I’ve Got Problems by Bob Krech

Sticking with the NOvember theme, I started thinking about how “No” relates to problems and how problems are often at the heart of many stories. Here are a few example “NO’s” from stories I know:
No cluesNo suspectNo murder weaponNo evidenceNo alibiNo parentsNo friendsNo escapeNo one to play withNo moneyNo confidenceNo directionNo love
A fun way to utilize “NO’s” to generate a story is to pick a scenario, for example, a child planning on going out trick or treating on Halloween. Now we use our “NO’s” to create some problems to give our character. For example:
No costumeNo one to trick or treat withNo permission to go outNo where to go trick or treatingNo time to go out (too much homework, have to take care of a baby sister, etc.)No good weather
It’s fun to help a character figure out ways to overcome these “NO’s.” In the end, if we are successful, and find interesting ways to effectively defeat these problems, we  remove the “NO’s” and leave our character and the reade