mermaid and a wizard. Perhaps the wizard is an evil one who wants to practise his magic spells on the mermaid? What happens? Is the mermaid turned into something else? Will the wizard see the error of his ways? How will the story end?
I hope you have a lot of fun with this system. I sometimes use it when I'm stuck for ideas as it gets my creative mind working. I often find that after 15 minutes I have come up with ten possible stories! Of course, you must always write down your ideas before you forget them. I have a big book full of story ideas - waiting to be written (that could be a story too).