I have always been a huge fan of retellings. There is something in them that is comforting and exciting all at once. Whether it be a Cinderella, Little Mermaid, or Beauty and the Beast retelling, I dive into each one whole-heartily, and therein lies the magic of a retelling.
Readers Already Want to Read it.
When you take on a retelling, you also take on that story's built-in fan base. So, if you're a newer writer, this might be just the thing you need to establish your own fan base. If you love mermaids and your readers love mermaids and you tell a story about them, what better way to flag down the people who were already looking for your book?
Major Plot Points Have Already Been Established.
If you have issues with pacing or plot holes, retellings might just be the structure that you need to write that story you've been daydreaming about all along. If your story idea would fit nicely into a fairytale that already exists, why not add those two things together and see what happens?
Who Doesn't Love Fairytales with a Twist?
Just because the outer shell of the story has been constructed, that doesn't mean that you can rework the insides. Think story renovation. This way, you still get to add your own flair to a story that has been loved for hundreds of years. What better way to show appreciation than to keep the love of the story going even longer?
You Don't Have to Stick with the Brothers Grimm.
Don't think that the only retellings worth existing belong to the Grimm Brothers. There's a whole world full of fairytales out there. If you haven't already, do a quick Google search to see what you come up with. You might just find your newest favorite story.
I'd love to know which fairytale you'd love to tackle if you were going to write a retelling. Tell me in the comments below.
Happy writing.
3 comments:
I LOVE traditional tales retold! You go in to them like meeting an old friend for lunch only to find out they're secret agents. The twist (the new angle to the telling) is half the fun but the writing better not lean too heavily upon what's gone before or I get restless. It's the familiar that entices but uniqueness that brings it home.
I enjoy retellings. If I were to write one, it would be an obscure fairy tale called Snow White and Rose Red. The only place I've ever seen this tale is in a series of books called My Book House, a gift from my grandmother to my sister and me. None of my siblings had any interest in the books, so I got them. A real treasure.
Retellings are wonderful to read! And I love those that retell fairy tales that I'm not or not as familiar with. Those are the stories that I would also want to write. Though, sometimes I write a retelling without intending to. It simply goes that way as I write. LOL
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