ilxors with kids (or actually not, necessarily): a query re story cubes, story cards etc

My niece is eleven in 10 days time. I'm looking for a present for her which would encourage her to create and write up more challenging or ambitious stories

she's already fairly good at this, she has a vivid and a funny imagination, and has sets of story cubes from several years ago (a doctor who set and a moomin set) -- i googled around for maybe sets of story cards but all the ones i found seemed a bit babyish in design, which i think she might disdain. so i guess YA-ish and maybe somehow leading towards more than just "and then this and then this" (tho that's probably too much to ask)

does anyone have any thoughts here? i am not exactly sure what i'm looking at as a mechanism, beyond the idea that the device throws up a random element or set of elements and the writer develops a story round them (and writes it up and posts it to me). i guess i want things that push a bit beyond franchise pre-sets or genre cliches? they maybe don't have to be entirely picture-led but i think there should be an element of this

anyway i didn't know how to google what i was after (bcz not exactly sure) and i thought you guys have excellent collective knowledge, experience, antennae and so on

I can ask my kids their opinion when they are home from school, but I want to say by that age they liked being let loose on a computer to write. It's a combination of screen time, using mom/dad's machine, and creative outlet, especially as they read and absorb more and learn/like to emulate. By age 11 (the age of my younger one) they might even like a book aimed at kids who want to write.

thank you! i will check with her mum how she likes to write (and actually also ask her this question!)

what i'm groping towards is more the device to generate unexpected ideas and structures than the place the writing ends up getting done -- the cubes exist obviously (with lots of other source stories) but there's something a bit limiting about what they deliver?

get her a set of oblique strategies cards obv

my kid is too dumb young to be doing any of this stuff but those story cubes could be great for her a few years down the line, thx for the heads-up

If you wanted to make it personal you could just start 50 different stories yourself and have them finish them. That could be fun for you both.

It's not geared towards kids, but Story Structure Architect by Victoria Schmidt kinda does what you're asking. It's sectioned off into lists of a couple dozen generic plots, character types, conflicts, etc. that you can flip through and choose at random. I've also found Mad-Libs to be a great jumping off point with my tutee. Once he got the gist of how they were constructed, he was able to make his own 'Libs and also took a stab at some stories of his own.

oblique strategies: so here's the tea (which probably belongs on another thread)

i: they are grebt and i use them ALL THE TIME trufax
ii: ("tidy up" don't tell me what to do you berlin-bonced early answer to jordan peterson)
iii: they are SURPRISINGLY SHODDILY MADE, v flimsy and come to bits too quickly
iv: the pack is HUGE (which is also good)…
v: … but makes them v hard to shuffle
vi: ("do nothing for as long as possible" better you are forgiven you loveable boffin-shaped genius)

I just pulled out a card at random from my Oblique Strategies deck: "Don't stress one thing more than another."

There, I think that settles it for you.

:D

there are hunners of oblique strategies apps out there fyi

you could also get her a copy of the i-ching in the hopes of making her the next philip k dick

'change nothing and continue with immaculate consistency'

it me

she's kind of not-quite-online yet (weirdly enough, given me)*

(so not weird, my sister is well aware of me)

Would a suitable-for-younger-players pen-and-paper role-playing game be any use? as a GM she could create characters, worlds, adventures for others to play in, etc.

https://medium.com/@rodneyorpheus/magical-tabletop-games-for-kids-1cd227cac9fe

or

https://geekandsundry.com/teach-your-kids-to-roleplay-with-these-3-ish-games/

might help

a friend suggested some kind of "oulipo for kids" project for this -- which again looking round doesn't seem actually quite to exist, so we half decided to invent it

(she hadn't heard of oblique strategies and loooooved "honour your error as a hidden intention" so that was nice)

A MIghty Girl has curated some things together. Maybe worth a look, I am sure you can order where you are from somewhere. https://www.amightygirl.com/toys/arts-crafts/writing-journaling

james: the GM thing: she (they all) only just moved to a new town and tbh her current gang of pals are the opposite of writerly -- so i'm not sure that would work this minute (but she will move to a new school in the autumn where she may well acquire some geeky as well as rough-and-tumble friends)

on the whole she buckles down to quiet projects only with adult encouragement/participation currently, which is fine -- but she's an only child and i guess what i'm looking for at the moment is things that help her self-motivate a more solitary creativity, which doesn't need adults present or a bunch of likeminded friends? but this is a good avenue for the future when she has some of those

yerac: yes, those look promising, thank you

and thanks everyone! keep em coming

Three-Card Nancy

Oh i guess Five

Once Upon A Time is a really good storytelling card game.

Gloom and Stuff & Nonsense are both decent card games that have a storytelling aspect you can play up or down.

books by keri smith definitely fit the bill :)

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51t4yLlB3qL._SX324_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

i also found one by john something* which is probably a bit old for her -- text a little too small, suggested projects a little too conceptual for a not particularly cerebral (tho imaginative and artistic) 11-yr-old

*like an idiot i forgot to make a note of it in the bookshop