I recently wrote a piece for GameChurch about the storytelling card game from Atlas Games – Once Upon a Time. I summarize the game play in that article, so I won’t be repeating it here. It is one of my favorite games I have ever played, but words like “player” and “played” do not seem to be the appropriate for the experience this game represents. It has no board, no bits, and its only real goal is to tell a great story. There is a win condition and there are rules, but they often get in the way.
While I revel in the idea of pulling fables of princesses, dragons, and talking animals out of the ether and laughing along with my friends as they spill out into the world- it is often difficult to get this one to the table. When I describe the nature of the Once Upon a Time to people, it is often followed closely by staring at the floor and a nervously sputtered out collection of “ums …” and “wells….” When I ask what brought on that response, I have become accustomed to hearing a variation on the phrase, “I don’t know. I’m not really a creative person.”
I hate that phrase. It grates against my eardrums worse than a thousand fingernails on a thousand chalkboards. I believe that all people are made in the Image of God. It’s a phrase with a lot of theological weight, but a summation would be that we are the reflection of God. How can properly reflect an active creator God if we are not creative? While you may or may not agree with me on that – I’ll still make the argument posed by articles, books, and seminars around the globe. We start out along this life exploring and imagining like creative giants. Some of us just lose it along the way. Someone may be more creative than another person, but somewhere in each of us is a spark of creativity – no matter how small.
So when someone comes to me and says “I’m not a creative person” – I respond with a question. “Do you want to be?” Even if a person wasn’t born with a powerful sense of imagination – they can build on that small spark until it grows into a bonfire. It just has to be fed the right sort of materials. There is a huge number of storytelling based games on the shelves right now. Some
Despite what the occasional self help book or creativity workbook may try to say – as far as I’m concerned, the journey to discover your creativity is not cookie cutter. There’s no step-by-step process that works for everybody. However, I can provide a few tips (using OUaT cards) to provide a few touch stones that will help get you down the road.
–Don’t fear failure – This is the hardest piece of advice I can give, which is why I’m putting it right up front. Once Upon a Time is a great help if you struggle with failure because there really isn’t a way to fail as long as a story it being told.
–Don’t Play – I’m sure I need to clarify. The first few times you play the game, don’t watch your cards. This doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t participate in the game – but there is something to be said for just listening to the story other people are telling. Authors will often tell would-be writers that in order to improve their skill they not only need to get pen to paper- but to be constantly reading other great writers. Perhaps a sister-suggestion would be “Play with great storytellers.”
–Free the Cards – It’s not uncommon for gamers to take bits and pieces from one game and use them to improve the experience of some other game in their collection. Likewise, use the Once Upon a Time cards to help build your creativity.
Deal yourself out a handful of cards and an end line from the deck. Give yourself a time limit (anything from fifteen minutes to an hour, but not more than that), and start writing. You have until that time limit to build a quick story that involves all the cards you just dealt. I still do this.
(Atlas Games has a writer’s guide companion book for this game as well. Not necessary – but you might find it helpful)
If that awful phrase crosses your mind – ask if you would want to be one. If the answer to that is yes, get yourself a deck of OUaT cards and get to work. If your answer is no – I have a thought for you to ponder. Creativity isn’t just about being “artsy” – it impacts everything. Don’t run from it because you don’t want to write a best selling novel or paint a picture.