Improv training teaches players to quickly define three key pieces of information at the beginning of a scene or story: WHO are these people? WHAT's going on? WHERE are they? These are the things that the human brain desperately wants to know in a context of storytelling or comedy—audiences get nervous if you leave them undefined for too long.

Let's use the improv game from the last session (Five Things) to practice generating some Who, What, Where.

(These Improv Drills don't have anything to do with your story—it's just more practice brainstorming quickly and letting go of judgment.)

Pick two ideas from yesterday that jump out at you—that seem like they have potential and might be fun to turn into a Crappy First Draft. Follow the exercises below to generate a fuller description of each story idea that includes:
WHO - Who is the main character in your story? Try to pick one specific person and tell us a couple things about them.
WHAT - What's the story about? What happens to the main character? What do they have to deal with?
WHERE - Where does the story start or where does it mainly take place? What is unique about the world of your story?

Maybe you already know which one you want to go with. That’s great—choose one more anyway for this exercise.

Pick your first story idea and create a one or two-sentence description that answers the following questions. Don't worry about how readable or well-written your descriptions end up. Awkward is great. You can always change any details you don't like later.

Do the same thing with your second story idea. *This is optional if you're dead set on going with your first idea, but you are strongly encouraged to give it a shot.