Page 52 - April 2021 Voices
P. 52
JUST WRITE
The Writer’s
Toolbox
Ken Coomes, DTM
Continuing my expansion of each of
the four writing resources I introduced
at the beginning of this year, we’ll
take a look at a game this month, The Writer’s the next room,”
Toolbox. It’s more like a toolbox for getting both creative juices and possibly
past writer’s block, with one of its approaches memory may trigger. Your character wonders
structured as a game. who is crying? Or if they already know who’s in
If you’re anyone else who ignores the manuals the next room, why are they crying? Even if the
when you open something new, I urge you character knows who is in the next room and
to change tactics with this toolbox. Read the why they are crying, they react (who wouldn’t?).
manual first. If they care about the person crying, they
The introduction is not only fun and may wonder what they can do, feel empathy
interesting; it also gives you some insight into the or sympathy, or both. Maybe the crying makes
creator, Jamie Cat Callan, a veteran, professional them angry, or frustrated. If they share the same
writer, screenwriter, and writing teacher. She sense of loss or sorrow as the person crying, they
goes on in Part 1 of the manual, exploring and might start crying themselves. Or express their
explaining the power of story in many different own emotional reaction to the circumstance or
endeavors. She covers a lot in six short pages situation.
before we get into Part 2, using the Toolbox. The Protagonist game offers wheels to spin,
She gets into the “guts” of the Toolbox, yielding a protagonist (Iris, the psychoanalyst),
explaining how to use the tools; whether playing a goal (to be the great seducer), obstacles, such
a game with them, or simply drawing inspiration as (the barista at Starbucks), and actions (loses
from them. weight). As a writer, you get to run with what you
First Sentence sticks (actual popsicle sticks, spin. Or re-spin one or more. Or allow your mind
after they’ve been on a diet) offer starting points to springboard from the result of the wheels to
for your writing. Non sequitur sticks give you a your own creative idea(s). As a Toastmaster, The
twist to follow that first sentence. Last straw sticks Writer’s Toolbox also gives you some great Table
fuel conflict and emotion, creating dramatic Topics options. And that’s not all.
story arcs. There are 20 pages in Part 3 that talk about
The Sixth Sense cards offer triggers for six of the craft of writing. Part 4 shares four stories
your senses; yes, SIX. Smell, Sight, Sound, Taste, written by using the tools in the Toolbox. The
Touch and Memory/Imagination. When a writer manual ends with additional resources, and more
flips over a card that states “someone crying in interesting and useful information.
52 ONE COMMUNITY
