Welcome to the Summer Writing Project, or as I like to call it The Society of Time Travelers!
I am genuinely so excited that you've joined us on this storytelling journey. I know it can be hard to find time in your day to do things like this.
First off, why am I calling this The Society of Time Travelers? Well, as far as we know, the only way to travel in time is forward, one second, then another, so on and so forth. Every decision we make today will impact our tomorrow, just like every yesterday has led up to where and who we are today.
But there's a loophole!
Kind of.
The stories we write today will stick around, and in a way, what you write today is a message to yourself (and others) in the future.
Parents, that’s an important thing to remember, especially as we consider how difficult it might become to share lessons and communicate in the future.
All that said, I don’t think we necessarily want to live a life where we're only looking backward, but learning how to be present and paying attention to the world around us is now more important than ever, and I believe it will be a skill that is going to prove invaluable going forward as we all feel the draw of screens and the experiences and messages that are delivered there.
But what is the biggest takeaway I hope for you? Spending time together, noticing the world around you, gathering the raw building blocks that the two of you can bring, and what's exciting is that the story you shape together can only be told by you... and working together is going to create something surprising and fun, and I'm going to help you step by step.
In this class, we're going to help you brainstorm ideas, play some fun games, get you out on little adventures into the world, and in the end, you'll have tools that will help you tell stories. Whether or not that winds up turning into a book, or upgrading bedtime stories, or whatever that might look like for you, the time you two are getting to spend together is an investment I've found to be immensely worthwhile, and I believe it will be for you as well.
So, let’s start traveling through time, shall we?
Prologue: Week 1, Lesson 1
Prologues are usually considered the introduction to a story, or a series of events that happen before the main event. Often you'll see them in front of novels, especially in science-fiction or fantasy, and usually you're introduced to something new.
To tell our stories we need to first gather our building blocks. To do so, we need to identify what it is about our favorite stories that makes us love them.
The best stories have memorable characters who want something (and if it's a musical, they usually sing a song about what it is they want most so that's pretty easy to identify), and then something incredible happens, their world gets flipped upside down by something, they meet new people, face their challenges, often times they'll lose and all hope seems lost, until they figure out what is they need and why that is a better fit compared to what they wanted in the first place, and in the end they overcome their challenges and leave the story changed for the better (most of the time, depending on what kind of story it is).
But there are so many great stories to choose from out there, and so many great characters.
Parents, think of some of the stories you've grown up with that you've already shared with your kids. Those are stories that are already getting passed down from generation to generation.
Activity: The Bracket Challenge
What I want us to do is to play a fun game that my kids and I do called the Bracket Challenge. For anyone who has filled out a bracket for a sports tournament it's pretty simple, but instead of sports teams, we're going to have fictional characters from stories you love.
This is an activity you can do over and over again with different categories. For instance, my kids started off with princesses from Disney movies, then we did one for sidekicks, then villains, then super heroes, and because they enjoyed doing this so much we wound up with favorite amusement park rides and even one night where things got especially crazy, we did a bracket of weird sounding words and we'd all vote on which one was the silliest.
But for now, let's focus on the main character that you might enjoy telling a story about together.
Let’s come up with 8 main characters from stories you like.
Now, let's say say my favorite animated movie as a kid was Aladdin. I'll put Al up in the top left. Next up is Belle. How about Ariel in the top right, and we'll round out our top contenders with, let's say, Peter Pan. Then we'll cycle through, filling out the next steps.
You can use the empty bracket above to print off or just any blank piece of paper and a pen with your own options.
First up, we have Aladdin versus Rapunzel.
We'll talk about what we like about each, make a case that Aladdin is very clever and resourceful, and can be kind to those in need. Rapunzel has a kind heart and a great big sense of adventure as she discovers a whole new world... wait, that’s not her song.
Anyway, you can pick what criteria determines the winner, whether you just like that character more, or they're more fun, or you want to be them on Halloween. Whatever. The point is to look at the characters, figure out WHY you like them, and let the best character traits win.
Go on and on as you make your way through the bracket, and talking about each character and comparing them to other characters will teach you something about the stories and character traits that you like and admire most about these people.
All right, let’s take a note about who won your Main Character Bracket Challenge. Now, there may have been some character traits that you liked from some of the characters that made it pretty far into the tournament but didn't win, and let's remember those traits and why you liked them.
But for now, let's explore the winner and write down three to five character traits that brought them to the winner's circle.
These traits might serve you well later...
For bonus points, at some point try and do this with:
Sidekicks
Villains
Locations
Whatever tickles your fancy
Also, this is something that is fun to do with the whole family. (If you have an even number of people, have a coin ready to flip.)
Hey, congratulations! You've made it through the first exercise. Give each other a high five, or a fist bump, noggin, secret handshake... actually, you should come up with a secret handshake. The more creative the better, and you can start and end each session with it to get you ready for some creativity.
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