The Writer’s Toolbox Review

* Thank you to Chronicle Books for providing this product free for the purpose of this review.*

The creator of The Writer’s Toolbox is Jamie Cat Callan. An author of popular French Romance novels. During her teaching days, Jamie first thought of the game by using creative and imaginative ways to make her students more engaged with the act of writing. 

Jamie transformed the students from uninspired writers to active writers. It all started when Jamie created the first step of the game – ‘The First Sentence’ exercise. These began as starter sentences, written on strips of paper, that would lead the students to then uncover their own stories through free writing. Jamie has since taught hundreds of students using the same game and has incorporated ideas from her film school days while studying Screenwriting. 

The Writer’s Toolbox game is intended for use across multiple mediums – from Screenwriting, Prose, and Playwriting to Short Stories, free writing, and novel writing. The Toolbox includes First Sentence sticks, Non Sequitur sticks, Last Straw sticks, Sixth-Sense cards, and The Protagonist Game – along with a timer and a guidebook. 

Each stick is colour-coded, but the game does not have to be played in any particular order. There are multiple combinations of stories to create. The whole idea is to help writers start writing and to help expand their creativity, which Jamie calls ‘exploring the write-side of the brain’.

1) The First Sentence

The First Sentence sticks are described as the ‘catalyst’ for a story. A ‘jumping off’ point to kick start writing. Each step is recommended as three to six minutes of free writing to see where the story takes you. The whole idea is not to think too much about the act of writing itself.

For my story, the First Sentence was – ‘Charlotte ate green peppers all day long.’ This sentence unravelled a hidden message within my story. It was no longer about the literal meaning. The First Sentence revealed a bullying scandal in high school. 

By letting the story lead the writing, it made me realise the patterns and themes that run through my stories. How the writer reacts to the First Sentence can reveal something much deeper about their own writing. 

2) The Non Sequitur 

The ‘Non Sequitur’ sticks can add a new direction to the story or a surprising transition. This section can also be used in the middle of a story, or if the writer has moved away from an idea for a while and needs to revitalise the energy of the story. It is especially effective in experimental stories and can be used as an unlimited resource to discover new plot points. The first Non Sequitur stick used in my own story was – ‘He was skating on thin ice – that’s all I can say.’ This worked quite well with the plot. 

My story only travelled in a different direction with the second Non Sequitur stick – ‘There you go, making up lies again. That’s what they told me.’ The guide recommends choosing a few from this category to keep reversing the fortunes of the protagonist at each new plot point. Once the story starts flowing, there is a certain surge of creativity which fuels the urge to write more. Often this means writing beyond the ‘recommended’ amount for each section. 

Photo by: Hannah Taylor

3) The Last Straw

The next step is ‘The Last Straw’, which is ironically nowhere near the last step in the game. Instead, the next step forms a dramatic arc across the story. It is especially useful for writer’s who often find themselves avoiding tension and conflict in their stories. 

The Last Straw card stick in my own story was – ‘The bill she forgot to pay.’ It definitely unleashed a new source of drama as it progressed my story into diving deeper behind the protagonist’s upbringing and developing their backstory. It made me think more about the reasons behind their actions. 

This section can make the writer conjure up all sorts of questions, from ‘why does the protagonist behave in this way?’ to ‘what makes their reactions different to everyone else?’ (Which is often the reason why they are the protagonist in the first place).

4) The Sixth-Sense Cards

The Sixth-Sense cards are not only a way to progress the story but cause the writing to focus more on the descriptive side. They target all the senses – sound, sight, smell, touch, taste, memory, and imagination. By writing descriptions on the senses can make the story details both more specific, realistic and brings the protagonist’s story to life.

The guide advises to pick three random cards and turn them over subsequently after writing about each card for three minutes. The idea is for the writer to not be able to anticipate what will happen next. The three sixth-sense cards to progress my story in the ‘senses’ include, ‘The sound of Henry crying’/ ‘Sticky raspberry yoghurt’/ and ‘Notes from a jealous husband.’ 

Each card adapted into the plot and the senses found themselves easily woven into the scenes. However, the cards encourage lengthy over-writing to a point where the story developed beyond the timer. This resulted in writing at least three times more than the dedicated recommendation of ‘three minutes’ on each card.

Overall, the Sixth-Sense cards made multiple additions to my story, including introducing a new character and describing their characteristics and mannerisms through the senses to anticipate a new plot point with the possibility of the protagonist’s father having an affair. 

5) The Protagonist Game

The Protagonist Game consists of four ‘Protagonist Palette’ wheels. The four include the Protagonist, Goals, Action and Obstacles. This game is most helpful to writers who struggle to create a plot. It is also said to build dramatic tension and help with the structure of the story.

Of course, the protagonist is at the heart of every story, and it is about establishing the protagonist or narrator’s voice while setting up the genre clearly from the very beginning. The Protagonist Game helps to workshop the main character and provides the starting points to construct their lives.

The Results for the ‘Protagonist Game’ for My Story:

• Protagonist: Iris, the Psychoanalyst

• Goals: To discover

• Action: Wears a disguise
• Obstacle: The Woman in 3B

The Protagonist Game allows more freedom with the story choices. The story points are no longer random, (unless it is the preferred choice) compared to the rest of the steps. For my completely new story, the different types of palettes create a chain of events and added elements that would not usually appear in my stories. The game has the potential to help writers expand on their ideas and the opportunities they give to their protagonists.

There is a wide freedom to explore with the game. The Protagonist Game can be combined with elements of The First Sentence, The Non Sequitur, The Last Straw, and the Sixth-Sense Cards. The options are limitless and are completely down to the writer and what their aims are for the story. There are several opportunities to add more obstacles and actions along the way on the protagonist’s journey. Or if the protagonist has to change their goal(s) to adapt to their new surroundings. 

Nevertheless, the game encourages creative freedom. There are no strict rules when it comes to free writing. The Writer’s Toolbox can be used as a game to sit down and write with friends and then share stories. Or as an individual writing experience. It may help create new and revolutionary story ideas to be used in the writer’s armoury or it can be used to help the flow of ideas, to practise free writing, and develop a writing routine overtime. 

Photo by: Hannah Taylor

Verdict

Overall, The Writer’s Toolbox offers a creative, immersive, and freeing writing experience. It definitely encourages the writer to keep writing. As with my own story, the writing often goes beyond the timer – as the creativity door opens, the restrictions and limitations door closes. 

The timer is particularly helpful as it removes the need to reach out for a digital timer on a phone. It allows an escape from the distractions of the outside world – as technology can often disrupt creativity. 

On the other hand, the game lacks a clear instruction guide. Although, it is ultimately up to the writer for how they play out the story. The quick guide reads more between a short novel, an instruction guide and a memoir – perhaps it tries to do too many things all at once. 

However, the guide provides helpful advice from an experienced Creative Writing teacher and published author. One thing the Toolbox does particularly well is its effectiveness across several and different mediums. Whether writing a screenplay, poem or an experimental story to writing a Horror, Romance or Comedy – the exercises have the ability to work its freedom. 

The helpful small book of information gives a brief overview on story structure and arcs with a further resource guide and recommended readings from the author. It also provides eleven questions for the writer to ask about their own stories.

Each section of the game contains its own speciality:

• The Toolbox helps to evoke images in the story.

• First Sentence sticks are the catalyst for the Inciting Incident in the story.

• Non Sequitur sticks create a surprising transition and moves the writing in a new direction.

• Last Straw sticks develop major actions and shifts in the narrative.

• Sixth-Sense Cards help with developing the senses in descriptions.
• The Protagonist Game helps create plot, constructs the protagonist’s structural arc and builds dramatic tension.

The Toolbox is also useful for use in a writer’s emergency – if a new direction or twist is needed the Non Sequitur sticks on their own can be helpful to revive the story. Each section can be used in either isolation or all together. Whether starting a new story or attempting to bring energy into an old narrative – the toolbox is useful in many different writing situations.

Often the prompts can be too basic at times. Some prompts from the first three sections – the First Sentence, Non Sequitur and Last Straw sticks could be enhanced with more ambitious ideas. Although, the book does state it is up to the writer how much they differentiate from the original prompt. 

It depends on how the story identifies and interacts with that prompt. The ideas given to the writer are chosen at random. Ultimately, it is this concept that ‘nothing is definitive’, which provides the writer the power that they are the only one with the answers to their own stories. 

The Writer’s Toolbox can be found on Amazon here, at Waterstones here and WHSmith here.

Also see Jamie Cat Callan’s blog here.