For us—and gazillions around the world—bedtime is story time. At 4, my son is very particular (read bossy) about what he wants to hear. He’s into true stories. LOL Instead of the classic children’s books, he prefers that we curl up in bed and recount our latest adventure—framed within “Once upon a time” and “The end.” He wants description that is rich in detail—the sound of the river, the bothersome sap that leaps off the pines into our hair, whether we were under clear skies or clouds. He wants snappy dialogue from characters that are real—Uncle Von, little Austin, himself. He is a plot guy, wanting to know where we are going and why. Insisting on precise recollection of all the stops and twists along the way. And he is a series slut. Yep, I must bait him with promises of more time with his favorite characters. Oh, and when the story is good? He goes for a reread. “Tell me again, tell me again!” LOL
I have to say, if I were a writer, this nightly exercise would be wonderful practice. All for an audience tougher than most—a preschooler who misses nothing and remembers everything.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Need to hone your writing skills? Have a kid. LOL
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7 People Gabbed:
Cripes, and then you have to REMEMBER them? My memory is way too faulty. Good thing my kids are older, but I applaud you, Jen, for being able to entertain your little guy. *G*
I remember having to do that. Of course, those are the best kinds of stories for them. Real PITA too LOL!
My boys were (are) sticklers for repeating word for word exactly what the person said. Oy!
I tried to get them to tell the stories to me, but they liked my voices and sound effects. Which is the advice I passed on to my sister who has 3 little boys. Don't start with sound effects because you will be repeating them for the next 10 years every time you tell the story.
LOL So I have years of this?! Of course I do. *g* The point of his own blog was to get these same stories on 'paper'. So we don't lose them over the years. But when I go to post there, I feel silly doing that. LOL Easier to be animated like that when it's just us.
Hey, is it easier when you have more than one child? Can't you get them to tell each other? LOL
Nope, no such luck. Sorry, JB. They tell each other, but then they both want to hear it from you. Then you have 2 of them arguing with you about the facts *g*.
I used to do this with my son on our walks. He tended to whine about how tired he was, Mommy, his legs or feet hurt, whine,whine,whine. But if I made up stories, about ghost trains in the subway, and monsters that lived in the sewers, etc, voila! no whining. lol. And, Anne, there's a reverse pay-off in all of this, my boy now has the most incredible imagination and writes, his own short-stories. It's just a casual hobby with him but I wouldn't be surprised if he does become a writer at some point in the future.
Oops. Sorry, didn't see that was you, Jennifer, not Anne. :-P
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