My Shadow Self

What happens when a 12-year-old girl writes a story about superpowers, sea monsters, and best friend loyalty, and breaks every grammar rule along the way?

In this episode, Taleba's story "My Shadow Self" proves that when we stop correcting early and start trusting children as authors, something remarkable happens: they find their voice.

Taleba is 12. She has a secret (superpowers). Her best friend Alix has them too (breathing underwater, super speed). One day the news starts glitching with reports of a sea monster. The beach is banned. But Taleba and Alix have a plan: stay up for several days to make it secure, sneak onto the beach, get dragged into the deep deep water by slimy arms, fight the monster with rope and determination, cut off its horn, watch a big wave knock it down, and wake up the next day to find everything calm and the beach open again.

Fast-paced, structured across seven chapters, and featuring the kind of oral storytelling rhythm that would make an English teacher reach for the red pen, this is a story about friendship, bravery, and the eternal truth that when you trust children as authors, they rise to authorship. Every single time.

This story proves what 465 children across 9 schools taught us: when given complete creative freedom, 100% engagement becomes inevitable.

ABOUT THE STORY

Story Type: Superhero friendship adventure with sea monster battle

Themes: Secret powers, best friend loyalty, protecting community, problem-solving through courage, staying up for several days to make your plan secure

Setting: Taleba's home (watching TV), the beach (banned until further notice), deep deep water (where slimy arms drag you)

WHY THIS STORY MATTERS

This author has created something that traditional teachers might mark with red pen: run-on sentences, starts sentences with "And," repeats "deep" twice, oral storytelling rhythm throughout.

And it's brilliant.

Notice the opening: "Hi, my name is Taleba. I'm 12 years old. And I've got a really big secret."

That's confidence. That's voice. That's a 12-year-old who knows her story matters.

Listen to this line: "And guess what—my friend Alix does too."

A traditional teacher might say: "You can't start sentences with 'And.'"

But that "And guess what" isn't a grammatical error. That's excitement. That's a child so delighted by her own story she can barely contain herself. She's inviting us in. She's building anticipation.

That's not a mistake. That's voice.

And that detail about "the news kept glitching"? That's brilliant scene-setting for a 12-year-old. She didn't say "The news reported..." (boring, adult). She said it "kept glitching" (immediate tension, modern, visual).

Look at the action writing in Chapter Five:

"I grabbed a rope and I strangled it. I climbed on top of it and cut one of its horns off."

Short sentences. Physical verbs. She's showing, not telling. The bravery is in the climbing. The victory is in cutting the horn.

And that ending:

"The next day, everything was calm and the beach was open."

Perfect resolution. She didn't over-explain. She didn't add an unnecessary moral lesson ("And we learned that..."). She ended with peace. Problem solved. Beach open. Done.

That's narrative maturity.

A traditional teacher might circle "deep, deep water" and write: "Repetitive. Choose one adjective."

But that repetition is emphasis. She doesn't just want us to know the water is deep—she wants us to feel it. And we do.

Here's what breaks my heart: if Taleba had been corrected in Chapter One, if someone had stopped her and said "You can't start sentences with 'And'"would she have written Chapter Seven?

Would she have finished at all?

This is why StoryQuest™ doesn't correct early. This is why we use partner scribing. This is why we trust children as authors instead of students who must comply.

Because when children have something to say, they find the words. Every single time.

ABOUT STORYQUEST™

StoryQuest™ is a methodology that achieves 100% engagement across all learners, including reluctant writers, boys, and students with SEND. The approach is simple but profound: give children complete creative autonomy over something that truly matters to them.

465 children across 9 schools. Zero behavioural incidents. Every child published. Teachers building it into curriculum permanently.

When we stop correcting and start trusting, transformation happens. Every single time.

RESOURCES & LINKS

Try This Tonight:
Ask your child: "What story do YOU want to tell?"

Then listen. Really listen. Write what they say, exactly as they say it. Don't correct. Don't improve. Just honour their voice.

Download the Golden Question Guide (FREE):
theadventuresofgabriel.com/golden-question
Everything you need to start Friday night storytelling at home.

Bring StoryQuest™ to Your School:
my-storyquest.com/storyquest-proof
See how 9 schools achieved 100% engagement (including every SEND and EAL learner).

Read Gabriel's Adventures:
The international bestselling series that started it all, co-authored by Kate Markland and her son Gabriel.
Available at theadventuresofgabriel.com

Connect with Kate:
Website: katemarkland.com
Email: [email protected]

SHARE THIS EPISODE

Know a teacher struggling with reluctant writers? A parent whose child says "writing is boring"? A school leader looking for proven literacy solutions?

Share this episode with them.

Because every child has a story. And when we give them the freedom to tell it, extraordinary things happen.

KEYWORDS

Child authors, creative writing for children, literacy education, reluctant writers, StoryQuest, student engagement, children's storytelling, authentic writing, educational innovation, child-led learning, superpowers, sea monster, best friends, underwater breathing, complete creative freedom, grammar rules, narrative voice, oral storytelling, UK education, December Story Celebration

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Tomorrow: Another story from our December Story Celebration. 31 stories over 31 days.

PRODUCTION

StoryQuest™

"When given complete creative control, children don't just create great stories, they discover their voice. And that voice deserves to be heard."
— Kate Markland