One-Word-Stories
Introduction
A group of people take turns to say a word as part of a story of some sort. You have to say something which follows on from what was last said. If you have ever listened to I'm sorry I haven't a clue, on BBC Radio 4 (Mondays at 18.30), you may know this as the game "Cheddar Gorge".
Advice
1. Because stopping to explain how what you said can grammatically follow on disrupts the flow of things, it is usually more worthwhile to just keep it simple.
2. It doesn't work in too large a group, as people end up asking what somebody else said, you get long pauses, and if your turn doesn't come along often, you feel you have to make the most of it by saying a highly interesting word. This means that the words which keep the story moving smoothly - like "of", "the" and "and" - become scarce, and it ends up sounding ridiculous.
3. Introduce a little personal abuse and humiliation to keep levels of interest up. If directed at one of the participants, this usually causes revenge, and you can get a jolly little accusation war started.
4. Be aware of sensible social use of 1WSs. Saying "Hey, let's do a one word story!" at the wrong time and place usually makes you look like an idiot. A generally good idea is to actually wait until somebody says "I'm bored". This often happens on extended periods of travel of various kinds. Another good spawning time for 1WSs is when you should really be doing something else.
Adaptations & Variations
1. The basic idea can easily be transferred to written messages, emails, H2G2 forum postings, IRC and so on. For emails and letters, though, watch out for point 2 above.
2. Increase the number of words per turn. Obviously this helps for long-interval applications. It doesn't have to be a set number - you could specify a sentence, paragraph, etc. However, you need to find a balance between nice long chunks, and the right degree of creativity and unpredictability.
3. Use time limits, e.g. a word every 3 seconds. Not only does this keep the story going, it also prevents excessive planning, making sure it is unpredictable.
4. For the advanced in the art of the n-word story, set a more rigid structure - eg a 1-word, or 1-line, limerick story (which has to rhyme!). Harder still, do a 1-word (or line) song to a specified tune.
Latest Messages
| Messages left for this Researcher | Posted |
|---|---|
| A forum 1-Word-Story | Jan 29, 2000 |
| An idea for variation | Dec 6, 1999 |
| Oh dear... | Nov 21, 1999 |
| Psychiatry | Nov 21, 1999 |
Conversations
| Conversation Title | Latest Post | Latest Reply |
|---|---|---|
| Anything about Time travel | Oct 31, 1999 | Oct 27, 2000 |
| Limericks 21: the Coming of Age | Dec 8, 1999 | May 14, 2000 |
| A forum 1-Word-Story | Dec 9, 1999 | Jan 29, 2000 |
| Crap Lessons | Nov 21, 1999 | No Replies |
| Oh dear... | Nov 21, 1999 | No Replies |
Wrunklebum Bob
Researcher U32094
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