The Writing Game

I used to be a third-grade teacher and sometimes, just for fun, we would play “the writing game.”  The purpose was to 1. Have fun making up stories. 2. Share the stories if we wanted to share. 3. Practice writing skills.

The rules were simple. Someone was chosen at random to pick a noun, and then someone else was chosen to pick a verb. We would all get our papers and pencils ready, set the timer and start writing about whatever came to mind based on the chosen noun plus verb combo. Everyone playing had to keep writing until the timer went off. It was so much fun to see what we all came up with.

I played the game too and was surprised to see how many stories I could come up with from such a simple game.

And the very best part was sharing our stories with the class after we finished. It usually took longer than we expected because we shared, laughed and had lots of questions about each other’s stories.

The first several times we played this game, a few students felt frustrated. They needed directions. “What are we supposed to do?” “I can’t think of anything to write.” “What if what I write is silly compared to everyone else’s?” These were the common fears and dilemmas that came up.

But after we played for a few weeks, the class became obsessed with the game, and almost everyone found that they had secret creative abilities hidden inside themselves. But we could only unlock this creative power if we:

1. Stopped being afraid of making a mistake or doing it wrong.

2. Let it be fun and see what we can create.

3. Figured out that sharing is the fun part, once you get past the fear of being judged by your peers.

I’ve been thinking of this writing game and how it relates to creativity, freedom and life in general, and I think that sometimes adults get stuck for the same reasons, especially when we are feeling stuck in life.

1. How often are you stuck because you are afraid to make a mistake or make the wrong decision?

2. What would it look like to be fully in charge of your own story? It can feel scary without rules, but once you see that there are no limits, the fun begins.

3. Sharing is the fun part, once you get past the fear of being judged.

If you’d like help getting into your creative flow, I invite you to schedule an Intuitive Clarity Session with me here.