The (Erotic?) Storymatic

[Emily124]

So, I just opened this little box of cards that I picked up at a store called Marbles: The Brain Store, in Chicago. The description on the box reads, "The Storymatic is a writing prompt, a teaching tool, a parlor game, and a toy... all in one little box."
It includes over 500 cards. Roughly half of the cards are yellow (or "gold"), and the other half are orange (or "copper").
...
Instructions:
1. Draw two gold cards.
2. Combine them to create your main character. For example, if you draw "amateur boxer" and "person with a devastating secret," your character is a boxer with a secret.
3. Now draw two copper cards. Let these cards lead you into a story. Perhaps you draw "locked door" and "sudden return of forgotten memory."
...

I'll choose some random cards for a few more examples.

-pilot + person answering a personals ad; box of postcards + reckless enthusiasm

-owner of a hot-air balloon + movie director; award ceremony + escape

-recluse + aging clown; one half of a ripped love letter + particularly inconvenient phobia

I was wondering if anyone else has used this writing prompt/tool/game. Also, I was thinking it might be kind of fun to develop an erotic version. Actually, I suppose the above examples could easily result in erotic stories, couldn't they?

 

[PennLady]

I think those could easily be adopted to an erotic story. That sounds neat. I may have to look into something like that.

 

[Angellica1612]

That sounds like fun! I especially like the recluse/aging clown with the inconvenient phobia. It could be both erotic and funny.

 

[MatthewVett]

I really like this idea. Could be a good story challenge. Get a group of authors, do a few combinations, and have people write a story that incorporates a certain number of them.

 

[_Lynn_]

We used a similar concept in our local NaNo group at a couple of the write-ins. I didn't have much luck making a story with my characters, but others incorporated parts into their novels.

 

[Emily124]

I think those could easily be adopted to an erotic story. That sounds neat. I may have to look into something like that.

Thank you. I would be interested in learning what you find.

That sounds like fun! I especially like the recluse/aging clown with the inconvenient phobia. It could be both erotic and funny.

Thanks! I'm terribly afraid of clowns, but that scenario sounded the most fun to me, too.

I really like this idea. Could be a good story challenge. Get a group of authors, do a few combinations, and have people write a story that incorporates a certain number of them.

Thanks! Yes, I think this little box is full of potential. I've participated in quite a few writing workshops/conferences, and I'm surprised that I haven't really seen anything like this used.

We used a similar concept in our local NaNo group at a couple of the write-ins. I didn't have much luck making a story with my characters, but others incorporated parts into their novels.

Cool. I think it would be fun to read all the different stories that were created from a few of the same elements.

 

[Neonurotic]

Just got this, it's pretty cool for what I've so far and you can really put an erotic twist on it.

 

[Angellica1612]

So, start a thread. You pull the cards and tell us what they are, and we can post short stories. I'd love to play!

 

[Emily124]

Short Story Challenge

Just got this, it's pretty cool for what I've so far and you can really put an erotic twist on it.

That's awesome!

So, start a thread. You pull the cards and tell us what they are, and we can post short stories. I'd love to play!

Hi Angellica! Okay, I'm game. Do you think I could just continue here instead of starting a new thread? I'll continue here for now, and if it's not working, just let me know.

I'll do 2, so there's somewhat of a choice.

1.
Character- fashion designer + blind person
Story Elements- cemetery at five in the morning + confession

2.
Character- person who asks what nobody ever asks + oddities collector
Story Elements- photo album + violin

Or, choose from one of the examples I originally posted.

Good luck!

 

[Angellica1612]

It'll take me a couple of days, but I'm thinking about the options and will decide soon. I hope others will take part too.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Italo Calvino wrote two collections (Inn of Crossed Destinies and Castle of Crossed Destinies) where he used a Tarot spread to create story lines. He then wrote them as a places where travelers met silently and told their stories by laying out Tarot cards, with the provisio that each story must intersect with the ones already spread out.

I've tried it, and found it particularly interesting as my mind played with the possible meanings of the cards and then tried to find the structure that would bring them together into a narrative. Needless to say, there was a signifcant erotic component to all the ones I came up with.

 

[Emily124]

It'll take me a couple of days, but I'm thinking about the options and will decide soon. I hope others will take part too.

I can't wait to read it!

Italo Calvino wrote two collections (Inn of Crossed Destinies and Castle of Crossed Destinies) where he used a Tarot spread to create story lines. He then wrote them as a places where travelers met silently and told their stories by laying out Tarot cards, with the provisio that each story must intersect with the ones already spread out.

I've tried it, and found it particularly interesting as my mind played with the possible meanings of the cards and then tried to find the structure that would bring them together into a narrative. Needless to say, there was a signifcant erotic component to all the ones I came up with.

Hi Tio. Thank you so much for sharing this! I love the Tarot, and have been fascinated with it for as long as I can remember. I have over a dozen decks. (My favorite, go-to deck is the Osho Zen Tarot.) I would love to read these stories. A good Tarot reader interprets the cards and delivers their meaning in the form of a story, so it makes sense. The ability to tell and comprehend information in the form of a story is something we're all born with. It's part of the package. (I just learned this little piece of information.) This certainly sounds like lots of fun. I'll have to do a little search to find these stories now. Thank you again.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

I can't wait to read it!



Hi Tio. Thank you so much for sharing this! I love the Tarot, and have been fascinated with it for as long as I can remember. I have over a dozen decks. (My favorite, go-to deck is the Osho Zen Tarot.) I would love to read these stories. A good Tarot reader interprets the cards and delivers their meaning in the form of a story, so it makes sense. The ability to tell and comprehend information in the form of a story is something we're all born with. It's part of the package. (I just learned this little piece of information.) This certainly sounds like lots of fun. I'll have to do a little search to find these stories now. Thank you again.

Ability? More like necessity. Maybe even curse. Good old Homo seems to be the only genus that perceives something like a random arrangement of stars, can't help but see it as a connect-the-dots, then tells the story of how and why what it seemed to be got there, and ends up believing it's all non-fiction.

 

[Emily124]

Ability? More like necessity. Maybe even curse. Good old Homo seems to be the only genus that perceives something like a random arrangement of stars, can't help but see it as a connect-the-dots, then tells the story of how and why what it seemed to be got there, and ends up believing it's all non-fiction.

A necessary evil? Perhaps. The recognition (or mere perception?) of one's self as a separate-from-the-group individual, breeds a desire to return, to belong, to feel a part of the whole once again. And so we look for connections, meaning, comfort. We make up stories we can share and believe. And then we kill anyone whose story differs from our own, because it's all we have, and we can't handle the possibility of being wrong, and feeling alone. Perhaps delusions (often of grandeur) are a necessary evil, too.

 

[Emily124]

Today's picks:

-hypochondriac + person who can't remember an important word; flashlight + laundromat

-ventriloquist + person with a very limited vocabulary; unclaimed baggage + family curse

-kindergarten teacher + person with a secret bad habit; deadline + last day on the job

It might be interesting to try and incorporate more than one of these characters and elements into one story.