"I'd like a people story"
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| A small selection of 'people' |
Toddler has become hopelessly obsessed with those little plastic Happy Land characters (I'm sure any parent of children above the age of 18 months will be well aware of these).
Having bought him a few, and unfortunately inherited a whole lot more, we now have upwards of 50, all shapes, sizes and colours, carefully designed to ensure total political-correctness.
Every single one has been given a name, and he is far better at remembering them than I am - woe betide anyone who gets them wrong! He plays with them, hides them and even goes to bed with them. But more than that, he loves hearing stories about them.
To begin with I got bored easily, I struggled to come up with interesting plot lines, and realised my 'stories' were very repetitive. Not that Toddler complained - generally as long as there was a ride on a bus or a visit to a playground he was happy.
After a while though, I realised it was getting easier, my brain was speeding up, I could come up with more interesting ideas on the spot, and could voice the stories more fluently, first time.
In short, people stories were helping not just my ability to come up with new ideas quickly, but my mental recall of words, something I've always struggled with a bit when public speaking.
I decided, rather than argue with Toddler when he asked for the 10th 'people story' of the day, I would embrace it and use it as an opportunity to sharpen up some skills that would surely benefit my copywriting no end.
"Want a people story about Wizard, Izzy, Doggy and Theo," says Toddler as the 4 characters appear in my lap, and he climbs in to join them.
And so I begin...
Once upon a time...
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| Wizard, Izzy, Doggy & Theo |
...Izzy and Theo were playing in the garden while their mummies chatted over a cup of tea in the kitchen.
N.B. I like to indulge my own fantasies in the people story world too!
Izzy and Theo were a bit worried as Izzy's mummy was upset. They decided maybe she had bumped her leg or lost something.
Theo and Izzy were playing chase, laughing and screeching, when suddenly Theo spotted something blue out of the corner of his eye.
"Quick Izzy, over here," he shouted. And there, half hidden by a large oak tree, was a wizard. He didn't look like a scary wizard though, one hand stroked his long grey beard, and the other removed his tall, pointy hat, as the children walked slowly towards him.
"Hello Izzy, hello Theo," said the wizard in a deep voice, a twinkle in his eye as he spoke, "I wonder if you could do me a little favour?"
"Of course Mr Wizard, we'd love to. Can Doggy help too?"
"Yes, yes, I expect so," said the wizard as he swirled his cloak around them all. As the children watched, the air in the garden became still and warm, the trees began to grow up and up to the sky, and mysterious brightly-coloured birds shrieked above their heads.
The garden had turned into a jungle.
And it was nighttime.
"Wow," breathed Theo. The wizard began to walk through the trees. Izzy and Theo followed, and soon arrived in a clearing. There stood a huge black cauldron, simmering, steam lifting into the night air. Around the top of the cauldron floated pictures of people who looked unhappy. Men and women, crying and sighing. All adults, and all sad.
"What's wrong with them?" whispered Izzy.
"They've forgotten how to be happy," smiled the wizard. "Sometimes it takes children to remind us adults," he chuckled. "I chose you because you seemed so happy that I thought you had enough to share around."
"How can we make them happy again?" asked Theo.
"Do something that you enjoy while I stir the cauldron."
So Theo and Izzy held hands and danced around in a circle singing Ring a Ring o' Roses, giggling and laughing, Doggy jumping around their legs. As they did, they noticed that the people floating from the cauldron began to smile, and even laugh.
"Look, they're happy now," cried Izzy spinning Theo faster and faster until they landed up in a heap, laughing so hard they couldn't get their breath. The jungle continued to spin around and around, and gradually the trees shrank back to normal, sunlight returned, and they were back in the garden.
The wizard had disappeared.
Theo and Izzy ran inside the house. Izzy flung her arms around her mummy's legs and gave her a big cuddle.
"What's that for Izzy?"
"Are you OK, Mummy?"
"Yes thank you Izzy, a good chat with a friend, and watching you two play so nicely together in the garden must have been just what I needed. It's made me feel much happier."
"That's good Mummy," said Izzy bouncing back outside with Theo, they smiled at each other, for they knew exactly what it was that had made Izzy's mummy feel happier...And so do you.
Shhh.
Now your turn
Why not get those creative juices flowing with a 'people story' of your own?
Toddler has chosen these characters for you:
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| King, Coco, Fairy Godmother & Cameraman |
I'd love to hear your story in the comments below.
If you enjoyed this post you might also like: Raising a toddler is great copywriting experience
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Wondering how it all started? Read my first post: CA – Copywriters Anonymous
Follow my #copywritingjourney on Twitter: @weenixlen
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