Howdy folks! I hope you're all doing well. I wanted to share with you all a tool I made and have been using in moments when the stories of the Archive don't present themselves to me as easily as I want them to. I've taken to calling it "The Archive Observational Index" as it's provided me a way to peer into the worlds of the Archive on demand. It's been tremendously useful and I'm hoping it may be useful to you as well. This is sort of V1 of this system - I've already swapped out some words and results for others and will continue to do so to incrementally improve the results and the system itself. In its current form, this system can in theory uncover over 7 million unique story ideas!
All you need is a standard deck of playing cards that you don't mind marking (or a random number generator set between 1 and 52) and the PDF sheet attached below. A note: while using a random number generator is probably more efficient, I enjoy the tactility of using cards for this. I find it easier to connect with the results and extract the story from them. Maybe that's just me, you do exactly as you please.
How to use the AOI:
1. If using cards, number the cards with 1 through 52.
2. Shuffle the deck and draw a card, noting the number and it's result on the table. Put the card back in the deck and repeat the process 3 more times, for a total of 4 total shuffles and draws.
3. Once you have four results, ponder them. Don't try to map out the story just yet, just let yourself simmer on the result and see if you can discern the greater story within it.
4. Start writing!
A tip: Allow the story to tell itself, don't try to force it into the constraints of the results. The result of the process can (and in my opinion should) be interpreted as loosely and creatively as you want.
That's all! If you use this system, I'd love to see what you make with it!
Cheers,
The Head Curator
