Now we know who our hero and villain is, and we know where they live. Now, we have to give them something to do! So, let’s give them a problem to solve or an obstacle to overcome. This is called conflict and it’s super important in any story. The conflict in your story is going to be how your hero learns the lesson in your story. For example, if your theme is “believing in yourself”, the conflict is going to be something that makes the hero see their strength or something that makes them realize how special they are. For every conflict in your story, there is also a solution. How does your character find that solution? Another good example is in Cinderella where one of her problems is that she wants to go to the fancy royal ball but her stepmother gives her too many chores to do. The solution is that her Fairy Godmother gives her a beautiful gown and a pumpkin coach so that she can make it to the ball.
Don’t forget about your villain, though! They are an important part of the conflict, usually because they are the ones who kick it all off. So, think about what your villain does to set your hero on the journey. If we use the example given above, the villain could send your hero on an impossible quest that the hero ends up winning. Or, the villain could be cursing the heroes village and the hero has to use their strengths to break the curse. In Peter Pan, the conflict is that Wendy and her brothers want to go home but get captured by pirates. The solution is that they take over the boat, sprinkle it with fairy dust, and fly home.
The final part of your fairy tale is the resolution. This is the part where your hero wins or saves the day and everyone is celebrating their success. How did your hero do that and what was their reaction when they realized that they had won? What was the villain’s reaction? For example, in Cinderella, the final scene is the prince slipping the glass slipper onto her foot and realizing that it fits, meaning that he had found his one true love. She goes to live with him in the beautiful castle and they live happily ever after. How does your hero find their ‘happily ever after’?
Congratulations! You’ve just written your very own fairy tale!
