Creative Writing Game:Legends of DruidawnNow available for immediate download!
Welcome to Legends of Druidawn! This creative writing game inspires reluctant children to get words onto paper like nothing else on the market. It works as a great centerpiece to your creative writing clubs, and it has a companion book, Druidawn Volume 1 and a website, both of which allow you to expand on the opportunities you offer to your students. This game is the product of years of trial and error in an attempt to get resistant boys to write. I say "boys" because the girls have always been much easier. For several years, I directed creative writing clubs on the weekends for girls only. These clubs filled quickly to maximum capacity and the girls wrote willingly, happily. They were there to express themselves and it didn't seem to matter to them if they did this by speaking or by writing. Both ways were enjoyable. I didn't need to coax them with prizes or games. They came to writing club every week ready and willing to write.
I thought I had a good thing going by offering this simple service, until a couple of parents asked me if I could start a club for boys. I foolishly agreed, thinking I could teach the boys the same way I taught the girls. I gave the group a cool name, Dragon Writers, and had all kinds of fun writing assignments planned. The first five sessions, comprised of four boys ages 8-11, were a complete disaster. They didn't want to write! I tried everything to get them interested in writing, but nothing worked. Though they were reputed to be talented writers at school, they came to my clubs every week and moaned about having to pick up their pencils. Their heads became too heavy to lift off of their papers. They checked the clock every few minutes, sighed, then stared longingly out the window and sighed some more. I was baffled. I tried offering them prizes for writing, which perked them up a little bit, but it had no carryover effect from one writing class to the next. And the class size stayed terribly small for several months. Their friends didn't want to join. Their friends were home playing video games and having imaginary battles outside. I almost called it quits. I just couldn't teach boys how to enjoy the art of writing. Written communication didn't seem to come naturally to them. They could perform well when required to do so in school, but exercising this skill in their free time certainly wasn't their idea of fun. It was obvious that what they wanted, or perhaps needed, to do was play. I had to figure out a way to turn writing into a game, or give up permanently on motivating boys to write. I racked my brains for weeks until the idea finally came to me. I had to look closer at what they liked to do in their free time, and somehow turn that into writing. I watched my own sons play adventure quest games for hours on end, on their computer and their television, observing how enraptured they were with the interactive role-playing games, and a new concept sprang into motion in my mind. I already had the Druidawn anthology almost completed by my older students, and it was a short conceptual leap from a fantasy novel written by aspiring teen authors to an interactive questing game based on this book. Drawing from my own experiences of playing such exciting games in my youth, I realized that it couldn't be terribly hard to make up one of my own. Without having a solid plan in place, I came to the next boys' club meeting prepared to take my boys to Druidawn through their imaginations. I had them fill out The boys were hooked. They came back the next week, with friends in tow, not only ready to play the game, but eager to write about the adventure as they went along. A club of four boys turned into a club of 24 boys (along with a waiting list) in a matter of months - with absolutely no advertising on my part! They became so excited about the game that they were willing to write at home in their free time just to get extra points for their characters. I designed the game so that they would have to write six pages of quality narrative in order to move up a level (when you move up a level, you get more energy points, more imaginary money to spend on your character, and more attribute points). They were coming to me with over 10 pages of narrative a week just to gain levels in the game! It was certainly the cheapest reward I could offer. Ever since, parents have consistently asked me in amazement what magic I have to make their children write. Well, now everyone can create the magic. Oh, and by the way, girls like it too! This game may seem complicated, but it's really quite easy to learn. Don't be surprised if the children pick up the rules faster than the adults do. Legends of Druidawn is designed to relate to kids on their level, using terms and conditions they are quite familiar with (from playing questing games on the computer, or Nintendo, or role playing games with their friends). I have designed this packet so that you, as a parent or an educator, can learn how to play the game in half an hour or less. All you need to have is an open mind and a good imagination. You have to be willing to think like a kid. You have to be willing to sit on the floor with them, for this game is best played in a circle down low. The surface goal is to have fun! The kids will learn the game so quickly that they'll be asking if they can be the Legend Guardians themselves by about the 5th session. Since the real underlying goal is to get kids to write, it's ideal to give each child a chance to be the Legend Guardian at some point in time. The level of writing involved in becoming the Legend Guardian can be extensive. Players who wish to assume this role will have to make a labeled map of their gaming region, create obstacles and rewards for the players, and keep a written log of events that take place in the game, among other things. Legends of Druidawn can be played with anywhere from one to ten players. Due to the verbal nature of this game, and the length of time involved in each turn, it is not recommended for groups larger than ten at one time. It can become dauntingly chaotic when played with large groups. Believe me, I've tried! I've found through trial and error that I can comfortably manage up to ten kids at once, but four to eight players is truly ideal. This is from a parent whose son enrolled in one of my writing clubs where I play Legends of Druidawn (there's no reason this can't be you).
Dear Miriam,
What can I say but an enormous thank you!!! Your writing club has turned my 12 year old son Seann into a reader and a writer. I can't believe the transformation. As you know, Seann's dyslexia was really keeping him from a world he loved - the world of fantasy fiction. His only entry into this realm was waiting for others to have the time to sit down and read to him, as his level of reading skill didn't allow him access. Then, he would have to work on his "reader" to turn an hour reading session into 3-4 hours. January 2003 he enrolled in your Dragon Writers afterschool program. The combination of writing to gain skill levels for his invented character, the interactive role playing games and the suggested reading materials did the trick - within months he was reading well enough to pick up most fantasy fiction books and read them on his own. But it didn't stop there. His reading and comprehension was equally improved in other school-related reading and his writing skills have been unleashed. He is currently working on his own fantasy fiction novel and it is quite good. I could go on for pages. You and your program have changed Seann's life (and mine as well - as his main "reader"). You have bestowed a gift that is beyond compare and priceless. Thank you from the very depths of my heart. We will both remember your gifted teaching skills and your unique curriculm forever. I hope that your program will reach as many children as possible because I am certain that there are others who would benefit too. Here's an example:
"No, you don't, because I use Mirror Force to reflect your attack." "Fine, well, I'll use Magic Jammer and deactivate your Mirror Force." "Well, you have to destroy your Beast of Talwar to do that!" They are deeply engulfed in their imaginary world and extremely entertained by this conversation. It may sound like a different language to you, but what if you had the ability to step into their imaginary world and actually direct the game yourself? What if you said: "Are you sure you want to use your Magic Jammer to destroy your Beast of Talwar? I would summon before I do that, so I'd have a monster on the field to sacrifice instead." I guarantee the two kids would freeze in their conversation and you'd have their complete attention. They would think you're the coolest parent/teacher ever because you could talk with them on their level. Nothing excites kids more than having an adult play in their world. But you don't want to learn these games in order to speak their language - you want your kids to write. These games may hold no interest for you (and if they do, kudos to you for your youthful interests!). How can you reach into their world without having to learn their games? Simple: you do the same type of game, but you use your own world and your own terms. Now, let's change the landscape a bit. The kids are sitting in the back of the car and they're bored. They're arguing about something insignificant just to pick at each other. Suddenly you say, "On a beautiful tropical island in the South Pacific there is a hidden treasure. It was buried hundreds of years ago by pirates who died before they could ever come back to collect their booty. Would you like to go to that island and find the treasure?" The kids have stopped fighting and are wondering if you're serious or not. After a moment of silence, they say that they would like to find that treasure. And so your journey begins. You take their minds far away to the high seas. You describe the boat they are in and the size of the waves that rock them back and forth. They sight land and soon feel the soft sand under their feet as they jump out of the boat. But there is a problem. A tribe of natives comes running through the tropical trees and captures them! (You're making all of this up in your head as you go along of course, or you're stealing your ideas directly from a book you've read it doesn't matter to the kids in the slightest where your ideas come from). You ask the oldest child what she does.
You (deciding off the cuff): "All you have is the boat rope that's tied around your waist." Child 1: "That won't do me much good. I try to talk to them. Do they understand English?" You (again deciding off the cuff): "No, they don't understand English, but you happen to be a linguistics expert, so you understand their language." Child 1: "Then I ask them not to hurt us. I say that we'll give them something special if they let us go." Child 2: "Do I have any weapons?" You: "You have a pocket knife, but it's fairly dull." Child 2: "Have they tied us up?" You: "Yes." Child 2: "I try to reach my knife so I can cut myself loose." You: "Will you do your homework tonight without any arguments?" Child 2: "Okay!" You: "Then yes, you can reach your knife!" This works identically with a classroom full of students complaining about having to write two pages in their journals. It takes no time at all to completely wrap them up in the world of imagination. They're captivated, and you're the one calling the shots. You're the one making up the rules. But they are drawn in so quickly because they understand this kind of play. They do it all the time with their friends. Yes, you have to think quickly stay one step ahead of them. But you'd be surprised at what ideas come to you in the moment. And if you simply can't think of something, pause for a bit and the kids will make all kinds of suggestions that you can choose from. It's a hook that works every time. The only reason why I had to throw in a bunch of dice and rules for this particular game is that you're going to be using it to motivate kids to write, and in order to do that, you need to have a sort of tracking system. The tracking system gives them a way to move up levels in the game (which is a reward they must have in order to maintain their interest long term). Plus, being a teacher myself, I know that you need to make the game consistent and fair to all the students, and that you don't have the energy to think up all of your obstacles on the fly. You need to have rules that apply across the board and lists that guide you along the journey so you're not left out there to fend for yourself against numerous children who are hungry for the game. What the kids don't realize is that this fun talking game is really just telling a story an, interactive story if you will, where the listeners actually participate and move the story forward. Remember you may change these rules at any time in order to fit your needs, or even just for fun! This is only a suggested method for playing the writing game. Don't be afraid to be creative. You can't place strict rules on creativity. This game can take as much or as little time to play as you wish. If you need a fast game, choose a couple of simple obstacles and place a reward to be gained at the end. The best way to play this game is in 1-2 hour sessions once or twice a week over several months of time. The game can be made complex enough that children can play it for years, changing the landscape and the rules to match their current interests as they grow. It is a game of the imagination. And as we all know, the imagination is endless. Good writers need to have good imaginations, and this game trains that skill to perfection. Further Reading: Guide to Getting Reluctant Kids to Write by Miriam Darnell. Here are some curriculum ideas using Legends of Druidawn. © All Rights Reserved |
