Of all the creative exercises I use to help my students and clients access their deepest dreams and strategize their coming true, one of my favorites turns the power of a simple fictional story into a mirror, and oftentimes, a map. It’s like magic!
If your dream is feeling a bit nebulous and cloudy, or you have so many desires that your thoughts look as scattered as an upturned Scrabble board – and you have no idea how to get from here to there, this quick and fun writing-prompt-on-steroids is for you!
Use any style or genre (fantasy, western, sci-fi, crime thriller) and it can be as wildly outlandish and implausible as you like, with as many twists and turns as you can think of.
Set your timer, giving yourself only 20 minutes. The timer causes you to supersede the censoring trigger in your brain and allows you to create without second guessing. Vital for this exercise!
Like all stories, give it a beginning, middle and end:
- Beginning: “Once upon a time . . .” Your story will reflect your current situation starting with where you are now.
- Ending: “And he/she lived happily ever after.” What would be the perfect happily ever after for you?
- Middle: The journey is totally up to your imagination.
Here’s an example . . .
Beth’s Story
Once upon a time there lived a princess incognita named Beth. She spent 55 hours a week enslaved by a cruel dragon. Even when she was allowed to leave his lair, Mr. Dragon called and texted her at all hours of the day and night to do his bidding.
However, she knew that she was really a princess with a magical ability to weave stories that could make children laugh and learn.
One day she gathered up all the stories she and her quill had ever devised and sent them by flying carpet to her fairy godmother’s friend of a friend, who laughed and cried when she read them. Fairy Godmother’s friend of a friend sent $5oo,ooo to Princess Beth in exchange for the ability to use her stories in schoolhouses all across the land.
Two minutes later, Princess Beth dropped her mobile phone in the nearest enchanted lake. Next, she rode her flying carpet to the seaside where she procured a luxurious castle and wrote more tales for children. She also gathered a group of them every Thursday for play time and creative writing games in the studio annex of her castle.
Her heart was so filled with joy because she was exactly where a princess should be, doing what a princess should do, and she lived happily ever after. The End.
(Thank you, “Beth”!)
Your Turn
Write without any preconceived ideas. Write without censoring. Don’t ruin your fun! And since this is a step by step exercise, don’t read ahead in this post, or it might colour what you write. The most visceral response is the most effective!
P.S. Some have found it easier to write in the third person, but you can approach this however you like.
Now set that timer. 20 minutes. I’ll wait!
Once upon a time . . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
Done? (I so hope you haven’t peeked ahead!)
The Mirror and the Map
Ok, as you’ll see from Princess Beth’s story, it included:
- Her current situation – overworked and taken advantage of
- Her deep passion – writing children’s stories
- Further deep desire – to make her stories known far and wide, to leave her current job
- A possible way to put them out there – send them to “Fairy godmother’s friend of a friend,” who could be in publishing, education or some related field that could take her a step further.
- What her life would look like if she was able to live her dream – have a gorgeous “castle” by the beach where she could write for children and lead them in fun activities.
All that from a tiny little story!
Go back and read your story again. What kinds of details about those areas do you notice?
Your current situation:
The creative passion you wrote about:
Any further deep desire:
A possible strategy:
What life would look like if you lived your dream:
Pay Attention
There’s a reason you wrote about the passion and desire that you did. A reason it’s the one that came to mind either first, or strongest. It’s most likely the one that you really want to focus on, deep down. The one whispering to you, “The time is right.”
How about the strategy you came up with? What nuggets can you uncover that point you in the right direction, right now, today?
Story is powerful and I do hope you were able to put its magic to work for you. Leave a comment below so we can celebrate with you! 
