The Charm of Obscure Fairy Tales

At the writer’s conference Life, the Universe, and Everything held at Brigham Young University last February, I feasted on a banquet of information.

Panelists Dr. Jill Rudy, Hailey Evans, and Kristy Stewart discussed fairy tales in one of the presentations I attended. They called it—Retelling Tales: Getting Beyond the Same Six Tales. 

These are the tales they mentioned:

     ~Cinderella  ~Sleeping Beauty  ~Snow White

     ~Beauty and the Beast  ~Red Riding Hood

                           ~Hansel and Gretel

Their teaching and insight fascinated me! I couldn’t wait to claim my own copies of rare and obscure fairy tales to read. My heart went crazy, my ears clanged, my vision sparkled—Ah! The possibilities for using such fairy tales as fodder for my own books besides the utter enjoyment of reading them!

Hailey talked about a huge gap in the fairy tale books she read while growing up—almost all supposedly girl heroes were useless and shared the same beautiful appearance. She suggested reading one of her favorite books: Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters by Kathleen Ragan. This book of stories from around the world features strong female protagonists to inspire readers instead of binding them down to harmful stereotypes.

To buy your own book click this line.

I enjoyed listening to Jill, Hailey, and Kristy with their impressive knowledge and friendly personalities. 

Some thoughts to take away from their presentation:

~It’s easy to distend belief with a retelling because the originals are already familiar.

~If you write a story that has similar things but contrasts with a known fairy tale, it means more—it’s a foil. Like an Irish girl riding a horse and losing a glove compares to Cinderella.

~If you use a motif, like glass slippers, it will make the reader recall a story they know, even if you’re not telling the same story.

~Resonance is what will connect you to your audience.

If you’d like more great information about fairy tales, check out these blogs:

Diamonds and Toads ~ Enchanted Conversations

Click on www.diamondsandtoads.com

Sarah Beth Durst’s Obscure Fairy Tales page 
on her website. 
Click on www.sarahbethdurst.com/fairytales.htm

SurLaLune Fairy Tales Blog

Click on surlalunefairytales.blogspot.com/

See you Wednesday—Happy wandering in Fairy Tale Land until then!