Let’s Play Storymatic

What exactly is Storymatic? It’s a writing game for the novice and seasoned writer alike. The rules are simple: draw a gold card which is a character, then draw two red cards which are objects, events, or scenarios. Next, set a timer for an agreed upon time (we do ten minutes) and write about the character using the object, event, or scenario chosen.

As an example, I just picked a slowpoke (gold card) who is involved in a tornado and dealing with unclaimed baggage (two red cards). Below is my ten minutes of writing:

Roger, being the slowpoke he is, was the last person to disembark the plane. He wandered through the airport as if he hadn’t a care in the world. No one could guess by looking at him he knew what was about to happen. Roger knew because he had experienced this feeling many times previously.

Before reaching the baggage claim area, he noticed a couple arguing with an airline employee.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about your lost luggage,” Roger said to the couple.

“And who exactly are you?” said the man with arms like Popeye.

“There’s a tornado coming. Your luggage, I’m afraid, will be gone forever.”

The couple and the airline employee all glanced out the window.

“The weather looks fine,” said the airline personnel, "and I’ll handle this claim. Thank you.”

Roger shrugged. “How do I get to the basement?”

“Basement is for employees only.”

“Very well.” Roger shrugged again and shuffled his way to the elevator. He knew the safest place would likely be in the elevator at ground level.

As he pushed the down arrow a large gust of wind…

That’s as far as I got in the ten minutes. At some point I may come back to this. It could be a short story or you never know, it might evolve into a novel.

Why play Storymatic? It gets the creative writing juices flowing and some awesome story ideas (short stories, novels, screenplays) can come about from playing. It’s a great way for a writing group to interact. There is even a version for kids (Storymatic for Kids) if you want to use it for family game night. Either way everyone writes, then shares what they’ve written.

Now it’s your turn. Here are your cards:

Gold card: person with a large scar

Red cards: suitcase that is too heavy to carry AND stranger comes to town

Don’t forget to set a timer for ten minutes.

Please share your work in the comments below.

Here’s the link for Storymatic.

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Keep Writing!