Say What Cards - Instructions

Welcome! Below are the full instructions for the single cards PDF package.

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About these cards 

Each card in this package features a mini scene that is a conversation between two or more characters. This conversation is part of a larger story – it’s like part of a scene that you might read in a book or watch in a movie.

Although the conversations aren’t always complete, in each snippet, we aim to give you at least a glimpse into the relationship between the characters, what they might be talking about, and/or the events that might have led to the conversation.

There are no fixed answers for what each snippet is about or what the larger story is. That is up to your imagination.

There are 73 cards in total.

Instructions

You can use these cards in different ways. But however you choose to use them, it will generally involve coming up with ideas for what the conversation is about and what the larger story could be.

To come up with ideas, you’ll want to look closely at what the characters are saying and then think about the kind of story their conversation could take place in. While there are no specific answers, the snippets often contain subtle cues or references that will narrow the options open to you. Perhaps this is a timeline, an emotion, or a key detail.

Below, we’ve outlined three main options for how to use these cards, as well as some alternate activities.

Option 1 – Imagine the conversation and the larger story

> Group discussions/brainstorming | an independent thinking activity | a writing exercise

What to do:

Finish the sentence: This is a story about... Then finish the sentence: In this scene...

As you can see, this option has two parts. First you imagine what the overall story is about, then you come up with an idea for what the snippet is about and how it fits into that overall story. To answer these questions, you’ll need to imagine who the characters are and what they’re talking about.

Note: You do not need to limit yourself to one line when finishing each sentence. You can be as detailed as you want.

Also note: We find it easier to come up with an idea for what the overall story is first, and then figure out the meaning of the conversation. But you can reverse that order if preferred.

Option 2 – What comes next

> A writing exercise | a writers room activity (small groups) | an improv activity

What to do:

Read the snippet, then come up with an idea for what is the next line or lines of dialogue.

In this option, you must decide on what the story is, then imagine how it unfolds after the dialogue snippet. You can do this spontaneously as an improv activity (either on your own or with a partner), through a writing exercise or in a small group where you toss around and debate ideas. If you choose to do this as a group, a collaborative mindset will be key!

Option 3 – Playing with point of view (advanced)

> A writing exercise

What to do:

The snippets are written as dialogue and they’re not from a specific character’s point of view. Think of them as a neutral recording of the conversation.

For this option, you’ll rewrite the dialogue as non-dialogue, and you’ll choose to tell it from one character’s point of view. This means the character you choose is narrating the story. You can add whatever details you come up with based on the ideas that you have imagined.

Example:

Dialogue

“Where’s Esme?” Jacob asked.

“I don’t know,” Shawna said, her eyes darting back and forth. “She isn’t answering my texts.”

“This isn’t good. We have to go find her.”

Transformed to non-dialogue

We hadn’t seen Esme all afternoon. Who knows what happened to her after the test. She looked pretty shaken up. She told me she needed an A to pass the course. But there’s no way anyone got an A on that thing.

I wasn’t the only one worried. Shawna looked like she was starting to panic, especially after Esme stopped answering her texts. Esme always answered her texts. I knew we couldn’t sit around talking anymore. It was time to start searching the school.

 

More options 

You may come up with different ways to use the snippets.

Here are some more ideas:

    • Record yourself reading the snippet, like an audiobook. Have fun experimenting with the voices. Consider using music as an intro to your recording, or at the end of the scene.
    • There are different ways to tell a story and to write a scene with dialogue. First, imagine what the overall story is about. Then rewrite the dialogue in a completely different way that better reflects the story you came up with.
    • Write the dialogue or events that came just before the snippet.
    • Are you learning another language? Practice your translation skills.
    • Extend the activity by creating an illustration to accompany the scene, writing a full story, or creating a play or screenplay.
    • Create your own snippet cards: We’ve left two cards at the back of this pack blank. Feel free to use them to add your own dialogue snippets!

About our Think Like a Storyteller series

This multi-faceted series seeks to build imagination, critical thinking, strategic thinking, problem-solving, lateral thinking and idea generation through different aspects of storytelling. You can view our items at FuriousThink.com.

What to know about this PDF package

Our Say What? The Snippets of Dialogue Cards package comes with two PDFs.

This PDF features 4 cards per page and is intended for printing. The pages can be printed on standard letter size paper (8.5” x 11”). Once printed, you can cut the pages into cards if you choose. For sturdier cards, you may want to print on cardstock.

There is also a PDF containing single page cards/slides that can be easily viewed on devices. There are 73 cards in total in each PDF.