Thoughts & Opinions on Modernizing a Fairy Tale

[slyc_willie]

I've been asked to write an erotic version of a fairy tale, based in part on the success of my version of Hansel & Gretel (I called it Gingerbread, and it's still my best-selling novella despite the controversy surrounding it). As with that effort, the new tale I want to do is going to be modernized. I've decided to eschew most of the more popular and well-known pieces out there, such as Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty, and instead find something equally authentic (as in, old and established) but perhaps a little more obscure.

I've been going through a Wikipedia list all night, taking notes, forming ideas as I read synopses of various stories. Two that have caught my imagination are The Bear and East of the Sun, West of the Moon. Of those I have thus far sifted through, these, at least, offer a story that can be modernized and inherently provide instances of erotic tension.

I'll be going through the list for a while, and I don't doubt there will be more possibilities (after all, I'm only halfway through the alphabet). But I would like some input into both the stories I've linked to above, as well as other ideas for fairy tales that could do for an interesting modern take.

 

[penandpaper]

Just a thought, but what about one of the oldest fairy tales of them all - Adam and Eve. That snake, with its shapeshifting abilities, could play quite a role!

 

[slyc_willie]

Just a thought, but what about one of the oldest fairy tales of them all - Adam and Eve. That snake, with its shapeshifting abilities, could play quite a role!

To be honest, I have thought of that. It is one of the oldest morality plays we know. But I already have plans to use the metaphor of Adam & Eve in a different work, so I'd hate to repeat myself.

ETA: Besides, modernizing Adam & Eve would be a bit of a stretch, considering the story is an origins myth. Taking that vital aspect away, and it's just a tale of lost innocence. Way too many of those out there already.

 

[penandpaper]

What about the old old versions of Christmas then. Maybe a cross-cultural sex-fest!

 

[penandpaper]

You could also start it like this:

"The grandmother hated how the wolf looked at her when she was having phone sex. How he would tilt his head when she would insert a finger, and look at her with wide brown eyes - just like her last husband's? It was time to get rid of him."

 

[slyc_willie]

What about the old old versions of Christmas then. Maybe a cross-cultural sex-fest!

Lol. I've done Christmas. My 2006 Winter Holidays entry, I Believe, is being edited and expanded for publication with eXcessica, and the anthology this new modern fairy tale is to be in will come out later. So, again, I'd be repeating myself.

 

[slyc_willie]

You could also start it like this:

"The grandmother hated the wold looked at her when she was having phone. How he would tilt his head when she would insert a finger, and look at her with wide brown eyes - just like her last husband's? It was time to get rid of him."

Um . . .

 

[penandpaper]

Sorry, drunk type. Read the edited version.

 

[slyc_willie]

Sorry, drunk type. Read the edited version.

I'm pretty sure we've all done that, Pen.

I'd still prefer to shy away from the more common fairy tales. Several years back, I wrote a modern version of Shakespeare's The Tempest, and got some pretty good reviews for the way I updated it. I basically had a drug-addicted main character envisioning a lot of things like elves and talking animals. At least one reviewer liked the fact that I chose one of the Bard's lesser-known pieces, rather than tackling Much Ado, Hamlet, or Romeo & Juliet.

Alas, it was printed once and disappeared rather quickly . . . .

 

[penandpaper]

Perhaps a modern fairy tale mixed with a touch of Greek Mythology. That might be neat. I mean, think about it, what woman doesn't want a god?

 

[slyc_willie]

Perhaps a modern fairy tale mixed with a touch of Greek Mythology. That might be neat. I mean, think about it, what woman doesn't want a god?

Well, there are a lot of similarities between most of the ancient mythological (Greek, Teutonic, Indian, Chinese, etc.) stories and fairy tales. Both are essentially morality plays. But I have been asked, specifically, to rewrite a "fairy tale."

 

[penandpaper]

Well, there are a lot of similarities between most of the ancient mythological (Greek, Teutonic, Indian, Chinese, etc.) stories and fairy tales. Both are essentially morality plays. But I have been asked, specifically, to rewrite a "fairy tale."

My suggestion then would be to find a popular one you can rewrite. I know, you're looking for nuevo, but people like tried and true. Perhaps, it's something to think about.

 

[slyc_willie]

My suggestion then would be to find a popular one you can rewrite. I know, you're looking for nuevo, but people like tried and true. Perhaps, it's something to think about.

Yeah, I've been struggling. There's the one hand that says "write something people will recognize, and get a kick out of." Then there's the other that insists, "Be avant-garde! Be dashing! Be original!"

Really, as Sting put it, there's nothing new under the sun. But I'd like to think I can twist something in an original way.

 

[oggbashan]

I've re-written Rapunzel for Literotica.

I have a sequel part-written.

Why not consider some of Hans Christian Anderson or the Brothers Grimm - the lesser known tales?

Og

 

[Boota]

My first erotic story I ever did, The Man In The Woods, was a take on Little Red Riding Hood. I thought it was pretty thinly veiled, but most people never caught it.

 

[3113]

Rumplestilskin?

I don't think you can do what you did with Hansel & Gretel with East of the Sun. First, it's not as well known, and second, it has a more serious bent and none of the fun stuff like gingerbread houses.

You want something that, like H&G, has that "fairytale" quality to it. Someone lost in the woods and/or dealing with well-known fairytale folk. Something that also eschews any beauty-and-the-beast romance and sticks to more adventure/suspense, like will the kids escape the wicked witch?

I'd go Rumplestilskin. I think that's exactly what you're looking for. Well known, but not so well known that it's been done to death already (like Red Riding Hood or Snow White), lots of fun stuff to play with--tricks, lies, threats, bribery, blackmail, guessing games--and plenty of suspense built into the plot.

 

[Handley_Page]

Have a look at some of the old Russian folk tales like Babba Ya Gar.

May find a copy of Grimms Fairy Tales?

 

[slyc_willie]

I've re-written Rapunzel for Literotica.

I have a sequel part-written.

Why not consider some of Hans Christian Anderson or the Brothers Grimm - the lesser known tales?

Og

I've been culling them both, and sticking mainly to Grimm's.

My first erotic story I ever did, The Man In The Woods, was a take on Little Red Riding Hood. I thought it was pretty thinly veiled, but most people never caught it.

That's partly what I'm worried about, is people not "getting it." But seeing as how it's going to be in an anthology about fairy tales, hopefully that won't be a real consideration.

I don't think you can do what you did with Hansel & Gretel with East of the Sun. First, it's not as well known, and second, it has a more serious bent and none of the fun stuff like gingerbread houses.

You want something that, like H&G, has that "fairytale" quality to it. Someone lost in the woods and/or dealing with well-known fairytale folk. Something that also eschews any beauty-and-the-beast romance and sticks to more adventure/suspense, like will the kids escape the wicked witch?

I'd go Rumplestilskin. I think that's exactly what you're looking for. Well known, but not so well known that it's been done to death already (like Red Riding Hood or Snow White), lots of fun stuff to play with--tricks, lies, threats, bribery, blackmail, guessing games--and plenty of suspense built into the plot.

Rumplestiltskin was one of the first stories I considered. I can easily see a modernized version of that. I may yet come back to it, but I want to sift through the chaff a little more.

Have a look at some of the old Russian folk tales like Babba Ya Gar.

May find a copy of Grimms Fairy Tales?

Got one.

As far as Baba Yaga (Ya Gar), I'm familiar with it, but I doubt too many casual readers are.

 

[MagicaPractica]

I did a version of East of the Sun, West of the Moon for Lit, as a novella a little while ago. (Partially because someone once retold it for me in a way that really touched me.) Those who read it seemed to like it. However, I didn't really modernize it. I did that more when I re-wrote The Snow Queen, a Norwegian tale. There's a lot of possibilites out there. I agree that I'd say stay away from the ones that have been more commonly told and re-told. Go for something a little more off the beaten path. If you pick up a copy of the Grimm Fairy Tales, you'll find things you never dreamt of. (I'd forgotten I re-wrote The Princess and the Pea - "how the princess really got so sore.")

 

[slyc_willie]

I did a version of East of the Sun, West of the Moon for Lit, as a novella a little while ago. (Partially because someone once retold it for me in a way that really touched me.) Those who read it seemed to like it. However, I didn't really modernize it. I did that more when I re-wrote The Ice Queen, a Norwegian tale. There's a lot of possibilites out there. I agree that I'd say stay away from the ones that have been more commonly told and re-told. Go for something a little more off the beaten path. If you pick up a copy of the Grimm Fairy Tales, you'll find things you never dreamt of.

Yeah, the original stories as collected by the Brothers Grimm aren't cutsey little tales to delight a five-year-old. Cannibalism and incest are oft-repeated themes.

Some of the older versions of Little Red Riding Hood have Red doing a striptease to distract the wolf, before it kills her, slices her up, and feeds the hapless stripper to her own family.

Hmm . . . that has dark, erotic possibilities . . .

 

[Stella_Omega]

I love both the Bear and East of the Sun West of the moon.

In both stories-- very very similar as I recall-- the heroine is truly heroic and proactive.

What will you do to "modernise" the bear?

ETA)

You could make him be a truck driver!

 

[MagicaPractica]

Yeah, the original stories as collected by the Brothers Grimm aren't cutsey little tales to delight a five-year-old. Cannibalism and incest are oft-repeated themes.

Some of the older versions of Little Red Riding Hood have Red doing a striptease to distract the wolf, before it kills her, slices her up, and feeds the hapless stripper to her own family.

Hmm . . . that has dark, erotic possibilities . . .

LOL One of my favorites is the Italian version of Cinderella. She gets her stepmother to look in a big chest at something and drops the heavy lid on her head, killing her. Now that's a proactive heroine.

 

[slyc_willie]

I love both the Bear and East of the Sun West of the moon.

In both stories-- very very similar as I recall-- the heroine is truly heroic and proactive.

What will you do to "modernise" the bear?

ETA)

You could make him be a truck driver!

So it would be A BJ for the Bear?

(sorry -- couldn't resist )

I had considered keeping some of the magical elements intact, but I could probably pull it off without doing so. Still got some more stories to wade through . . . .

 

[slyc_willie]

LOL One of my favorites is the Italian version of Cinderella. She gets her stepmother to look in a big chest at something and drops the heavy lid on her head, killing her. Now that's a proactive heroine.

Other versions had the stepsisters cutting off toes so they would fit the slipper.

 

[MagicaPractica]

Other versions had the stepsisters cutting off toes so they would fit the slipper.

Forgot about that. I remember having the picture in my head of the big knife as they sawed at their toes and the blood soaking their shoes.