How to tell a story.

Some time back, I wrote about our creative process. It is complex and long-winded, but it works. However, one of the things that do not indeed work well yet is the understanding of the process itself by the little one. What happens as a result is that while she writes well once she has a story, what she cannot do is make one up without help. So, we decided that today’s lesson was going to be about how to write or tell a story. And I used the same device my father used with great effectiveness to explain this to me back in 1982, albeit when I was slightly older than Kymaia is today (I was 9 or 10). I was hoping I would be as effective today.

This is how it goes:
1. Tell them what you are GOING TO TELL them.
2. TELL them.
3. Tell them what you just TOLD them.

It looks simple. And it kind of is. Once you master it. And that, my friends, is the tricky part. So, off we went trying it on various stories. We tried ‘Dogs’ just so as to get a hang of it. But she just didn’t get it, or rather couldn’t. ‘What does “tell them what you are going to tell them” mean, Mr. Baba?’ she asked with her big, innocent eyes. I tried again, this time writing down stuff about ‘Dogs’ we had discussed and connecting it to the format. Still, no joy.

I was about to give up when I realised I could use her favourite game, chess, to explain this. So, I told her about the opening gambit, the middle game, and the end game, and how it related to writing or speaking. I told her that just like the opening was a setup, the middle game was the laying of the trap, and the end game was the closing of the trap, in writing or speaking too, one uses the opening as a setup to tease the reader or audience, the middle to expand on one’s point, and then the end game to conclude and reaffirm the point made in the middle, just to ensure that the readers or the audience is with you and have understood what you wished them to understand.

I finished with a flair and stood there, as if in expectation of applause. I got none. In fact, she had a blank look in her eyes, like I just told her about black holes or quantum entanglement. And then, suddenly, the sparkle returned as she had an epiphany. ‘Why didn’t you say so earlier?’ she asked. I realised in that moment that I had a lot to learn about teaching, or at the very least, teaching (or indeed practising) storytelling. Sigh!

Kym learnt how to use a colon too, though she’s been using it without understanding exactly what it does. In her post-epiphany words (her eyes have this amazing way of lighting up when she ‘gets’ something), ‘They are like pop up birthday cards. You think you have read the cover, but when you open the card, there’s so much more inside.’ Well, I could not have put it better, to be honest.

Anyway, a story about ‘Dogs’ was discussed and decided upon (since we already had everything on the glass board), though the little one wanted to tackle a more difficult subject of ‘Anger’ today (I think I’d rather have her mother around when we discuss emotions, just as backup), and it was written up later in the day. What do you think?

Look at those sketches in the margin!

P.S: Kym also learnt how to use an apostrophe for plurals of nouns (words that end with an ‘s’). She was delighted to know it was as simple as simply skipping the last ‘s’! I think she’s getting to like English after all, despite it being a funny language and all that.