Writing Retellings of Fairy Tales and Myths
[A previous version of this craft article was originally posted in the Retreat West Community, during my time as Community Writer-in-Residence.]
Retellings of old or traditional stories are extremely popular; you can find them in the form of novels, TV shows, movies, and also in the world of short/flash fiction. In a Reader’s Digest article titled 'Why do we love retellings of old stories?' (sadly no longer available online), journalist Kate Townshend speculated as to why:
There’s an argument that says the best stories, the ones that take root in our imaginations, lend themselves to retellings as we turn them over in our minds, digging deeper and deeper in order to reach the underlying “truth” of a tale. Perhaps this is why fairytales have long been a genre particularly ripe for retellings.
But what makes a good retelling, and how can you approach writing one? For me there are two key elements; having a good knowledge and understanding of the story you want to retell, and finding an approach that means your version of that story says something new.
