Fractured Fairy Tales


I'm thrilled to announce that a story of mine, "The Eye of the Beholder," was recently accepted into an anthology of fractured fairy tales entitled After the Happily Ever After.

But what the heck is a fractured fairy tale, you might ask?

Fractured fairy tales take traditional tales and either turn them upside down or change some of the elements significantly, so that you get an entirely different story. Humor is often an important part of the retelling. For example, The Three Little Pigs could be about greedy capitalist bankers confronting the Wolf of Wall Street, or Cinderella might become a man-- Cinderfella is a classic example of this. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves could be a woman who does animal rescue and is, herself, rescued by a litter of 7 puppies, or a sci fi tale about life on other planets (Well, ok, on second thought, either of those might be really weird. But you get the idea).


More info about fractured fairy tales:
Marilyn Kinsella's Fractured Thoughts

A wonderful source of traditional fairy tales:
Andrew Lang's Fairy Collection

Have you got any ideas for reframing a traditional fairy tale? Please share them in the comments!

Want to read some brand NEW fractured fairy tales? Get your fill by supporting our anthology! 70+ unusual tales of what happens when the traditional fairy tale recipe has some....substitutions:

www.kickstarter.com/projects/transmundanepress/after-the-happily-ever-after-anthology

Bonus: Here is a teaser for my short story. Which traditional fairy tale do you think inspired it?

Father has done something so, so foolish. He didn’t want to tell me, but I coaxed it out of him in the special way that only I can. He purloined a rose from a beastly lord for me and was caught. Now, either he must stay, or I must go as payment for his crime. Of course, I will go. I’d never do otherwise. But I confess that I am horrified at being handed over to a husband sight unseen, even if he does live in a castle. 


At least we won’t starve.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

N is for Name

Image
NA M ES               “Names have power.”                       -Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief              What's in a name? Plenty. The name you give your character gives the reader an instant impression, even if they don't know what the name really means. For example, w hat do you think of when you hear the following names:  Destiny Colt Barack Ruby Hester Sierra Khan Jesus Barbara Magda Aloha Martha Kofi Prudence Lucifer Bilbo Miranda Filippo Jessie Duncan Anjali Peewee Ishmael Ludwig Ngai Dae won Amber Hercules Scarlett Ashley Midori Gabriel Xerxes Ralph Heathcliff Veruca Hannibal Roshanna Ramona Svengali  Hans Isabella Lolita Jeeves Pip Ebenezer  Rudolph Gump Scout Winnie Grendel Tarzan Scheherazade I bet each of them gave you an immediate impression,...
Read more

H is for Horror

Image
H O RR O R “We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones.”  ―  Stephen King Writing can be a scary business. Whether alone or with others, it requires a lot of risk on our part. We bare our souls, share our secrets with the world. Or we put them in a story and call it fiction. Yeah, that's it. I'm kidding, sort of. But today I want to talk about writing scary stories, not living them.  Writing horror So you love horror. Great--so do lots of people, and there are many potential markets. Paying markets, even. Well, not paying much. But still. Did I say paying?  We'll get to that in a bit.  What's the best way to start writing horror stories?  Ask yourself this: What makes you anxious? What scares you the most?  What is the most terrifying situation you can imagine? Your worst nightmare? What grosses you out? Start there. Avoid  cliché s . But if you have a new take on that  cliché , go for it....
Read more

Yearn

Image
We yearn the most for what we have lost, for what we cannot have, for what can never be. But there can be silver linings to our yearnings. We might discover something we love or want even more than what we originally desired.  And, then, this: out of yearning, great stories are born.  "I love those who yearn for the impossible."  -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe What do you yearn for?  What story can you tell about it? "Art comes from the place where you dream."  -Robert Olen Butler interview with Robert Olen Butler Writing about yearning in fiction Robert Olen Butler & short fiction Longing writing prompt From fear to yearning writer's prompt An ancestral yearning: why writers love the ocean Yearning for transcendence Books about yearning Yearning and writing inspiration Harness the yearning "If you don't die of thirst, there are blessings in the desert. You can be pulled into limitlessness, which we all yearn for, or...
Read more