Have a Blueprint. The best children's stories have a simple shape to them. You shouldn't try to be Tom Clancy-think Dr. Seuss. You need a likeable hero who has reason to travel and finds a difficulty there. The hero then solves the problem and returns home to a happy ending. Consider using Once Upon A Time. What do the words "Once Upon a Time" conjure up? They immediately take your child to another place and time. Here you focus on something outside of real life. It is also a safe place because it is created by the child's mind.
Choosing a Hero. This is the most important part of your story. The hero must be likeable and someone with whom the children can relate. Why is the Spiderman story so popular and universal? One reason is that Peter Parker is an average "Joe" - he has weaknesses and failures, he is far from perfect, and he is truly likeable.
- Consider having your hero be someone or something your child cares about. You might think about using a small animal, particularly one that has the traits of your child, such as a clever rabbit or a sly fox.
- Give your character a memorable name.
- Give the hero a home--a castle or a burrow or something that becomes the base of security and comfort.
- Make the hero's challenge one that will sound familiar. We resonate to the "Popeye" theme because Brutus is a bully and Popeye always wins. Help the Hero Travel. Your hero needs to venture out into the world. It is when he or she leaves their comfort zone that the best adventures happen. Think of places where the hero could go-it might be school, the park, exploring the Amazon or whatever. But each good story needs a sense of place and of a little uncertainty.
Create a Jam for the Hero. The best stories have the main character confronting a dilemma. What will your hero's puzzle be? And how will he or she respond to the challenge.
Solve the Problem and Save the Day. The best way to do this is to give your character a characteristic worth emulating-ideally something your child already has or can achieve. This might be a winning personality, perseverance, physical agility, etc. Then exploit that characteristic to solve the problem. Avoid having magic or the supernatural solve the problem for your character. While that is nice in fairy tales, you want your hero to solve his problem using real tools at hand. Short cut and impossible solutions don't instill the values you want to teach.
Make the Ending Happy. Don't forget that endings have to be happy. I always remember the Dad in the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip who told stories where the hero got eaten up or blown up or carried away by a monster. No wonder Calvin had such vivid nightmares! Happy endings let your child know that real problems can be solved in the real world.
Conclusion
Make your stories great and memorable. And teach some important values along the way. You will really enjoy that moment of true success when you silently listen at the door as your child relates to a friend, playmate, or even a stuffed animal one of your memorable stories and gets it just right. Then you will feel the satisfaction of having both entertained and taught a real lesson of life.
