I’ve discovered a cool trick for quickly improving my storytelling skills: Having a 3-year-old! Every evening for the past few months, I or my husband will conjure up a new bedtime story for our daughter. Almost always, she has parameters: “I want a bird story,” or “I want a story with Lightning McQueen.” (This child has never seen the Cars movies, but she is nonetheless a huge fan.) Today, I told her a story about rainbow-coloured frogs and the friendship they have with a friendly grizzly bear (and Lightning McQueen). It’s fun!

As an inexperienced writer trying to establish a regular writing practice 📝, these bedtime stories have been the perfect chance to stretch my imagination and test out what makes a story engaging. I’m reminded of the times when, as a child, my imagination would pull me into a different world. There was this mystical feeling of inhabiting another dimension. And then there’s the feeling of seeing my own child get caught up in the story too.

I’m not sure how long she will continue to request and enjoy these off-the-cuff bedtime stories, but I’m grateful for this opportunity.