Fairytales with Bite
  • Home/Interviews
  • From Light to Dark
  • Blog
  • Chandlers Ford Today
  • News
  • ANTHOLOGIES
  • Biography - The Trouble With Mother
    • Biography - Short Stories
    • The Trouble With Mother Behind the Scenes
  • Alfie Dog - Allison Symes author page
  • Alfie Dog Bites - Fantasy Dinner Party Guests by Allison Symes
  • Bridge House Publishing
  • Cafe Lit
  • Cafe Lit Blog - Allison Symes stories
  • Cafe Lit - A Day Out by Allison Symes
  • External Link - ironpress.co.uk
  • External Link - Lulu.com
  • External Link - Shortbread Short Stories
  • All About Eileen
    • Eileen's Definitions >
      • Eileen's Definitions - 2
      • Eileen's Definitions - 3
      • Eileen's Definitions - 4
      • Eileen's Definitions - 5
      • Eileen's Definitions - 6
      • Eileen's Definitions - 7
      • Eileen's Definitions - 8
      • Eileen's Definitions - 9
      • Eileen's Definitions - 10
      • Eileen's Definitions - 11
      • Eileen's Definitions - 12
      • Eileen's Definitions - 13
    • All About Jenny
    • All About the Fairy Queen, Roxannadrell
    • All About the Chief Witch
    • All About L'Evallier
    • All About Hanastrew
    • All About Melanbury
    • All about Rodish
    • All About Brankaresh
    • All About Roherum
    • All About Wes (Whespy)
    • All About Stan (Stanrock)
    • All About Isabel
    • All About Fresdian
  • Fairy Kingdom Definitions
    • Fairy Kingdom Definitions - 2
    • Fairy Kingdom Definitions - 3
    • Fairy Kingdom Definitions - 4
    • Fairy Kingdom Definitions - 5
    • Fairy Kingdom Definitions - 6
    • Fairy Kingdom Definitions - 7
    • Fairy Kingdom Definitions - 8
    • Fairy Kingdom Definitions - 9
    • Fairy Kingdom Definitions - 10
  • The Rules of Magic
    • The Rules of Magic - 2
    • The Rules of Magic - 3
    • The Rules of Magic - 4
    • The Rules of Magic - 5
    • The Rules of Magic - 6
    • The Rules of Magic - 7
    • The Rules of Magic - 8
    • The Rules of Magic - 9
    • The Rules of Magic - 10
    • The Rules of Magic - 11
    • The Rules of Magic - 12
    • The Rules of Magic - 13
    • The Rules of Magic - 14
    • The Rules of Magic - 15
    • The Rules of Magic - 16
    • The Rules of Magic - 17
    • The Rules of Magic - 18
    • The Rules of Magic - 19
    • The Rules of Magic - 20
    • The Rules of Magic - 21
    • The Rules of Magic - 22
    • The Rules of Magic - 23
    • The Rules of Magic - 24
    • The Rules of Magic - 25
    • The Rules of Magic - 26
    • The Rules of Magic - 27
    • The Rules of Magic - 28
    • The Rules of Magic - 29
  • Fairy Kingdom Survival Tips
  • Further Fairy Kingdom Survival Tips
    • Further Fairy Kingdom Survival Tips - 2
    • Further Fairy Kingdom Survival Tips - 3
    • Further Fairy Kingdom Survival Tips - 4
    • Further Fairy Kingdom Survival Tips - 5
    • Further Fairy Kingdom Survival Tips - 6
    • Further Fairy Kingdom Survival Tips - 7
    • Further Fairy Kingdom Survival Tips - 8
    • Further Fairy Kingdom Survival Tips - 9
    • Further Fairy Kingdom Survival Tips - 10
    • Further Fairy Kingdom Survival Tips - 11
  • Kingdom History
    • Kingdom History - 1
    • Kingdom History - 2
    • Kingdom History - 3
    • Kingdom History - 4
    • Kingdom History - 5
    • Kingdom History - 6
    • Kingdom History - 7
    • Kingdom History - 8
    • Kingdom History - 9
    • Kingdom History - 10
  • The Kingdom's Guide to Approaching Other Species
    • The Kingdom's Guide to Approaching Other Species Part 2
  • What the Kingdom Would Like To See
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 2
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 3
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 4
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 5
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 6
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 7
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 8
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 9
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 10
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 11
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 12
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 13
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 14
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 15
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 16
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 17
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 18
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 19
    • What the Kingdom Would Like To See 20
  • Appropriate Songs for My Characters
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 2
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 3
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 4
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 5
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 6
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 7
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 8
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 9
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 10
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 11
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 12
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 13
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 14
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 15
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 16
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 17
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 18
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 19
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 20
    • Appropriate Songs for My Characters - 21
  • Contact Form

MEMORIES

1/12/2015

0 Comments

 
Memories are a phenomenally important part of someone's life.  And the tragedy of things like Alzheimer's Disease is those memories are taken away - piecemeal usually.  In writing, memories obviously are the vital ingredient to memoirs but they have their place in fiction as well.

For your characters to seem real, they've got to have a rounded life and memories must be part of that.  Getting your characters to recall things differently (perspective varies) adds depth to fiction and can, of course, add conflict if one insists something happened and another denies that. 

Characters who are journalists (to name one example) will shape their stories so how can you show that?  How can you show them struggling to not let their bias creep in or are your characters determined to ensure the world sees things the way they do?  What happens when someone's memories are trashed?  Can memories be stolen (and not just by disease, could someone do it deliberately to destroy someone else?).


0 Comments

visualising your world

30/11/2015

0 Comments

 
I find it easier to visualise the countryside around the Fairy Queen's Palace.  I can visualize the villages but the towns are harder  though I did picture a grid like arrangement around which the homes and other buildings are set.  This proved to be a useful starting point.

I've found visualising my setting an invaluable aid to visualising minor characters, where the main characters come from (and how they are thought of back there) and so on.  If your created world does not seem real to you, then it won't to anyone else.

I've also found being able to visualise a starting point (a place, a character etc) leads on to visualising more of the Fairy Kingdom and its inhabitants.  It's kind of like building blocks - you need one to start with before you can make a tower.  And to get me started visualising anything at all, photos (my own and others I see) are wonderful sources of inspiration.


Picture
Part of the Queen's Palace grounds (aka in life as one of the paths around Chiswick House, London!).
0 Comments

STORY ANALYSIS

28/11/2015

0 Comments

 
I think there can be such a thing as too much analysis of a story but when it is carried out sensibly, analysis can add immense enjoyment to a tale.  I'm currently studying some of Hans Christen Andersen's wonderful fairytales on the Future Learning online course and so many layers and themes are coming out of the different stories I am seeing things from very familiar tales I had not considered before.

I am also becoming increasingly aware of just how good a writer Hans Christen Andersen was in that many of the themes have a great deal of depth behind them (nor has he laid it on thickly to ram the points home, he's far more subtle than that and it works far better.  Am picking up a lot of how-to-write tips here as well.  Well they say learn from the best!).

All of this is making me wonder whether I can apply some analytical techniques to my work and I think they could be useful when looking at the "final, best as I can make it at this time" edit just prior to sending stories out there.  So I hope to give this a try.  I think what may happen is I may pick up on things I need to flesh out a little bit more before submission and things like that.  Hope to report back on how I get on and if I notice any differences in my editing abilities.  I think they should be improved.  And if there is anything I have learned as a writer, there is always room for improving your skills.


0 Comments

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT WRITING

27/11/2015

0 Comments

 
  1. It is escapism from this world, pure and simple.
  2. It is entertaining to you (or should be!) and, if you can get your work out there, to others as well.
  3. Coming up with a good story is sheer joy as is giving the villains what for as your heros/heroines get into their stride.  (I don't personally enjoy anti-hero stories though I can see the point).
  4. It can always be improved!
  5. If one market won't take your story, there are others to try.
  6. It is easier to get feedback now which can help enormously with 4 above.
  7. Self publishing is a viable option now (and there's less snobbery about it).  It can be a valuable way of testing the market and I'm probably going to put my short story collection out this way.
  8. To write well, you have to read well.  No writer writes without having an innate love of books and stories so in many ways you get two joys for the price of one - reading and writing.
  9. Other writers are generally friendly and encouraging and writing conferences are huge fun and help you learn a lot.  You can literally feel, rightly, you are making progress.
  10. Coming up with work that is uniquely yours is a real pleasure and if you're lucky enough to get good feedback on it, that pleasure is doubled, tripled etc.  I've been very grateful when people have liked my work.  I wish I could bottle the feeling I get when that happens and uncork it again for days when I'm feeling low.
0 Comments

WHEN A STORY IS RIGHT...

27/11/2015

0 Comments

 
While there is no such thing as perfection in writing, there are signs a story is as right as you can make it (at the time of writing anyway).

  1. You really can't imagine another word being added to or taken out of your story.
  2. The characters have come to life.
  3. The plot races along and there are no "boring bits".
  4. The conclusion is not necessarily happy but appropriate to your story and anything else would be odd.
  5. Hopefully it's accepted for publication somewhere because an editor loves it.
  6. You are still proud of the story weeks, months, years later...
  7. It's a story you specifically mention on your writing CV because you're proud of it.
  8. Feedback is generally positive.
  9. The story works well read quietly or out loud.
  10. If a character really takes off in this story, you may well be able to write follow-ups.
0 Comments

APPRECIATING OTHER WRITERS

26/11/2015

0 Comments

 
I think one great and fun way to improve your own writing is to read widely and appreciate the works of other writers.  I've a greater appreciation now of the work that goes in to producing a short story or a novel because I've written my own.  I've also found a greater love of words/the English language because I enjoy playing with both as I write my stories.  And when I come across great examples from other writers, as I do a lot, there is real pleasure in that.

I'm coming to the end of the Future Learning Hans Christen Andersen course and have been amazed at how much depth there is to his stories and most of the ones selected for study I already knew well.  So it proves there is always something to learn.  (A good thing I think!).  I hope it will lead to improvements in my work as I apply some of the analytical techniques I've learned to apply to HCA's stories.  I don't have a problem switching off my inner editor when drafting the story, I do see the process of creating a story as separate in itself (the editing can and does come later), but the analytical skills will be useful when it comes to editing.

And I hope others on the course develop an even greater love for fairytales.  There are some pretty powerful messages behind many of them.


0 Comments

THE IMPORTANCE OF PLACE

26/11/2015

0 Comments

 
Place is vital to a good story.  It isn't just the actual setting but also the place (metaphorical and literal) of your characters within it.  It's also the sense your setting could be real, which is backed up by the details you slip into your story. 

I've found that it is small details that help make fictional worlds come to life in my imagination.  (For example knowing there have been wars the current regime is recovering from yet the wars themselves are not the actual story).

Characters have to have their own sense of place but the great thing is this can be misplaced, which  can lead to tragedies or great comedies.  The struggle to improve place/position in society can add depth to a story.  Pride and Prejudice isn't directly about Mrs Bennett's wish to marry her daughters off to well connected, rich men but it is the love story of Elizabeth and Mr Darcy.  Yet without Mrs Bennett and her ambitions so much of the comedy of the novel would be lost.

I've used my knowledge of places (and what I've researched) to help flesh out my Fairy Kingdom, making it easier for me to visualise and therefore write about.  Hopefully it will, in time, make it easier to readers to visualise it too.


0 Comments

"WRONG" PLOT POINTS AND HOW THEY WERE USED

25/11/2015

0 Comments

 
Just to show that rules can be broken sometimes, this post looks at things not meant to be used in writing (always for good reasons) and where authors ignored this.

  1. No using a dream to resolve the story.  However, see Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland and see how he totally ignores that!
  2. No using coincidence to move a story along.  See Hans Christen Andersen's The Snow Queen to show that a skilled writer can and does use coincidence well as a major part of their plot.
  3. No unnecessary repetition.  Again see The Snow Queen as Gerda has to repeat her story to those she comes across on her journey.  This could become boring but it doesn't with HCA.  He varies the way she talks about her quest.
  4. No long sentences.  They slow the plot down.  See the entire works of P.G. Wodehouse for wonderful, witty and very long sentences.  They don't slow the plot down but do add to the joy of the humour but it needs a very talented writer to get away with this one, otherwise it does come across as being long-winded.
0 Comments

THE DEPTH OF FAIRYTALES

24/11/2015

0 Comments

 
The depth of fairytales can be immense and is a good counter-argument to anyone who thinks such stories are twee and just for little kids.

I'm currently looking at The Story of a Mother as part of the Future Learning Hans Christen Andersen course and its depth is amazing.  It tackles the theme of grief and suffering, not a common subject for a fairytale.  Nor is it an easy theme to write about without becoming overly sentimental or harshly cold. 

I recommend HCA's story as I think he gets the balance right and the mother is a well rounded, sympathetic character.  It's definitely not a story you'd read at bedtimes to younger children.  There has to be a certain level of maturity to pick up on the themes of this story.  I'd not come across this story before the course but am glad I have.  HCA wrote with depth, understanding and sympathy and I'm appreciating his skills as a writer more.  His ability to write stories which reach out to children and adults is amazing.
0 Comments

GOOD CHARACTERS

21/11/2015

0 Comments

 
I mean good as in terms of well thought out.  What follows equally applies to villains!  So what makes up a good character?  What traits should they have?

  1. They must be believable so there must be flaws in amongst the virtues.  Flaws and virtues should be things anyone can identify with. 
  2. They must have depth.  Shallow characters aren't going to "carry" a story.  The latter could appear as "bit" players though. 
  3. Their motivations must make sense and be strong enough.  A general dislike of villainy is not enough to make a character want to take on the local Dark Lord.  There must be something personal at stake.
  4. Readers should be able to like/dislike the character well enough to root for them/rejoice when they are killed or face whatever nasty fate you've invented for them.  I've never liked Miss Price, the heroine of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, because as a character she is far too passive.  Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice is another matter altogether.
  5. They live on in the memory long after the story has ended.
0 Comments

THE JOY OF HYPOCRISY

21/11/2015

0 Comments

 
Odd title for a post perhaps but one thing I've always loved about writing "for" my rebellious fairy godmother, Eileen, is that she has no trouble with hypocrisy.  As a character she is well aware that attitude in itself is hypocritical.  Does she care?  No! 

But it does mean I can write for her in a way I couldn't with characters who are more obviously upright and honourable (and as ever less fun.  The villains do get the best roles, followed by the ambiguous characters like Eileen where you're never quite sure what they're going to do next).

Rules, for Eileen, go out of the proverbial window as and when it suits her.  There's a lot of fun to be had writing situations, relevant to the overall plot, which reflects this.  And there is always the fun of a hypocrite either being outplayed by someone better at hypocrisy than they are or by being brought down by that attitude. 

So let's hear it for the fictional hypocrites.  Almost certainly you wouldn't want to come across them in real life but on the pages of a book, in a story... let them entertain us!


0 Comments

RE-LIVING THE PAST

18/11/2015

0 Comments

 
Sometimes in life you get the chance to re-live your past, to evoke memories and to look at where you have come from.  I've recently lost my mother to mixed dementia and today members of my family and I literally went back to where she came from and explored sites that were familiar.  It was very therapeutic. 

I think you can do something similar with characters.  The important thing is they have to go back for a good reason (it must form a vital part of the plot, else it is just padding).  They should gain something from the return to their past - healing, an answer to a problem etc.  The other important point is the visit to the past should be long enough to be useful but not drag on too long.  We found a day visit was enough for what we wanted to achieve. 

In fiction, I think you would want to limit how much time/words/pages was spent on this.  In The Lord of the Rings we are drip-fed the story of how that wretched ring came into being.  The past had to be explored as the story of how and why Sauron forged the thing came out.  Yet this does not stop the flow of the story, it adds to it.  It adds to the drama.  The story would make less sense without it.  And that is how you know the fictional revisiting of the past has hit the right note.
0 Comments

VISITING FICTIONAL WORLDS

17/11/2015

0 Comments

 
If it was possible to visit fictional worlds, which would you choose?

I would want a proper guided tour, with personal safety guaranteed.  Most fictional worlds are not your nice oh-so-safe twee universes, they're flaming dangerous.  And in the case of Narnia the risk of hypothermia is extremely high!  (It also pays not to annoy any talking lions you happen to come across.  The Narnia stories do indicate this is unlikely to go down well).

So where would you visit?  I've always liked the sound of Middle Earth.  I love The Lord of the Rings and thought the Peter Jackson films magnificent.  I loved the hobbit homes.  Mind, being under 5' tall, I feel I have a natural affinity here though I can confirm I don't have hairy feet!

I wouldn't want to go to Mordor (twinned with whatever ugly modern town you can think of!). 

I quite like the idea of visiting Gallifrey (no prizes for guessing who my guided tour would be led by there!).   I would visit Narnia, suitably well wrapped up (though until the thaw did come I'd want to be able to have a constant supply of hot chocolate on the go).

So where  would you visit?
0 Comments

WHAT ANY AUTHOR DOES WANT TO HEAR...

15/11/2015

0 Comments

 
  1. I love your books because...   Person concerned gives plot or depth of character reasons.  It isn't for anything trivial (such as the book cover is my favourite colour etc).  Also person concerned can point out passages in the book/story they especially liked.  This will always go down well as it proves they did read it!
  2. Expressing some appreciation for the hard work that goes into writing, perhaps by asking something like how many drafts the author did.  This shows awareness that a good story is made that way by (a) getting it down on paper at all and then (b) editing it and editing it and editing it etc etc until every word is vital for the story, the tale flows and there's no padding.  It shows awareness of the time taken to produce work.
  3. Asking after inspirations for our writing.  This shows awareness every writer is building on what has gone before and gives the author a chance not just to name names here but to explain why.  This can open up good conversations and encourage the enquirer to read further.  What every writer wants are readers who read widely.  Such readers are more likely to see where the author comes from in their writing.
  4. Yes - by a publisher! 
  5. Your books are selling really well.... by agent/ publisher.
0 Comments

WHAT NO FANTASY AUTHOR WANTS TO HEAR

14/11/2015

0 Comments

 
If you want to induce despair in your fantasy author of choice, you could do worse than ask at least some of the following questions:-

  1. Are there dragons in your book?  If not, why not?  If yes, don't you think dragons are cliched?  (It does all form part of the same question).
  2. Don't you think fairytales are twee and for little kids? (Definitely not and have you read  Hans Christen Andersen, the Brothers Grimm etc?).
  3. Writing fantasy is all very well but the real genre in which to make money is crime, surely? (I love reading crime, I just can't write it).
  4. Why do you think no fantasy author has won the Booker?  (Because some misguided people don't take fantasy seriously).
  5. You just put magic in it, there's no real plot.  (I could put in a load of asterisks here to give some indication of the likely response to this but you could just add in your own swear words of choice here).
0 Comments

BUILDING ON WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE

12/11/2015

0 Comments

 
All writers build on what has gone before, inspired by what has been read and loved.  Sometimes I've come across stories I think are badly written and in a way they inspire me - to do better!

The "rules" of writing have been set down a very long time ago and I don't think it possible to re-invent the wheel.  It is possible though to make the wheel continue to turn smoothly and well by making your stories as good as you can make them.

Reading feeds writing so the more widely read you are the better.   (You have more sources of inspiration for one thing).  And all writers of adult fiction owe a huge debt to our colleagues in children's literature because people don't just walk in to a bookshop and get the latest novel. They go in because they already have a love of books fuelled by the stories they loved as children.




0 Comments

FICTIONAL CHARACTERS I DEFINITELY DON'T WANT COMING INTO OUR WORLD

11/11/2015

0 Comments

 
Following on from yesterday's post, here are a few of the fictional characters I definitely don't want coming into our world, should such a thing ever become possible.  Most are self explanatory.  I think the list is a good mixture!  Well it's not often you get Dracula and Mrs Bennett from Pride and Prejudice in the same list is it?

  1. Dracula
  2. Cruella de Vil (there are enough people cruel to animals as it is).
  3. Mrs Bennett (I'd find her so irritating).
  4. Fagin
  5. Sweeney Todd
  6. Sherlock Holmes (face it, he is a know it all.  We have enough of those).
  7. Gollum
  8. Sauron
  9. Voldemort
  10. Bellatrix Le Strange (was I the only one who wanted to cheer when Molly Weasley dealt with this creature once and for all?).
0 Comments

IF FICTIONAL CHARACTERS COULD COME TO LIFE...

10/11/2015

0 Comments

 
I came across an interesting photo on Facebook a while ago which showed a blue pill (no, not that one!) and a red pill.  The blue pill could allow fictional characters to come into our world.  The red pill could allow you to go into fictional worlds.  The question asked was which one would you choose.  My reply was I'd try one on one day and the next day try the other!

If fictional characters could come to life I think it would be a recipe for chaos.  Would they be subject to our laws?  Would their magical qualities work here?  Would they adapt to life on Earth or expect us to change our ways so our world resembled the worlds they come from?

Would they protest at the way they're portrayed in stories?  I think that would particularly apply for the traditional bad guys, especially in fairy tales.  Indeed in The Trouble With Mother my Chief Witch makes the point that fairy godmothers can often be as bad as witches but guess who gets the better press and who writes the fairy stories!  Valid point I think.

As for going to other worlds, it would definitely pay to read up before you go.  (For example, it pays to know that a thick coat is a very good idea if you're planning to visit Narnia.  Also don't ever upset talking lions that you come across - it never works out well).  I think I prefer my characters and fictional worlds to stay in books.  After all the pleasure of reading is to escape this world for a bit.  If their worlds come here, there's no escape!
0 Comments

HIDDEN DEPTHS

8/11/2015

0 Comments

 
One thing I love about fairytales is they are a good vehicle for getting messages across without being preachy about it.  Oscar Wilde's wonderful The Happy Prince shows that material things are not enough to guarantee happiness, indeed they cannot do so, and that's as relevant a message now as it was in the 1980s.

So when it comes to writing fairytales how can I ensure those have hidden depths?  By ensuring my characters have flaws the reader can identify with.  By having subplots which are relevant to the overall plot, which complicate things for my heroine, which still need to be dealt with and in the meantime the main problem still needs to be sorted out.  Rocket up the tension!

One thing I love as a reader is discovering the hidden depths in a story and trying to guess how it will effect overall plot.  A great story will have layers to it and can yield up something new on repeated readings.  Now there's a challenge to me as a writer!
0 Comments

FAIRY TALES AND FOLK TALES

7/11/2015

0 Comments

 
I'm currently studying a Future Learning online course based on the works of Hans Christen Andersen.  Some of the stories chosen for the course are very well known (The Little Mermaid) and others less so (The Story of a Mother).

I'm finding the analysis of the stories fascinating but one of the biggest things to come out of the course so far, at least for me, has been discovering the inspiration of very old folk tales on HCA.  HCA appears to have wanted to keep these folk tales alive so did so by writing some of his fairy tales based on these original stories.  He, of course, also wrote his own, very original stories and, along with the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault, has left a wonderful legacy of fairy tales, most of which are still very well loved now.

I guess it proves the point that all writers build on what has gone before.
0 Comments

MESSAGES BEHIND FAIRYTALES

7/11/2015

0 Comments

 
Fairytales have messages.  Some are blatant, others are more subtle (with those you may not realise you have picked up a message until after you have read whole story) but some messages include:-
  1. Snow White.  Beware of strangers bearing gifts!  Don't underestimate dwarves either.
  2. Cinderella. Welcome stranger (fairy godmother) bearing gifts!  Also if she wants a pumpkin, best you go fetch her a pumpkin and don't argue.  Patience is a virtue.
  3. The Little Match Girl.  Poverty is vile.  So is death.
  4. The Ugly Ducking.  Don't judge by appearances.  Also beauty can often appear later.  Be true to yourself.
  5. Sleeping Beauty.  Double check your guest list and ensure you have included everybody.  When banning spinning wheels, double check you really have got rid of the lot.
0 Comments

THE JOYS OF FAIRYTALES

5/11/2015

0 Comments

 
  1. Fairytales are usually amongst the first stories people know and they linger in the memory partly for that reason I think.
  2. Fairytales can be happy or sad.
  3. Fairytales can be a great vehicle for humour and irony.
  4. Fairytales don't have to be to a set length.  I've just read Hans Christen Andersen's The Travelling Companion for the first time.  It's a long story but a good one.  Highly recommend.
  5. Fairytales can be short stories, flash fiction or novels.
  6. Fairytales can inspire other genres, fantasy being the most obvious one.
  7. Fairytales can get messages across without preaching.
  8. Fairytales can be in "layers", something Hans Christen Andersen was brilliant at, given his stories can be appreciated by children and adults.  The latter of course can read more into the stories.
  9. Fairytales can and do bite.  There's a sharpness to tales like The Little Match Girl.
  10. Fairytales generally lend themselves well to being adapted to other formats.
0 Comments

FOLLOWING THE FAIRYTALE TRADITION

5/11/2015

0 Comments

 
All fiction writers, regardless of genre, follow what has gone before and build on it and add their unique contribution to the general mix.  Hans Christen Andersen did this by retelling the old folk tales he loved.  Writers have been known to rebel against the expectation of a genre.  Others fulfil it.  Still others spoof it.

I like genre fiction.  I don't like the snobbery that can often be aimed against it.  Writer and reader know what to expect of each genre.  Certain archetypes (character types found to name one example) save a lot of writing and explanation because writer and reader know what to expect.  These archetypes can be twisted but there is still the underlying structure which makes the twist work.  The twist can't come completely out of the blue.  Breaking rules only works when you know what the rules are in the first place.

I have no problems with standard characters like fairy godmothers, witches and so on.  What I like to do is make my fairy godmothers and witches unique.  I like to put them in situations not found in other fairytales or get them to face dilemmas that when the original fairytales were first written could not have occurred.  Fairytales are great vehicles for irony and wit and subtle references to what we know in our "real" world.
0 Comments

WHAT MAKES A GOOD STORY?

4/11/2015

0 Comments

 
  1. A good story should keep you gripped to the page, the screen or the radio (depending on format of course) so you don't want to miss a thing.  For me, Doctor Who is brilliant here.
  2. You remember a good story long after you have read it, watched it or listened to it.
  3. For writers, it can sometimes make you despair that you will never match that brilliance.
  4. Being more positive, and this is by far the better attitude to take, a good story inspires you to improve your own writing.  And you do.  Studying what makes a good story good can help a lot here.
  5. There are no boring bits.  Everything is relevant and moves the story on to its conclusion.
  6. You come to the end of the story and feel it ended well.  Part of you wishes the story continues as you were enjoying it but you know deep down the story has reached its natural end.
  7. You root for the characters/boo for the villains but both of those show the story luring you into its world and keeping you there for the duration!
  8. You are happy to recommend the story to others.
  9. The story can be adapted for different formats and it works just as well in those formats.  To name just one example, The Lord of the Rings is a fantastic book (in every sense) and the films were wonderful, also introducing people to the story who might have been put off reading the book because it is so long.
  10. A good story will have some message but it won't preach it at you.  You'll pick it up naturally.
0 Comments

FAIRY TALE RULES

2/11/2015

0 Comments

 
Fairy tale rules are made to be broken.  See the works of Hans Christen Andersen in particular for this (The Tinderbox - is the hero a traditional hero?  Definitely not!).

Yes, fairy tale characters can be generic.  Witches are always evil.  Heroes are always heroic.  There is always a happy ending.  Hang on.  The Little Mermaid (the original HCA version, definitely not Disney's take on it) definitely is not happy yet it is a classic fairy tale.

So rules can be broken but it is true you have to know the rules well to be able to do so effectively.

Humour and irony are used to great effect in fairy tales (another reason I love them) and the best ones also get points across without being preachy.  Yet there are sad stories too (The Little Match Girl.  It's no coincidence I'm referring to HCA stories.  This is partly because I'm studying a course on some of his works at the moment but also because generally his are the tales I remember best from my childhood and the ones I read most often).
0 Comments

    Author

    I'm Allison Symes and I write novels, short stories as well as some scripts and poems.  I love setting my work in my magical world, the Fairy Kingdom, and my favourite character is Eileen, who believes hypocrisy is something that happens to other people without caring that statement is hypocritical in itself!  Eileen is huge fun to write for and about. 

    Archives

    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012

    Categories

    All
    General Background

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.