The Fairy Tale Feminista
Answering life’s questions one fairy tale at a time.
Universal Fairy Tale Care
The other day my daughter said something that caught me completely off guard. We were watching A Tale Dark and Grimm on Netflix (which if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend) and there was a reference to Rumpelstiltskin. She turned to me and asked who Rumpelstiltskin was.
Reader, I was flabbergasted!
Do Names Matter?
When I start a story, I begin with the conflict. I ask a question and then I try and find characters and settings that help answer it. It’s a very research paper way to write fiction, I just realized, but it works for me. Some people start with a character or even a name. I, on the other hand, start with the story and then have a dedicated name day.
Pulling a Prince out of a Bear
As a reader, I love a good and well-considered plot twist. Depending on who you ask there are only six, seven, or thirty-six stories in the world. With that in mind, the only way to very them is with a good twist. Mind you I said a good twist. Too often I’ve been on the receiving end of a story that bends over backward to make a plot work with a twist so implausible it ruins it. There is such a thing as too twisty a plot and I say this as a person who reads fantasy and fairy tales. Even they get it wrong sometimes.
Fairytale Retellings 2022
Before you ask, no that is not a typo and yes I am aware we are now in 2023. But the turning of the year was bumpy complete with an injury and a rather bad cold. Because of it, I got a slow start to all my work. But I’ll take a note from all the fairy tales I’ve read and know that how you start isn’t necessarily how you finish. In that spirit, I’m starting the year with a list, my list of fairytale-based reading from 2022
Mechanical Creativity II
The holidays are feast or famine time for my writing. I either have tons to write or I am stuck with nothing to write. This year is a little different because I recently published my latest book, so I've given myself a pass until the new year on getting any real writing done on the last book in the series. But I still get the itch...that feeling of restless need to make SOMETHING and work. It's the same feeling I got around the beginning of August when I was waiting for school to start up again (yes, an admittedly nerdy admission but I'm owning it!).
Advent Train Stories: The Words
Welcome to the Advent Calendar Story Train, where you can read through 24 stories under the theme The Gift. Thank you for reading today's story. The next one will be available to read on December 7th, titled "The Gift". The link will be active tomorrow when the post goes live.
If you missed yesterday's you can go and read it here.
A Rebel's Path - Release Day!
The day has arrived! My new book, A Rebel’s Path, the third in my Enchanted Path series was released today. And for the next two weeks the digital copies of both A Smuggler’s Path and A Noble’s Path are half off!
Fairy Word of Mouth
Remember the brave little tailor? He kills seven flies with one blow and sews a belt proclaiming his achievement to anyone who read it. It led to people somehow assuming he meant giants and not flies. Or how about the woman in Rumpelstiltskin whose father bragged about her spinning straw into gold while drinking in a tavern and somehow word got back to the king? Talk about amazing marketing.
My Weird Obsession
Back when I hosted a monthly Meet An Indie Author Monday (MAIAM, I love a good palindrome), the first interview I posted was my own. And this was one of the questions:
Writers keep their eyes open for inspiration, which makes us notice a lot more than most. What random piece of everyday beauty do you love?
Relaunch and Pre-launch
Starting over is hard, but sometimes restarting is even more of a challenge. Last year I was supposed to publish the third book in my Enchanted Path series. I ‘d already written a draft and worked on the rewrites all quarantine long. Sad to say it read like quarantine—long, unpredictable and uncomfortable. I had to start, not again, but over, as though I’d never done any rewrites. My editor was really patient and helped immensely and I finally finished my book, A Rebel’s Path.
Happy Blogoversary
A blogger I follow once wrote about the importance of celebrating writing milestones and I have a big one today. My blog!
There are days when I wonder why I latched on to fairy tales as my theme for a blog. I knew I didn’t want to add another how-to write blog to the world, mostly because I didn’t feel qualified to add my two cents. In truth I still don’t, but for different reasons—namely my way of writing works for me, but not necessarily anyone else.
Finding A Name
One of my favorite fairy tales is Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its subsequent Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. When I was a girl, I read the book and watched almost every version on TV and in the movies. I didn’t realize it then, but Alice’s escapades began my own quest to find stories of female adventure. Considering they were written in 1865 and 1871, respectively, I’d consider them some of the earliest forms of feminist fairy tales.
The List
Romantic comedies (and any romance genre for that matter) are our modern-day equivalent of fairy tales. At least the “girl-finds-a-prince or the boy-is-given-a-princess-type” fairy tale. It has a discernable formula—two people meet, they fall in love, an obstacle separates them (and according to Hallmark movies, that’s at the hour and thirty mark), and then all hurts are mended to a happily ever after conclusion—and often used devices. One of the most used is the List.
Adult Rant
Maybe it’s the mom of a teenager talking, but I’m really tired of protagonists with lousy impulse control. It might also be the reason I’ve been actively seeking out books with adults. When I think about it Chosen One children or <gasp> teens would be a nightmare. Despite knowing nothing and adults actively trying to help them they have a psychotic need to “go it alone” or “try things out: at night, usually in a forest or a creepy basement.
Questions for the Queen
I’ve been in analysis mode with Snow White for some reason.
I’ve decided not to question it.
Ever think the mirror was messing with the queen? It was a fairy mirror and fairies are notoriously fickle and endlessly mischievous. Maybe they were tired of getting the same question over and over again.
First Three Things
Random thoughts are a given for most people. For writers they’re source material—the answer to the oft-asked question, “What inspired this story?” Here’s one of those stray thoughts that crept in during a sleepless night.
What were Snow White’s first thoughts when she woke up? Aside from the obvious—who’s this guy?
To Warn or Not to Warn
To Warn or Not to Warn...that is the question.
One of the reasons we read fairy tales is to be transported in a predictable way. Yes, it’s all fantastical, but there are big neon sign type clues that tell you it’s coming. If you save a golden fish in a lake, you better believe it’s going to get you wishes. If a fairy godmother comes with a dress for the ball, you’re going to catch a prince’s eye. And if some rando takes your broken-down old cow and gives you beans, your garden is not getting basic wildflowers.
Running Through the Forest with Disney
As anyone who likes fairy tales knows, it is impossible to ignore the outsized influence of Disney. Many of the stories we think of as universal are really our collective watching of movies made by The Mouse. I personally have no problem with this because I love a good fairy tale re-telling (although I admit some are not that good) and my favorite is Robin Hood.
The Day After
Yesterday was Valentine’s Day (as if you didn’t know), the day dedicated to love. And though it’s supposed to be about all love, romantic love is arguably the most exciting, so it’s what we focus on. I’ve never been a fan of Valentine’s Day, but it doesn’t stop me from appreciating the symbols and gestures of the holiday. With one exception…
A Winter's Story, part III: Book Divining Edition
Writers get inspiration from anywhere and everywhere, especially when they’re blocked creatively. Part III of my 100-words serial was elusive, which I hoped wasn’t an omen for edits in my third novel (currently underway). I remembered reading somewhere that there are psychics who pick a book at random, flip through, and point to a sentence to determine a reading.
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