In the past decade, escape rooms have become a popular form of entertainment for groups of friends, family members, or even work colleagues.
An escape room is a game (either in person or online) where players are “confined” to a room or other enclosed setting like an imaginary prison cell or a sinking ship. They have to work together against the clock to find a way to escape by discovering hidden clues or solving a series of riddles or puzzles.
For my family’s traditional Christmas Eve celebration, I purchased a printable escape room game called “Save Santa!” from an Etsy seller for the teens and young adults at our gathering. (The premise was that Santa had gone missing mere hours before he was to deliver presents to children around the world. Players and “the elves” had to solve clues and riddles to find Santa.)
Once our players got the hang of it, they really enjoyed it. Each person was called upon to use their strengths like strong math skills or their ability to fold paper – origami-style – to make a Santa hat. At the end of game, they each received a small prize and said they really had a lot of fun.
In a way, an escape room game is like writing a scene in your novel. Here’s how:
- The character has a specific goal which is to escape. Is she aboard a sinking ship and must save her family? Is he locked in a scary cabin in the woods by a crazed hermit? Does your character need to find the key to a treasure chest before he dies? The possibilities are endless.
- There is a time element. Nothing gets the action moving in your writing better than a countdown of some kind. Think about many a James Bond movie where 007 has to save someone (or himself or sometimes both) before the evil villain’s bomb explodes. He always saves the day with a second or two to spare, right?
- Is the situation believable? Unless you are writing a children’s book, a scene in which elves are trying to save Santa Claus isn’t really going to work. But how about a scenario in which a group of characters. . .let’s say, college students on a Spring Break trip to Key West. . .are placed in danger. Perhaps their plane is hijacked, and it lands in Cuba where they are held for days as ransom by unknown, nefarious individuals who want $1 million and a private jet to take them to a secret location.
Now it’s your turn. Set a timer for 10-15 minutes and write.
Pamela’s Prompts: Could Your Characters Escape?
Let me know what you come up with by posting a comment below.
Happy writing!