Improvising a Story: by Angie Powers

When you’re trying to bring a story together before you’ve written it, that’s story development.

Story development can often feel complicated, frustrating, and unsatisfying. In part, we’re trying to get at the heart of the beast by giving it bones when we outline, and in part we are often removed from our sense of playfulness and risk when we plan because there is a part of us that feels like if we do it perfectly, the rest will be easier, or that there is a right answer.

Well, when the brain is listing to the left during this process, this little exercise from improvisation can be a vital tool in breaking through blocks and getting back to the playful, risk-taking thinking that can move you forward fast. Best of all, it can be played alone or with friends.

Fill in the blanks and create a story in under five minutes.

1. Once upon a time there was a _______________________________________________.
2. And everyday this _________ loved to ________________________________________.
3. Until one day, ________________________________________________________________.
4. And because of that __________________________________________________________.
5. And then ______________________________________________________________________.
6. And because of that __________________________________________________________.
7. Etc.
8. Until finally, __________________________________________________________________.
9. Optional: And the moral of the story is ____________________________________.

Line one sets up your protagonist. Line two is his or her ordinary world. Line three, the inciting incident. And after that, “because of that” lines demonstrate the choices and actions the character makes and the “and then” lines show the consequences of the choices. Until Finally covers that end of story climax. And the moral of the story line is pretty self-explanatory.

This construct can really get you moving on a story. If you’re really stuck, keep it light and do it as fast as you can.

If you want to explore a little more, get clear on your protagonist’s challenge and really use this to push the “because of that” sections by focusing on how this “character flaw” or wrong thinking determines the choices the protagonist makes and the consequences of that thinking.

How fast can you tell a tale?

Angie Powers has an M.F.A. in English and Creative Writing from Mills College, where she won the Amanda Davis Thesis Award for her novel, The Blessed. She also has a Certificate in Screenwriting from the Professional Programs at UCLA. She is the co-director and co-writer of the short Little Mutinies (distributed by Frameline and an official selection of the Palm Springs International Short Fest) and was a quarter-finalist for the Nicholl Fellowship and at Blue Cat Screenplay Competition for the full-length screenplay of Little Mutinies. She’s twice made it into the second round of consideration for Sundance Labs and is a Cinestory semi-finalist this year. She also wrote and directed the short Hot Date, which premiered at Frameline. She is currently finishing a new novel and a short film.