My daughter has a room FILLED with really good books, but wouldn't you know it, it is very often her request before bedtime that I simply tell her a story, a "made up" story...you know, a "just off the top of my head" kind of story. Well, I've been asked to do this enough times that I finally figured out a "fool proof formula" for how to do this, a formula I've gotten down to a simple 1-2-3 process so that ANYONE can become the best story teller ever!
STEP ONE: WE NEED CHARACTERS
The first question I ask my daughter is "OK...who do you want this story to be about? I like to then give her interesting character choices, like "Do you want this story to be about two strawberries, three puppies who are sisters, a cat and a cricket, or perhaps about three daisies and one rose?" This gets her mental creative juices flowing to pick characters that are not necessarily people, but still specific enough for me to work with. Sometimes she picks one of my suggestions, but most of the time she comes up with something on her own.
STEP TWO: WE NEED A SETTING
Second question I ask my daughter is "Where are these characters? Are they in a city made of candy, clouds or cotton? Are they in an enchanted forest? Maybe they live in the same city, but haven't met yet." Again, this helps my daughter to visualize the environment in which the characters live, and gives her ideas for painting their background, which also gives me more to work with as I continue to create this story in my head.
STEP THREE: WE NEED A STORYLINE - WHAT'S HAPPENING?
Third and final question I ask my daughter is "OK, now what is the situation? Are they sad? Are they lonely? Are they trying to solve a mystery together? Are the characters on some kind treasure hunt? Are they in some kind of trouble that they need some help with? Are they on a great adventure together?" Once again, I give these suggestions so she can help me better understand what is going on with these characters, and, in essence, find out what she REALLY wants me to tell her a story ABOUT. Is this a happy story? Is this a story about conflict resolution? Is this a story about friendship? Is this a scary story? What she tells me here will really set the tone and mood of the story, and once I have this third and final piece, I am usually ready with a story to tell her.
So, here's an example of how a story might go.
"Once upon a time, there lived two little strawberries deep in an enchanted and beautiful forest. These strawberries were the best of friends, but they were also very lonely at times, for there were the only strawberries that lived in this beautiful forest. One day, one of the strawberries, Ruby, decided she wanted to venture into the forest to see if there were any others like her and her only friend, Sparkle. Sparkle was very afraid of this, for she feared she may never see Ruby again, and then she would be the only strawberry left in the forest. But Ruby assured Sparkle that she would be safe during her travels and not to fear, for no matter what, she would return to her friend.
The morning finally came when Ruby decided to embark on her adventure into the great, enchanted forest in search of others like her and Sparkle. Sparkle trusted and believed in her friend Ruby and patiently waited for her return. Morning turned to afternoon, and afternoon turned into evening...still no sign of Ruby. Sparkle began to worry deeply...when all of a sudden she heard Ruby's voice. "SPARKLE, SPARKLE, COME QUICK!" Sparkle began to run toward Ruby's voice when she immediately saw Ruby coming over the hill. But it wasn't just Ruby that she saw. Sparkle saw the most amazing thing she had ever seen. A rainbow of red, pink and purple was following right behind Ruby...there were HUNDREDS of others just like Ruby and Sparkle, all happy and anxious to meet Sparkle and explore the enchanted and beautiful forest. Never in her life was Sparkle so happy! That night, all the strawberry friends danced and played together in the forest. In fact, from that night on, they all lived together in the forest for many, many years and it was the happiest times for all of them."
See...a story...as easy as 1-2-3!
Once upon a time, we used to tell lots of stories, stories about our lives, our ancestors, and the legends from our past that could only be told face to face. But we are losing this art, just as we are losing the art of writing letters or making pies from scratch. Telling stories was once the intimate way we connected with each other while passing on the great stories that were told generation after generation. Storytellers seem to be all but gone, but I believe there is a storyteller in all of us. It does, however, take practice and a few tips to bring a really good story to life. It all starts with "Once upon a time..." and the 1-2-3- step plan for anyone to find their storyteller inside.
When our brains become comfortable again with forming and telling a simple story, especially the kind that wide-eyed and eager-to-please children love to hear, a very specific kind of human connection begins to reform. Suddenly other stories will surface to our mind....real stories of our lives, stories of those who have lived before us, maybe even stories we were told as kids and just needed to be reminded of and we will begin to re-tell them to a generation of kids who, more than ever, need this unique and intimate human touch and connection in their lives.