Wanda the Walking-Talking House: Storybuilding Guide
Today I found myself as the chief entertainer for a group of seven children under the age of 10. Three of them were mine, two were nieces, two were family friends. And it was unanimous: it was time for a round of Wanda the Walking-Talking House!
This is an interactive storytelling game I created a couple years ago. In it, we have a recurring character: a villainous, stilt-legged giant house who carries children away after making absurd promises. The story gets built by inviting prompts from each kid-listener, whose suggestions get worked into the story.
We start out by asking the kids a few key questions. This is key. All of their answers provide the key plot points for the story.
The questions I ask first are based on the key ingredients for storytelling: we need to know what our characters desire, and what stands in their way (conflict). Anything else from there is added just for colour and adventure.
From asking this particular group 10 children, tonight's starting ingredients were: - …
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