The Nature of the Phenomenon
Dear storytellers!
This community was created to satisfy your innate need to set hearts ablaze with the power of the word. Here you can discuss the craft of fairy-tale construction, create stories of targeted and sweeping effect, and discuss other people's texts and ideas that relate in one way or another to the life cycle of fairy tales, myths, metaphors, and stories that have exerted or continue to exert their influence on people.
From the very outset, it is proposed that we draw a line of discerning wisdom between the fairy tale and all other forms of literary creation. This community is intended for the discussion and publication of texts — and any visual or audio transformations thereof — created with a conscious intent to influence. Any other literary work whose influencing aspects remained outside the author's awareness may be of interest to us, but it falls outside the scope of this community.
We believe that a fairy tale, a metaphor, is a text of directed action. Such a text may, in the most natural way, contain material that the author is not consciously aware of; ultimately, we understand that all fairy tales are stories we tell ourselves, and that we use them to heal our own souls. It is simply that within the framework of this community, we are far more interested in exploring helping stories, as opposed to stories that are merely funny, merely curious, merely entertaining, or merely delightful.
We are interested in creating and setting in motion the magic of our words — a magic capable of changing the perception, changing the experience, and changing the life of the person to whom the fairy tale is addressed.
A Simple Way to Make Up a Fairy Tale for a Child
Making up a bedtime fairy tale for your child is very simple. There are five easy rules that make it effortless. First, you decide on the problem the fairy tale will help solve, and on the solution you, as a wise and experienced adult, wish to give the child. Then you simply follow the steps below, without plotting out the whole story in advance and without worrying about what comes next. The steps:
1. THE HERO. Say a few words about the main character (MC). He or she should resemble the child the tale is intended for, love the things that child loves, yet be unusual, interesting, funny, and endearing — the kind of character you'd want to jump into the skin of.
2. THE PROBLEM. Introduce a difficulty the MC faces. It can and should symbolically (and this is important — symbolically, not literally) reflect and mirror the real difficulty of the child for whom the story is meant.
3. THE CRISIS. Take the problem from step 2 to the point of absurdity; multiply the difficulty many times over through circumstances; put the MC in a position where taking action is an absolute necessity. Because if nothing is done, it's curtains.
4. THE RESOLUTION. Somehow resolve the problem; guide the MC through the experience of solving situations of this kind. Allow the MC to show their best qualities; draw on the internal and external resources needed to address the issue. Do it dramatically, entertainingly, powerfully, beautifully, confidently, vividly, joyfully.
5. WHAT COMES NEXT. Celebrate the victory alongside the MC and sketch out their life going forward — what they have learned, how they will now handle similar situations, and what has changed in them and in the world around them.
If you hit a snag, run out of ideas, or simply can't go on, ask the child what they think happens next and develop the story together.
Meetings
On Mondays at 6 p.m. at Moscow Highway, 213, under the auspices of the family club "Lada", the "Magic Word" storytellers' club holds its meetings.
What happens:
- 1. Can we foresee how our words will resonate? (Answer: we cannot)
- 2. The inner creative genius — who is it and where is it? (Answer: right here)
- 3. The main storytelling milestones — what makes a story interesting? (Answer: I'll keep that to myself for now)
- 4. How do you let a fairy tale simply be? (Answer: ta-da!)
I can promise with absolute certainty that during the meeting you will take the most lively part in creating a new magical story — one that will be born not just for the sake of it, but to help someone.
I will be very glad to meet you.