How to Tell a Bedtime Story

If you have small children, you're probably used to the bedtime story ritual. My children almost never go to bed without one. It's simplest to read a great children's book, but why not also try your hand at telling your own stories. These original tales will be appreciated by your kids. They can even be cuddled up in bed as the tale is told. I'm a writer and stories come pretty easy to me, but with a few easy steps I think you can be telling your own bedtime stories in no time.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. First you need to start with a dramatic situation for your story--a situation that needs resolved. If you have the right setup the story will almost tell itself. There are a lot of dangerous scenarios (and even death) in many Disney stories so don't worry about being too safe on this front. In my experience, kids realize "it's just a story" and can handle more than you think. You can start out with a family picnic and the child getting separated from their parents. (Don't worry, it will all turn out okay.) Or maybe a child is confronted by a talking squirrel who needs help to stop an old tree (serving as his home) from being cut down. The situations are endless...come into bedtime with one ready to go.
2. Now you should define your characters--try to make them clear and quickly accessible. Characters are the key to good stories and your tale is no different. Pick a handful of characters (2, 3 or 4 will do) so your audience can keep them all straight. (Confusion can ruin the flow of your tale.) State the character names, their approximate ages and perhaps one key trait to fix the character in the child's mind. The grouchy old farmer, the loving mother or even the pesky squirrel will do. Many good novelists don't go much further than that. Keep your characters simple, especially in the bedtime story genre.
3. Now you're ready to tell your story. Get the kids into bed, and make sure all the rituals are done because it's likely they'll nod off during your tale. (Don't forget--your story is not a bore--nodding off is the real purpose of this tale.) Now carefully paint the opening situation. Tell them who's there, what they're doing and, of course, paint the picture of the world you're all entering. Character, situation and setting are the key ingredients to your opening minute or two. If you weave this part well then the story will unfold naturally.
4. Here's the easy part...if you've set thing up nicely, that is. Now you just need to follow your instincts. How do you get these characters through this situation so everything turns out well? Just follow the flow and my guess is you will succeed. All humans comprehend story on many levels. But even if it's not your strong suit at least you can get your characters out of this jam. Imagine it's you in this situation--what would you do? If a child is separated from his parents then how does he get back to them? Does a bear offer to protect the child from a rainy night... Does a bald eagle allow the child to crawl up in their nest while it goes out and finds her parents...
5. Again the possibilities to wrap things up are endless. There are no rules here except to overcome the complications you've created. Do your best to resolve the situation (aka story) satisfactorily. You may even find a moral (or theme) in there that you can discuss with your children. Stories have a way of revealing themes to us if we're listening. Your children should be entertained (or put to sleep) and you might even get something in return.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep it simple.
• Deconstruct children's tales or kid's movies to learn about storytelling.
• Don't create too many characters--it can confuse the story.
• Gauge the reactions of the children, and be prepared to stop if your story gets too scary.