Congratulations! You’ve written for seven days straight! If you’re anything like me, things are both easier and harder now. The writing might be becoming a priority in your day: something of a habit that you’re making time for. Sitting down and starting might come easier with all this practice. After coming up with seven new stories in as many days, however, maybe you could use an easier day today. So you have my permission to steal a plot:
The Prompt
Re-tell a classic story in your own way
Tips
- Folk tales and fairy stories are best for this, because you don’t run into any copyright issues, but if you aren’t planning on publishing this, then feel free to rewrite the end of The Sopranos or resurrect a character from a Joss Whedon show and give them a happier life.
- Try placing the story in a different time from the original.
- Change the main characters’ genders or ages or skin color or country of origin.
- Change the ending.
- Make it funny or ridiculous or poignant.
- Use the structure of the original story and use your creative energy to imbue the characters with greater depth.
- Tell the story of a side-character or reverse the characters’ roles (as in Gregory MacGuire’s Wicked) or tell the story of the servants who have to sweep up after the ball, or run all over the countryside trying to find out who the glass slipper belongs to…
GO!
Post a comment at the blog to let us know you’ve written today, or join the community and post in the Victory Dance Group.
Here’s mine (it’s a retelling of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” and what happened after the story): https://storiesin5minutes.wordpress.com/2015/05/08/how-humiliating-retelling-of-the-emperors-new-clothes-storyaday-post/
I fell a little behind with my writing for family reasons, but I’m back on track now (writing this on Sunday evening)!
I struggled a lot with the concept of using a Fairy Tale, though I was helped by my wife’s obsession with ‘Once Upon a Time’ to ensure that I knew it could be done.
My piece was structured around the 3 Bears in a modern romantic and murderous setting!
I have now started loading my pieces on a (very) new website for my Fiction writing and they can be found at http://martinhaworthauthor.com/category/story-a-day-in-may/
I have successfully written for 7 days . Today’s story will be the sequel to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow .
So, I was thinking about the whole idea of ‘fairy tales’ and it occurred to me, what if I wrote my own fairy tale of sorts. Thus, I have written an original, which is actually based on a real slice of life, and put it in the form of a fairy tale, or a once-upon-a-time tale.