I hope the bracket exercise was as fun for you as it has been for my family and that there weren't too many arguments along the way.
But if there were arguments, or any of you felt particularly strongly about one character over another, I want you to pay attention to why you cared so deeply. Maybe the character was from a book, film, or game that connected deeply with you. Maybe it brought back a wave of nostalgia over how you felt and how that story connects you to a certain point in your life.
The cool thing that we are getting to create is our own story and our own writing process that will bring us back to this time in our lives.
Now that you’ve gone through the bracket and figured out which character traits you liked and put that to the side, let’s take a moment and think through what movies you each are your favorite. Try to come up with a list of 3 titles that you could watch over and over again.
Parents, for the sake of this exercise, let’s make sure some of these are ones that you would be comfortable letting your writing partner watch...
The Princess Bride - I've watched the film countless times, and the book is great as well. I personally cannot think of a more quotable film and just about every single scene has a moment (or five) that are memorable. I don't know if I'll ever find a film that dethrones it.
The Return of the King - Well, the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy came at a special point in my life, but I remember sitting in a theater the day before it came out and watching all three films on the big screen back to back to back. Obviously the books are fantastic too, but to spend an entire day getting sick on popcorn and soda refills and watching this epic story unfold in front of me... so good.
Meet The Robinsons - Our family loves this one and how it’s about family being there for each other and the importance of ‘Keep Moving Forward.’ I’m also a sucker for time travel stories and really appreciated how they did such a good job of paying off all of the things they set up at the beginning of the story.
Your answers don't need to be that long, but try and figure out what it is that connects with you. Or maybe it just made you feel a certain way and you can't put words to it, and that's fine too! Just create your list, and up next we have a little bit of homework for you both.
Depending on how much time you have, may I propose a movie night this coming weekend?
If you have an evening or two open, which I know is a big ask, each of you pick a movie from your list that you love and think the other might like, and if you own it or can stream it, give it a watch, but either person can pause the movie at any time to talk about what parts you love, little details you notice, or what makes it special for you.
If that's too much time, then pull up YouTube or queue up scenes from a streaming platform that are special to you... but may I suggest if the other person hasn't seen the film, don't go and spoil something.
There's something special about experiencing a story fresh through the other person's eyes who hasn't seen it. But also, just a reminder that not every story is for everyone. I know it can be hard to be excited to show my kid a movie and she or he just isn't into it, and parents, if your kid loves something that you just don't understand, let's just make this an opportunity to look through a window of what your child loves, and investigate why with curiosity instead of judgement.
Because if we’re going to work on collaborating, it's important that both sides get to sprinkle in some story elements that are exciting.
I hope you have a fantastic time remembering story moments and sharing worlds that speak to you. When you've done your homework, join me in the next video and we'll talk about how we're going to find the building blocks of your own stories.
Activity: Ping-Pong Storytelling
I want you to tell three stories together, ping pong style.
First, you each only get one word before it’s the other person’s turn, bouncing back and forth.
For example:
Once - there - was - a - dragon - who - loved - waffles.
After that story is finished, give each other a full sentence.
Lastly, new story where you each say a few sentences or a paragraph before handing it back to the other.
One tip and one BIG rule.
The tip: introduce a character, what they want, what is stopping them from getting what they want, and how they overcome the challenge.l
Now, the BIG rule. This is a ‘yes/and’ activity. The point is to work together, building on each other’s ideas without shooting anything down or saying ‘no, no, I don’t want it to go that direction.’ This is just supposed to be fun. It’s okay to be silly or serious with this. We’re just practicing working together to tell super short stories first.
Talk to you soon!
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