Inspiration for the stories we write often comes from our own childhood experiences. But, times change; cultures change; technology changes. So, those stories from twenty, or forty, or sixty years ago must change if they are going to speak to the hearts of 21st Century children.
Try this exercise to help you make those funny, sad or frightening stories from your childhood come to life for today’s readers.
Pull out an old photo from a childhood event. If you don’t have a photo sketch the scene on plain paper. (No one’s judging your artistic abilities here.)
It’s usually easy to remember the who, the where, the when, even the what. But for this exercise we want to dig deeper.
Close your eyes and try to remember every detail of the event. Then, remember how you FELT when that photo was snapped.
Was it a special occasion? A surprise occasion, maybe? How did you feel while anticipating it?
How did you feel if the event didn’t turn out the way you had hoped? Or, was it such a terrific thing that it far exceeded your expectations?
What if this was a sad event? Just how sad did you feel? How did you act? Did you cry? Did you run and hide? Did you get angry?
How did the people around you react to you? And how did you react in turn?
The key to re-writing our childhood events as contemporary stories is to remember, capture and effectively SHOW our feelings from that past event.
It’s okay—even advisable—to change the details, even exaggerate them—but to keep the emotions you experienced.
It is the emotions in our stories that beckon to today’s children—not the exact details.
Jean Hall lives in Louisville, Kentucky. She is represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary. Her premier picture book series Four Seasons was recently signed by Little Lamb Books. Jean is a member of the SCBWI, Word Weavers International, and the Kentucky Christian Writers. Visit Jean at jeanmatthewhall.com, on Facebook at Jean Matthew Hall, and on Twitter as @Jean_Hall.
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