WLA YSS Sessions in Short: Creating and Telling Tales in Suspense

Creating and Telling Tales of Suspense: Enabling Tweens and Teens to Adapt and Tell Urban Legends

Thursday, October 19, 2017     10:45-11:30

Rebecca and Rachel Oshlag

This breakout session encouraged participants to begin a storytelling group with teens and tweens at their libraries. Scary stories are a favorite with people of all ages, at all times of the year. Take a scary story and “make it your own” by developing a back story. Use details from your own life or the lives of people you know or create details. Here are the basic questions from where you can begin:

Who is the story about or who told you the story? You, a relative, a friend, a friend or relative of a friend? Are there other people who experienced the event with you of the main character? A friend, a family member, a relative who is no longer living? When did the story take place? Present, recent past, distant past?  Where did the story take place? Be careful not to include businesses or places in your own area. Instead, mention a general place in a nearby city or other place that others might have heard of. You can also put things into the past. 

As the leader, when you have your story recited (or have key points in front of you) you tell the story to the kids. You can explain to the kids how you created the BACK STORY. Then you give them a range of stories to choose from. They do what you did. (This could be over a course of sessions.) And then they recite or tell their story to the others.

Author: Elizabeth Timmins