On Retellings: A Guest Post by Jessica Lawson

I'm happy to welcome Jessica Lawson, author of The Actual and Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher to my blog today!  She's planning to tell us more about retellings and some rules to follow if you plan to write one!

 
Rules for Retellings/Reimaginings
 

Recycled stories are popular nowadays (just take a look at this epic chart of 162 YA retellings). Authors vary widely in their approach, from Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted (a take on the Cinderella fairy tale) to Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (which is pretty much what the title implies—a zombie-fied version of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice). My own debut middle grade novel, The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher, is a retelling/origin story mix, with old/new characters blending with old/new plot elements…and with the original tale’s author (a young Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain) thrown in as a happenstance observer.

All this to say, there are lots of ways to go about creating a new version of something that’s already been written. Fiction, by nature, is open to interpretation and there aren’t too many true instances of “you can never do that!” Still, if you’re thinking of writing your own story based on an already-established tale, there are a few things that you may want to keep in mind:

Three Rules for Retellings/Reimaginings

1. First, you should love the original work as written and have respect for the author. Basically, retell the story because you love it, not because you loathe it. In my opinion, a retelling shouldn’t be undertaken in order to “fix” something that the original author did wrong, but rather to bring fresh attention and a new perspective to a well-loved tale.

I love Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer exactly as written. I love the story so much that I found myself thinking of its characters often, and eventually that emotional closeness to the story prompted me to revisit the world I loved so well.

2. There must be at least one large twist. But the twist should be a playful/thoughtful/deliberate one that has meaning within the original elements, not just a random item. In the words of Mark Twain, “know the facts and then distort them as you please.” Know why you’re changing a key element of the story and be confident in your reasoning. A version of Charlotte’s Web in space? That’s fine! But you need to be able to justify the twist being necessary in order to bring something new to the context of the original. Utilize the twist to strengthen your version of the story and let it inform your plot and characters. Choose your twist deliberately and with attention to the plot/characters of the original.

3. Keep the heart of the original in mind and try your best to honor it. Even if you’re retelling Cinderella to make the wicked stepmother character the heroine and her stepdaughter a horrible conniving brat, the basic idea is the same—one person is unfairly treated and must find their own journey to happily-ever-after, while the baddie gets punished.

While my own retelling of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer alters personalities and changes plot elements, the themes of learning what it means to grow up and struggling with losing pieces of childhood are still there and are recognizable.

Happy writing and reading! And if you haven’t read a retelling lately, my blog hostess Melissa’s own Classic Double Challenge is a wonderful way to get motivated.

Thank you so much, Melissa!

Jessica Lawson’s debut middle grade novel, The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher is available now. You can visit her at http://jessicalawsonbooks.com and on twitter. 

Thanks for the post, Jessica!  I've always wanted to write a retelling and now I have some lovely guidelines (for if I eeeeever get around to it).  You can check out my review of Jessica's book, The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher. 

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Book Review: Speaking from Among the Bones AND The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley

Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication date: January 2013
Pages: 400
Source: Library
For: Fun
Series: Flavia de Luce, Book 5

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication date: January 2014
Pages: 336
Source: e-book from NetGalley
For: Review
Series: Flavia de Luce, Book 6

Summaries (sort of):
Flavia is the budding chemist and sneaky sleuth wrapped into an 11-year-old package.  She's obsessed with solving the crimes that appear in her small town of Bishop's Lacey, and they just keep coming.  In Speaking from Among the Bones, the town is digging up St. Tancred, but they discover a different body instead.  In The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches, Harriet (Flavia's mother) is coming home, but even before she's arrived, there are mysterious messages from strangers and Flavia must figure out what may have happened to Harriet.

Things I Liked about Both:
I just really enjoy reading these books (or listening to them on audio, thanks to narrator Jane Entwistle).  Flavia is a lot of fun, eager to please and trying to figure out where she fits in the world and her family.  But I love her unique way of assessing things and figuring out the mysteries.  The books all tended to follow a very regular pattern, until the last one which kind of sent us on a different path.  I'd really like more Flavia books in the future, especially as we might learn more about Harriet in them!

Things I Didn't Like:
Sometimes, I just had to raise my eyebrows at the way things conveniently happened or how Flavia knew something so obscure or random.  Still, I just get some plain, old-fashioned pleasure out of these stories.

Read-alikes:
Start with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
Reminds me of The Agency series by Y.S. Lee

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !

maybe one or two
mrg-factor:none

v-factor: none
usually a murder involved though not explicitly described

Overall rating: ****

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Lord of the Rings Read-Along, Part 5

Question on Kami's Library Thoughts.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

I've been trying to come up with something to say about the discussion question (basically, we can talk about some kind of theme from this book).  I loved seeing all the responses so far and they all made me think even more about the book.  What I decided to focus on was the idea of sacrificing all in order to do some small good.  Throughout this book in particular, but in other ones as well, characters make the choice to do something that seems like it will fail and they will die, but knowing that full well and still choosing to do it.  Pretty much every time I read those kinds of things, I feel like my heart swells and I have all the feels going on.  Here are some examples:

-Rohan riding to the aid of Gondor - Theoden as well as Eowyn and Merry all assume this will be their last act
-The seige of Gondor - pretty much the entire time, the people assume this is the end, but they will still make a stand
-Faramir going out to defend Osgiliath - everyone knows this is a suicide mission and there is no point, but he goes because his father asks him to go
-The march to the Black Gates - all of the people know from the start that their chance of survival is miniscule.  I love the part where Aragorn sees that some of his people are overwhelmed by fear and he offers them the option of still maintaining their honor, but not having to face something they are not able to.  Pippin, right near the end of the book, says he's going to go out with a fight. 
-Obviously, Frodo and Sam feel like they are on a doomed mission from the first, but they just keep going.  And yet Sam always has such a positive outlook on it.

I just feel like the kind of courage it requires to make the choice consciously to fight even knowing you will fail or die is something inspiring.  It always makes me wonder what kinds of choices I would make if I experienced those kinds of odds and knew it was a choice between making a stand and dying or running away.

And since I've mentioned how very obsessed I've been with Lord of the Rings (see this tribute for some proof), I decided I'd post a bit of my fan art. I'm not super creative, so most of this is just me copying stuff from the movies. 

I had a Legolas obsession (movie Legolas, of course)

I loved the jewelry from the movie - some seriously beautiful pieces

And, of course, Eowyn!

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New and Upcoming Retellings

It's been ages since I last did a New and Upcoming Retellings post, which means there are LOTS of retellings that have come out and that are announced. Here's what I've been able to gather. I'd love to hear about any that you have heard about! See my previous retellings posts and my master list of classic retellings and fairy tale retellings. (My thanks to Bonnie at A Backwards Story for blogging about many of the fairy tale retellings coming out.  She's got some fabulous lists and reviews of fairy tale retellings on her site.  Check it out!)

Already released:

Gorgeous by Paul Rednick, released April 2013, a contemporary retelling of Cinderella


A Midsummer Night's Scream by R.L. Stine, released July 2013, a retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare


Gris Grimly's Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, illustrated by Gris Grimly, released August 2013, creepily retells Frankenstein by Mary Shelley


Will in Scarlet by Matthew Cody, released October 2013, retelling Robin Hood


Roses by G.R. Mannering, released November 2013, retelling Beauty and the Beast


Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge, released January 2014, retelling Beauty and the Beast (and apparently some Greek mythology too)


Splintered by A.G. Howard came out over a year ago, but the sequel Unhinged released in January 2014 and the third title, Ensnared, is coming in January 2015, all of them retelling Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll


Exposure by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes came out in January 2013, retelling Macbeth by Shakespeare.  Anyone But You published on January 2014 retelling Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare (I mentioned their Tempestuous in a previous New and Upcoming Retellings post)


Such Sweet Sorrow by Jenny Trout, released February 2014, retelling Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare (and, apparently, Hamlet by Shakespeare)


The Glass Casket by McCormick Templeman, released February 2014, retelling Snow White and various other fairy tales


While Beauty Slept by Elizabeth Blackwell, released February 2014, retelling Sleeping Beauty


Wayfarer by Lili St. Crow, released March 2014, retelling Cinderella


The Mirk and Midnight Hour by Jane Nickerson, released March 2014, retelling Tam Lin


A Phantom Enchantment by Eve Marie Mont, released March 2014, retelling The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux


Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige, released April 2014, retelling The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum


Second Star by Alyssa Scheinmel, released May 2014, retelling Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie


Cinderella's Dress by Shonna Slayton, released June 2014, retelling Cinderella


The Stepsister's Tale by Tracey Barrett, released June 2014, retelling Cinderella

Not Yet Released:

Wild by Alex Mallory, coming July 2014, retelling Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs


Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen, coming July 2014, retelling Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie


Frostborn by Lou Anders, first in a new series called Thrones and Bones, coming August 2014, based on Norse mythology and folklore


Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth, finally coming to the US in September 2014, retelling Rapunzel


Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer, coming September 2014, retelling Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath


Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire, coming September 2014 (I think?), featuring Baba Yaga of Russian folklore fame


Stray by Elissa Sussmann, coming October 2014, more of a fairy-tale-esque story featuring fairy godmothers


Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis, coming October 2014, retelling Snow White


Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios, coming October 2014, inspired by The Arabian Nights


Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay, coming December 2014, retelling Sleeping Beauty


Crown Of Ice by Vicki Weavil, coming December 2014, retelling The Snow Queen


Fairest by Marissa Meyer, coming January 2015, retelling Snow White (the queen's backstory anyway)

Love, Lucy by April Lindner, coming January 2015, retelling A Room with a View by E.M. Forster


Dearest by Alethea Kontis, coming February 2015, retelling The Wild Swans and Goose Girl

Any you can think of I missed? What are you most excited for?

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