Steps to Share Your Own Story

So you got your kids an Adventure Book, but now what? Reluctant early writers and older seasoned writers can benefit from breaking the idea creation phase into easy to digest steps. At the end of this post I’ve posted a video that we produced that I’m sure will get your kids interested in creating their own stories just like Mia and Ali. Parents could easily take cues from Mia as their kids are creating their own stories by asking questions that will lead them down the path to developing their own ideas.

STEP 1: WHO ARE YOUR CHARACTERS?

The first step in creating your story is to think of all the characters that will appear in your story. Characters don’t just have to be people, they could be animals, food, robots, or something completely mythical. A great way for kids to find inspiring characters is to draw from their favorite toys… action figures, dolls, legos, nature…use your imagination! The story will be much more compelling if they are writing about something they are passionate about. Our kids like writing about our family, including our dogs!

STEP 2: WHERE DOES THE STORY TAKE PLACE?

After deciding on the characters in the story the next step is to describe your setting. The setting is the location where your story takes place. You should describe everything surrounding the characters like the vegetation, sky, smells, oceans, or buildings. One way to give people a good mental image of your setting is to try to use as many of our 5 senses when describing your setting. So if your story takes place in a desert you can describe the hot sand burning your bare feet; the fragrant smells of the sagebrush; the sounds of the turkey vultures off in the distance; describe the mysterious pile of boulders you see; and the gritty dry dirt that enters your mouth in the howling winds.

STEP 3: YOUR CHARACTERS NEED A PROBLEM TO SOLVE

After you have chosen your characters and setting you’ll need to describe what happens to your characters. This is where you share the problems your characters face. The most interesting parts of a stories are how the characters face the problems and find a resolution. I wrote an Instagram post about this and used the example of the movie Free Solo. The film features one main character, Alex, a professional rock climber with a dream of climbing to the top of El Capitan without any ropes or partners. The problem is this feat had never been done before. Many experts in the climbing community feared this endeavor to be dangerous and deadly. Alex is determined to prove them wrong. He dedicated months, if not years, of his life endlessly preparing to achieve his goal. He eschews a traditional home to live in a van in the Yosemite Valley. Along the way are numerous injuries and hiccups, but he is undeterred. Until one day he decides he’s ready. Watching him climb to the top is unbelievable and the resolution at the end is inspiring even for non-climbers. Of course your story doesn’t have to be so heroic. Just think of a problem the character faces. Describe the challenges, and find a proper resolution for a satisfying ending.

STEP 4: DON’T FORGET THE COVER

This is my son’s favorite part! Kids love the border highlighting their hard work like a theater marquee. Be sure they include the Title and Author so they get credit for their hard work.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

We produced this video for our community to share with their children to get them excited about writing. Join Mia and Ali as they share their story about Jax and Ruby while demonstrating the steps they take to create their own story.