What Does the Character Do Next? A Simple Storytelling Game That Builds Better Thinking

By Nurche Team · 1 September 2026

Children often create wonderful stories—but keeping a story connected from beginning to end is a different skill.

A character may want to find a lost toy, reach a friend's house, or build a treehouse. The interesting part is what happens next: Does each choice help the character move toward that goal?

This simple 10–15 minute storytelling activity helps children practise connecting actions to intentions. Instead of correcting their story, parents can keep bringing them back to one question:

“Does this choice still fit what the character wants?”

With just a toy and four markers, you can turn pretend play into a small storytelling challenge that encourages imagination, planning, and connected thinking.

Start With One Goal

Give the story something the character wants

Before the story begins, give your child a character and a simple goal.

For example:

- The teddy wants to find his lost hat.
- The toy car wants to reach the park.
- The doll wants to surprise her friend.
- The dinosaur wants to find a safe place before it rains.

Then create four spaces using markers. Each space becomes a new event in the story.

You can say:

“Keep the goal alive through the whole story. What does the character do next?”

The goal becomes the thread connecting all four events.

Your child doesn't need to tell a long or complicated story. What matters is that their character's choices continue to make sense based on what the character wants.

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Keep Asking “Does It Fit?”

Follow the character's choices

Once the story begins, let your child decide what happens.

For example:

Parent: “Teddy wants to find his lost hat. What does he do first?”

Child: “He looks near the sofa.”

Parent: “What happens next?”

Child: “It starts raining, so he gets an umbrella and keeps looking.”

Now bring the goal back into the conversation:

“Does this choice still fit what Teddy wants?”

The question isn't meant to test whether your child's answer is right or wrong.

It's helping them think about the connection between:

What the character wants → what happens → what the character chooses next.

If your child suddenly sends Teddy to a bakery to buy ten cupcakes, don't immediately correct the story.

Instead, ask:

“How could the cupcakes help Teddy find his hat?”

Now your child gets to solve the story problem while keeping the original goal alive.

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One Goal, Many Choices

Let the story grow without losing its thread

The challenge becomes more interesting when something tempting pulls the character away from the original goal.

Imagine the character wants to reach the park.

On the way, they see an ice-cream shop.

Your child might say:

“He stops to get ice cream.”

That's perfectly fine. Now ask:

“What does he do after that?”

The child has to bring the character back to the original goal.

Maybe:

“He finishes his ice cream and runs to the park before it gets dark.”

That's the skill you're looking for: the goal continues to influence later choices.

You can also make the game easier by keeping a visible picture or object representing the goal beside the story spaces.

And once your child successfully keeps one goal connected across several choices, you can add a challenge:

“Can you keep the same goal even when something tempting happens?”

Stop after one successful attempt. The aim isn't to make the story longer. It's to give your child a chance to experience what it feels like to build a connected story.

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What Your Child Is Practising

This activity may look like simple pretend play, but your child is practising an important storytelling habit:

keeping an intention connected to later actions.

Over time, you may notice your child beginning to:

- Think about what a character wants.
- Choose actions that support that goal.
- Connect different events in a story.
- Explain why a character made a particular choice.
- Adjust a story when something unexpected happens.
- Resist getting completely sidetracked by a new idea.

And you don't need to turn every story into a lesson.

You can practise the same skill naturally while reading books together. Ask:

“What does the character want?”

Then later:

“Why did they do that?”

Or during pretend play:

“What is your character trying to do?”

Then keep that goal alive as the play continues.

The goal isn't a perfect story.

It's helping your child notice that what a character wants can shape what they do next.

Keep Practising

Try this during everyday play:

While reading: Notice what a character wants and how that affects later choices.

During pretend play: Give one character a goal and keep it active across several events.

During conversations: When telling a real-life story, connect someone's choices back to what they were trying to achieve.

A small question like “Does this choice still fit what the character wants?” can turn an ordinary pretend-play moment into a richer storytelling experience.