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Writing Across the Curriculum Teaching Circle
PO Box 1510
Pembroke, NC 28372

Phone: 910.521.6616
Fax: 910.522.5795
Email: wac@uncp.edu

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Writing Games

What can you do in class on the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend? It's near the end of the semester and the students are conversant with the subject matter. I have used these similar games in my journalism feature writing and editorial writing classes.
—Tony Curtis, Mass Communications e-mail

Feature Story Game

It's Monday after Thanksgiving weekend. Arriving in the newsroom, you are greeted by the managing editor. She wants to bring closure to the long holiday weekend so she assigns a Thanksgiving feature story for you to write for tomorrow's paper.

"Great!" you exclaim happily. "I'll have to do some research and go out and conduct some interviews."

"Good," she replies. "Give me an outline proposal for the feature within the next hour."

Heading down to the coffee shop with reporter's notebook and pencil in hand, you wonder what subject you should choose? As you reminisce, there seem to be a lot of possibilities:
  • What did you do over the weekend?
  • What did you see over the weekend?
  • Where did you go over the weekend?
  • Why did your weekend turn out as it did?
  • What else?
You decide to do some freewriting, then select an idea and outline it.
  • Freewriting ­ in exactly one minute write everything you can think of on the back of this sheet of paper.
  • Read and select ­ read the freewriting and choose one of the good ideas.
  • Outline ­ rough out a feature story for tomorrow's paper. Make the subject interesting by giving your story some color, energy and pizzazz.
  • Include some details from the senses:
    • Hearing
    • Seeing
    • Feeling
    • Smelling
    • Tasting
The class selects a bell keeper and a scorekeeper.

When your turn comes up, present your article idea briefly and quickly to the class.

The class gives each feature story idea a score of 1 to 10. The highest average score at the end is the winner.

Beware the bell if yours is just the "same old, same old." You could be rung out.

Editorial Writing Game

It's Monday after Thanksgiving weekend. You arrive at work only to be reminded that you have to write the editorial for tomorrow's paper. It has to be done within the next hour.

"Wait a minute," you think, "The turkey was done. Writing has to be completed."

So, you change it to "It has to be completed within the next hour."

What topic should you choose? There are many different possibilities for this holiday time of year:
  • Traffic accidents
  • Homelessness stories
  • Travel destinations
  • Dysfunctional families
  • The weather
  • The real meaning of the holidays
  • Shopping
  • Hanukkah
  • Other
You decide to do some freewriting, then select an idea and outline it.
  • Freewriting ­ in exactly one minute write everything you can think of on the back of this sheet of paper.
  • Read and select ­ read the freewriting and choose one of the good ideas.
  • Outline ­ sketch out an editorial for the newspaper. Make the subject interesting by giving your editorial charm, vitality and authority.
When your turn comes up, present your editorial proposal to the class.

The class selects a bell keeper and a scorekeeper.

The class gives each editorial a score of 1 to 10. The highest average score at the end is the winner.

Beware the bell if yours is just the "same old, same old." You could be rung out.

Updated: Tuesday, January 15, 2005

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