Fairy Tales
I began working with fairy tales, myths, legends and folk tales because I always struggled to invent a plot and here was a rich source of things happening that I could use to structure a story. After all, as Christopher Booker asserts, there are only seven basic plots. There are also character archetypes that can be interesting to use as a starting point for your characters. But more recently, what I have found fascinating about fairy tales is that these are the stories we grew up with, these are the stories which shape the way we think and how society is ordered. And these stories were often written down in the nineteenth century by men.
Rewriting them not only helps shift the dominant societal narrative (or what we unquestioningly live with) but is also therapeutic as we discover which themes and symbols resonate with us at any given moment and what we can do to reimagine the ending of our own stories.
So, let’s begin:
1. Pick a story to work with. I did read that it can be helpful to work with one that's well known for reader familiarity, though I ignore this advice when I work with the Welsh Mabinogi as I want to share the stories more widely and I find resonance with them as they are the stories I grew up with (alongside more traditional fairy tales). There will often be a story from childhood that has stayed with you, this can be good to work with. But it's also fun to discover new stories.
2. Find as original a version as you can. Project Gutenberg can be a good place to start.
3. Write the plot points of the fairy tale in bullet points for yourself. This is a list of what actually happens.
4. Notice and write down any themes or big ideas that are in the story. Also, any symbols or objects or food.
5. Pick a character and a situation to work with. This could be a character that doesn't usually get a voice, for example, the mother in Little Red Riding Hood.
6. Write your way into the story. You could do this in a number of different ways:
- write a fully developed scene
- write a monologue from the point of view of the character you picked
- write a dialogue between two of the characters
- write a letter from one of the characters to you about the story they would like you to tell
- write a lonely hearts or job ad for one of the characters eg Cinderella.
Could you move the plot points or characters to a different time and place? What would that be like? Can you give the story a feminist twist or anything else which better reflects modern society or experiences?
Reading suggestions
There are many reimaginings of myths, folk and fairy tales. But here are two that I turn to for inspiration for my own writing:
Marina Warner (2015) Fly Away Home, Salt.
Sara Maitland (2003) On Becoming A Fairy Godmother, The Maia Press Limited.
They both take an element of a fairy tale - a particular character or theme - and create a new story, which helps you think about the world or people in a slightly different way. Rather than retelling the whole story in their own words.