You Tell Me: What Makes a Fairy Tale Retelling Work?
Posted by annastan on September 29th, 2009. Filed under: Books, Resources, Writing Rants.For the past couple of weeks I’ve had an idea for a fairy tale retelling bouncing around in my head. Since I have another story I’m working on now, I’ve decided to put the retelling off until November for NaNoWriMo. In the meantime, I want to read a few more fairy tale retellings and to really think about what makes them work.
As the first stop on my fairy tale quest, I’ll be attending a book talk and signing by Shannon Hale this afternoon. I love Princess Academy, and The Goose Girl is one of my favorite retellings. I’ve never seen Hale speak before, so I’ll be interested to hear her talk about her writing process and what inspires her stories.
And now I’d like to ask for your help, dear readers. What do you think makes a fairy tale retelling work? Does it have to be based on a tale you (the reader) already know? What are some of your favorite retellings? I look forward to hearing your wisdom and suggestions!
September 29th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Is it breaking some sort of rule to be the first to comment on your own post? My apologies to the blog gods.
My LiveJournal blog mirrors this one and I’ve gotten a couple of great comments there on this topic. Check it out here.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
My first ever novel (which is currently hidden deep in a drawer) was a fairy tale retelling. The novel stinks, but I still love the idea and would love to return to it someday. I think fairy tales are really fun to play with.
I think the reason retellings work so well is that they build on ancient, ingrained stories, and then play with the readers’ expectations (like ASH, which I can’t wait to read). So I think one of the goals for a retelling is to really think about why you’re doing it; what is your unique angle? And then milk that for all it’s worth, because it needs to stand as its own story, not just a retelling. So that being said, I don’t think it matters whether the fairy tale is familiar to readers or not.
One of my favorites is Sarah Beth Durst’s INTO THE WILD. Not a single fairy tale retelling, but definitely in the genre and I love the philosophy behind the story too. For me, one of the best parts about retellings is rethinking women’s roles in fairy tales, which often cast women submissively or one-dimensionally.
Sorry for the long post–guess I’ve got a lot to say about this! =)
September 29th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Anne, I think you’re absolutely right that it’s about really figuring out what your unique take on the story is. Since it’s a story that readers already know, they’re looking for something that will make it different and memorable.
Thanks for the book recommendation; I’ll have to check out Into the Wild.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
I think that fairy tale retellings can be popular simply because people like familiarity. (That’s the only reason I have for why certain chain restaurants exist. People want to know that the pasta in Pittsburgh will be the same as the penne in Peoria. They know the menu, they know exactly what to expect.)
And yet, this is why fairy tale retellings can also work so well, because they are unexpected. A reader comes into them with certain knowledge of character and plot, but if the a author is successful, they surprise you, turn the story completely upside down, and give readers a perspective they never would have imagined.
It’s like taking an old recipe and kicking it up a notch, substituting a few ingredients, adding a bit more spice here and there. (Which is definitely NOT what the chain restaurants do.)
September 29th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
It’s like taking an old recipe and kicking it up a notch, substituting a few ingredients, adding a bit more spice here and there. (Which is definitely NOT what the chain restaurants do.)
Tara, I love this metaphor! I think you’re right that we pick up a retelling knowing that we’ll recognize parts of it, but also wanting the author to surprise us with unexpected twists and turns.
When I heard Shannon Hale speak this afternoon, she said that the reason she started retelling fairy tales was because she wanted to answer some of the questions that the original tales left her with. In a way, I think this goes back to what you’re saying. We like the familiarity of the original, but we enjoy having someone else fill in some of those unanswered questions for us in a way that might catch us off-guard.
September 29th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
OK I’ll bite. I was reluctant because I’m not a writer or even an English major so I feel like I don’t have the vocabulary to talk about this. But I like fairy tale retellings that present a different perspective than the one we’re used to. Like Gregory Maguire’s work (Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Wicked) in which a “bad” character gets to tell their story. Or The Book of Lost Things, by John Connolly, which includes lots of familiar tales with a dark twist and no happy endings.
And, I agree with what you said: “We like the familiarity of the original, but we enjoy having someone else fill in some of those unanswered questions for us in a way that might catch us off-guard.”
September 30th, 2009 at 4:30 am
Hi Amanda! I think you’re absolutely right about the dark twists in retellings. Seeing things from the evil character’s perspective is fun, especially since they’re so one-dimensional in the originals. And the endings are another way we can play with fairy tales – people expect the happy ending, which is why it’s interesting if they don’t get one.