Welcome to the #OregonParkBenchStory landing page – a collaboration between the Oregon Made Creative Foundation, Soma Games, Willamette Writers and Travel Oregon who all came together to create a storytelling generator to help unpack 2020.
How to join #OregonParkBenchStory
- Imagine yourself sitting on your favorite Oregon park bench and reflect on the past year.
- Screen shot the park bench image (above), or upload a photo of your own favorite park bench and post to your public account on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
- Include the hashtag #OregonParkBenchStory.
- Use your caption to respond to one of the following writing prompts:
- Knowing what you know now, what advice would you have given yourself for 2020?
- What genre would you name your year in 2020?
- If 2020 were a video game, what 3 items would you have prepared yourself with?
- If 2020 were a novel what would you call it?
- What was your favorite unexpected adventure of 2020?
- Engage with other responses to the #OregonParkBenchStory hashtag. You’re now part of the (unofficial) community.
Want to hone your story writing skills for video games?
Video games are worlds where exploration of characters, circumstances, and conflict sit front and center just as they do in books and short stories. The craft and career of a games writer, although differing from other forms of media, is rooted in the fundamentals of compelling storytelling. With video games now arguably situated as the most influential form of media, writers would be amiss not to consider this industry as their chosen career path.
Soma Games and Willamette Writers have come together to offer a no-cost online workshop on Sunday, January 31, 2021.
To join us, all you'll need to do is participate by January 29 in our #OregonParkBenchStory campaign via Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. Download the park bench image provided on this page, or use your own image of a park bench, post it to your social media, and give us one sentence, phrase, or prompt response in the caption reflecting on your story of 2020. Use the #OregonParkBenchStory.
One #OregonParkBenchStory post equals one ticket to the workshop.
1pm PST, Sunday January 31, 2021. Ages 18+ only, please. You will receive your registration link via direct message.
For thousands of years the tradition of storytelling has shaped cultures across the globe. The uniquely human tradition of storytelling is a powerful tool that connects across generations, between cultures and countries. Through the ages on every continent people would gather in caves, in the desert and forests, on the savannah, and much later on village greens, in town markets and city green spaces - all coming together to talk and share. In more recent times, the humble park bench has become a familiar icon, a tangible place for all people to gather to think, talk, share, debate, complain, recite lore –to tell stories. As social media has evolved, storytelling has moved on-line, and in some ways moved away from a collective telling to a much more individual form of storytelling. The #OregonParkBenchStory was created as a friendly prompt to bring us together as individual storytellers to create a larger shared experience that will describe our collective 2020. Thanks for joining us!
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Soma Games LLC is an indie video game developer located in Newberg, Oregon. We believe video games can be far more than time-wasters. Video games hold the potential to showcase beauty, reward adventure and excellence, and challenge thinking. Our goal is to passionately and dutifully craft the games that elevate humanity rather than waste it.
Soma Games LLC is an indie video game developer located in Newberg, Oregon. We believe video games can be far more than time-wasters. Video games hold the potential to showcase beauty, reward adventure and excellence, and challenge thinking. Our goal is to passionately and dutifully craft the games that elevate humanity rather than waste it.
Willamette Writers is a 501c3 nonprofit organization run by writers and dedicated to helping writers at all levels connect with their communities, develop their craft, and advance their careers. Each year, Willamette Writers celebrates their programming year with an annual conference the first weekend in August. The conference, and chapter meetings across the Pacific Northwest, are open to all writers.
