Make Up a Story With Three Things
A character, a place, and something going wrong. That is enough for almost any child to be away.
A method for helping children invent their own stories using three prompts: a character, a place and a problem. Needs nothing, suits ages 4 to 8, and works in the car.
The short version
- Somebody, somewhere, and something going wrong.
- "And then what happened?" is the only prompt you need.
- Offer two choices when they stall — choosing is easier than inventing.
- Age
- Ages 4–8
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Where
- Either
Almost every story is three things. Somebody. Somewhere. And something going wrong.
That is the whole method, and it is enough to get most children started.
Pick a somebody. It can be a person, an animal, or a completely ordinary object — a spoon, a bus, a shoe. Odd ones work better than sensible ones.
Pick a somewhere. The park, the moon, under the sofa, inside a washing machine.
Then ask the only question that matters: what goes wrong?
A dog. In a supermarket. Who cannot reach the shelf.
A spoon. On a bus. Who has lost the address.
A girl. Under the sofa. Who has found a door.
If they stall, ask "and then what happened?" — it is the most useful four words in this whole activity. Ask it as many times as you need.
If they stall properly, offer two options and let them pick one. Choosing is much easier than inventing.
And when it stops being fun, stop. A story that ends in the middle is not a failure. Half a story is still a story.
Write it down if they want it kept. A story a child dictates and an adult writes is still entirely the child's story, and having it read back is often the best part.