The theme of the right ingredients ties up with my Chandler's Ford Today post this week about Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, my review of the Chameleon Theatre Group's recent panto production. Why? Because I talk about what ingredients are needed for a successful pantomime and I'm glad to say this show had them all and in great quantities!
What are the right ingredients for a fairytale?
What are the right ingredients for a writer?
What are the right ingredients for a fairytale?
- There must be a magical element.
- There must be a wrong to put right. (See Cinderella/Snow White etc for the way they're treated initially and how their stories end).
- There must be plenty of drama. (You know from the outset that Cinderella is never going to keep to the midnight deadline set by her fairy godmother. The drama here is in finding out what will happen when the girl is inevitably late!).
- The ending must be appropriate for the story. That doesn't necessarily mean a happy one - see The Little Mermaid as Hans Christen Andersen wrote it! Also while Snow White had a happy ending, her stepmother rightly didn't! (Perspective is important too).
What are the right ingredients for a writer?
- A willingness to put in the work - to write, rewrite, rewrite again etc until the story is right.
- Accepting the fact rejections happen and trying to learn from them and then move on.
- Always seeking to improve what you do.
- Reading widely and across genres to feed your own imagination. It does need feeding. Often and lots!
RSS Feed
