In my 60s, I returned to my childhood and tried writing a 'fairy tale'—what I realized after writing one for the first time.
One day during the summer holidays, I was lounging around at home.
It was hot outside, and I had no particular plans to go out.
Suddenly, I thought, 'I'll try writing a fairy tale.'
Why did I think that?
I don't even know myself.
I have written many novels before, but I have never written a fairy tale.
Well, it's still a story, so I figured I could manage it.
Thinking that, I started writing.
However, it was surprisingly difficult.
I usually write novels after creating a 'blueprint'.
What I have written so far are mainly legendary romances.
When writing a legendary romance, I first think about a fairly large structure.
The history and philosophy behind the story.
The fate that has continued for decades, sometimes even centuries.
Why the characters gather there.
And how they all connect in the end.
Once the overall picture is formed, I break it down into parts and chapters.
What happens in this chapter.
I place foreshadowing here.
The actions of this character will have a different meaning later on.
That is how I draw up a blueprint before turning it into prose.
So, I tried to create a fairy tale in the same way at first.
However, it just didn't feel right.
The more I tried to construct the story properly, the more I felt I was drifting away from a child's sensibility.
The logic holds up.
The structure is also complete.
But somehow, it isn't fun.
This is a problem.
I was naive to think, even for a moment, that fairy tales would be easier.
What moved my heart when I was a child?
So, I stopped trying to create a story for a while.
Instead, I recalled the time when I was a child.
What made me happy?
What was I afraid of?
What did I see that surprised me?
Even though it was decades ago, why do I still remember certain things?
When I think about it, it's not just the big events that remain in my memory.
The stairs that looked like they led to a place I didn't know.
The first train I ever rode.
The sense of excitement when I went out to a big city.
It's a little scary.
But I want to see it.
I want to go there.
That kind of feeling remains strangely vivid.
When I was a child, I didn't think about how the world worked.
If there was something unknown in front of me, I wanted to get closer.
If there was a place I had never seen, I wanted to go beyond it.
I didn't need any logic for that.
What is it?
I want to see it.
That alone made the world interesting enough.
It seems that as an adult, I have come to seek reasons for everything before I knew it.
So, I decided to change the way I write itself.
This time, I will try writing as if I were painting with watercolors.
I won't make a precise sketch.
The colors that remain in my childhood memories.
Sounds.
Smells.
Things that made me happy.
Things that scared me.
Things that surprised me.
I place such things one by one with pale watercolors.
It is fine if the outlines blur a little.
I felt that was closer to my memories of childhood.
Instead of thinking about the consistency of the story first,
"How would my child self have felt if I saw this scenery?"
I try thinking about that.
Rather than moving the story forward, I came to value what I see and feel there.
Before I knew it, I had started to see the scenery through a child's eyes little by little.
In my 60s, trying to use senses I had forgotten
was more fun than I had imagined.
Of course, I also struggled.
It is difficult to depict scenery using only words that a child can understand.
If I explain too much, it becomes boring.
If I omit too much, it is unclear what is happening.
I avoid using words that are convenient for adult-oriented writing as much as possible.
As a result, I have to imagine the scenery more concretely myself.
What color is it?
What shape is it?
How does it move?
What kind of sound does it make?
And above all,
how would a child feel when seeing it?
Perhaps when I was a child, I felt such things more honestly.
As I became an adult, my knowledge increased.
My experience increased as well.
I also learned many words.
On the other hand, the ability to simply feel that something in front of me is 'beautiful,' 'scary,' 'mysterious,' or 'something I want to see' may have gradually receded into the background.
The protagonist is a child named 'Makoto'.
It is a story about wandering from everyday life into a slightly mysterious world.
I will not write any more than that here.
Since I went to the trouble of writing a fairy tale, it wouldn't be fun if an adult explained it beforehand.
Currently, I have published up to Chapter 4.
And tonight, I plan to publish Chapter 5.
The story is finally entering its second half.
If you are interested, I would be happy if you could return to your childhood for a moment and walk through the mysterious world with Makoto.
Having written a fairy tale for the first time, I realized one thing.
You cannot write a fairy tale from an adult's perspective alone.
Of course, the knowledge and experience gained over a long time are useful.
Writing skills are also necessary.
But that alone was not enough.
Writing a fairy tale might be more than just creating a story; it might be about reclaiming the childlike sensibility I had forgotten.
As I write this fairy tale, I am picking up pieces of myself that I left behind a long time ago.
Takeaways for today
You cannot write a fairy tale with only an adult's perspective.
I believe that to write a fairy tale, reclaiming the 'childlike sensibility' that remains within you is more important than skillfully constructing a story.
Seeing the world, which I have become accustomed to as an adult, with fresh eyes once again.
That, too, might be one way to reignite one's life.
#FairyTale
#CreativeWriting
#Novel
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#BehindTheScenesOfCreation
#60s
#ReignitingLife
#MakotoAndTheSecretTrain
[Another challenge started in my 60s]
As part of reigniting my life, I am also working on writing novels.
I am currently publishing fairy tales on TALES.
If you are interested, please take a look.
▼ TALES Work Page
(Link)