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Once upon a time, Upper School English Teacher Dana Lotito assigned her Creative Writing class a project that transported them back to their childhoods. Her students were tasked with choosing an iconic fairytale and reimagining it, which meant for many of them reconnecting with stories they hadn't read since they were young children.

As soon as the project was explained, Maya Ransome '20 was eager to get started. "I was very excited to manipulate my favorite childhood stories in new and fun ways," Maya said. "I've always adored fairytale stories, so I was excited to finally get a chance to write one."

Before they began, however, students had the opportunity to meet with Lower School Librarian Matthew Winner who's recall and knowledge of children's literature borders on magical itself. Winner gave the students a glimpse into the many ways that several classic fairytales have already been reimagined. He also encouraged them to consider matters of representation and how they portrayed their characters' flaws before unleashing them on a stack of fairy tale books he brought along. Students perused the titles until they found a story that spoke to them and then returned to their tables to study its many parts. It was then that these upper schoolers were transported back to their Lower School days of sitting with friends, reading illustrated tales of magic and wonder, daydreaming about their own fantastic stories.

Once they had thoroughly studied their fairy tale of choice, it was time for the students to start writing. As they went, they had to keep in mind all the elements they had studied in class such as plot, form and function, character, tone, and archetypes. They had to determine what pieces of the original plot they would keep and what they would make their own. Finding a way to use an old framework to say something new was the key. Through the process, students began to learn new things about their own writing. Carsyn Belanger '20, who is accustomed to writing more grounded, serious stories, realized she needed to let go over her typically structured process. "Just write and see where your head will take you," she said. "Going into the project I had a very detailed outline of the story I thought I wanted to write, my almost finished story is entirely different than what I started with."

Writing the stories was possibly the easiest part of the project. The next leg of the journey was what some considered the most "nerve-racking." During the workshop stage, each student's story was given to the rest of the class anonymously. Everyone read each story and took note of what they thought worked and what didn't. In class, the students came together, still unaware of the author of each story, and gave their critiques, offering both praise and constructive criticism. Only after taking in everyone's notes did the authors reveal themselves and offer their own perspective. For young writers, criticism can be tough, and such open criticism can be embarrassing. However, the students in Lotito's class embraced the process. Jack Wimmer '20, who listened intently to every note delivered by his classmates, said, "I was honestly a little nervous about the workshop process at first, but once I understood its purpose I liked it. Getting other eyes on the story made it better."

Watching the students discuss their stories it was clear there were no heroes or villains in this class. There were just collaborators, working together, building each other up, making each other better, and helping each other write stories they could live with, happily ever after.