 Drama: January 01, 2025 Issue [#12902] |
This week: Using Fairytales & Folklore for Fiction Edited by: Joy  
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"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."
G.K. Chesterton
“Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”
C.S. Lewis
“The world calls them its singers and poets and artists and storytellers; but they are just people who have never forgotten the way to fairyland.”
L. M. Montgomery
“Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens, or half their greatness goes unnoticed. It is all part of the fairy tale.”
Peter S. Beagle
“I’ve learned something that many women these days never learn: Prince Charming really is a toad. And the beautiful princess has halitosis.”
Tom Robbins
“Could it be, George wondered, that she was a witch? He had always thought witches were only in fairy tales, but now he was not so sure.”
Roald Dahl
Hello, I am Joy , this week's drama editor. This issue is about using and adapting fairy tales, legends, and folklore stories into our very own dramatic fiction.
Thank you for reading our newsletters and for supplying the editors with feedback and encouragement.
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Welcome to the Drama newsletter and Have a Happy 2025, Dear WdC Friends!
I bet most of us loved fairy tales while we were children. They were magical. In fact, I think, at least a good number of us writers, whether we are aware of it or not, have been influence by fairy tales and folklore. Before I learned to read, my mother used to tell me the fairy tales by stretching and changing them to teach me a lesson or two, and I used to argue with her, "No, it didn't happen that way. What really happened was..."
Now that I've grown up, sort of, I can see my mother's point in twisting those plots in fairy tales. In fact, as you must know, this is a well-known and applied practice by most writers of drama.
"Why use fairy tales?" You might ask. To begin with, a fairy tale has a clear beginning, middle, and end, which points to an effective structuring. Fairy tales also have good themes and they may teach lessons of life.
Whether we want the fairy tale to be recognized in our story or not depends on our understanding and handling of the original. Personally, I see no problem in letting a fairy tale to be recognized in a good story. Most people like to hide the fairytale really well and they are very good at it. I believe those people are the more talented ones.
As an example, author Christina June wrote Everywhere You Want to Be, a modern tale inspired by the classic Red Riding Hood. She writes, in an article, about the way she turned that fairy tale into her story. She says she started with a few reassignments, such as:
The forest: NY City
Red Cape: red sunglasses
Big Bad Wolf: teammate that plans a sabotage
Woodsman: Cute Drummer
Path through the woods: path toward future and career choices.
Whether we want the fairy tale behind our fiction to be recognized or not, we might need to consider a few points. In my opinion, these are:
 Choosing the Right Fairy Tale: The tale we choose has to resonate with us, be it its theme, characters or images. Lesser known fairy tales, legends, and folklore stories might provide a more fresh angle than well-known classics like Cinderella or Snow White.
Finding the Core Theme: This has to do with pinpointing the moral or the central theme. For example, Beauty and the Beast explores inner beauty and transformation while Hansel and Gretel has to do with survival and resilience.
Adding Complexity to the Characters: Here, we can humanize the characters more by giving them deeper motivations, flaws and conflicting desires. Let's take Cinderella's stepmother. We can explain her cruelty through some underlying factors such as she could be someone who fears poverty and gives into societal pressure.
Reframing the Setting: This means adding cultural or other details into a well-known or imagined place. A modern city, a historical era, our present time, or the future can add important or recognizable layers to our stories.
Enhancing Conflict and Stakes: As well as the external challenges, we can explore the internal conflicts in the characters. For example, Rapunzel may feel loyalty to her jailor and at the same time, may feel a strong desire for freedom.
Changing the Ending, Atmosphere and Tone: We writers don't have to stick with the happily-ever-after ending. We can turn it into a somewhat-happy one or even a sad one that has taught the main character a lesson or two. We can weave in a tone of our choosing throughout the story, such as, hopeful yet tragic, bittersweet, unresolved, etc. We can also improve the mood by using vivid descriptions, sensory details, and emotional depth. These will hook the readers and let them feel immersed in our stories.
I hope you writers will consider reworking a fairy tale of your choice into some dramatic fiction and raise the original fairy tale, legend, or the folklore piece higher by enriching its plot, characters, and emotional depth. I am sure, through your capable pens or keyboards, you will transform a timeless tale into something deeply personal and captivating.
Until next time! 
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 This Issue's Tip: Find several versions of a fairy tale or a folklore story. See if you can explore the ways each version was important to the culture that told it. This is because to whom, we are telling our stories is also important.
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Feedback for " Are Monsters Reversed Heroes?"
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Quick-Quill 
What a great Newsletter. I hadn't thought of the backstory character as a monster. The thing that drives my MC to denounce all religion and belief is the fact she was kidnapped by a religious fanatic and abused by the man. Similar to E. Smart.
Thank you.  Yes, some backstories have monsters in them, as we do in real life. 
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