Vanilla 1.1.8 is a product of Lussumo. More Information: Documentation, Community Support.
Okay, so I’m writing a thingo originally based on the Grimm fairytale The Goose Girl and in my effort to not redo Shannon Hale, it’s starting to deviate quite a bit from the original tale. In that Falada is probably going to be cut out, and the blood-stained handkerchief will be thrown away after the princess is overpowered by her maid (because it didn’t work). Also, the princess is probably going to end up with Conrad, and the maid and the prince will fall in love. (Don’t ask me how I’m going to make the happy ending yet. I’m still working on it.)
So this is some specific and general advice requested here: would I be killed or brutalised for deviating the way I have, so far? And how far can you deviate from a fairytale before you can call it your own?
I don’t think you’d be killed or brutalized. As far as your second question…
Immature poets imitate; great poets steal
It applies to more than poets. “Steal” the story and make it your own.
Hm. After more research, it appears that T.S. Elliot quote is often mangled. The full quote is:
“One of the surest tests [of the superiority or inferiority of a poet] is the way in which a poet borrows. Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different than that from which it is torn; the bad poet throws it into something which has no cohesion. A good poet will usually borrow from authors remote in time, or alien in language, or diverse in interest.”
Thankyou, Slushie. But ‘bad poets borrow, good poets steal’ OW2TE always sounds better.
Thankyou, Amelie!
But I would change the names of the characters and really make them your own.
Conrad is the only named character in the original fairytale. All the others were made up by Shannon Hale. And no, it’s not really a retelling.
EDIT: The other NAMES, I mean.
If you want a good example of a rewritten fairy tale, read Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley. The ending gets very, very weird and I still have no clue what happened, but it’s a great example of how you can take an original fairy tale and work from there. Technically it’s a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty and it has all the elements of the original (fairies at the christening of a baby princess, evil one wasn’t invited and curses the baby so she’ll die by pricking her finger on a spindle, one fairy is able to change the curse so the baby won’t die, the baby lives with fairies [although this might have been borrowed from the Disney version?], all the spindles in the kingdom are destroyed, baby grows up, baby STILL pricks finger on spindle, everyone in the castle falls asleep, thorns around the castle, etc. etc.), but it’s very different from the old story.
Heh. I remember that. I read it for class.
I know I read it, but I can’t remember what it’s about… oh wait, yes I do. It’s the Beauty and the Beast one. I liked that one too, except the end felt rushed to me.
Anyway. Just to make it clear, I’m not worried about deviating. That’s fine with me. The main problem I now have with it is that I’m not sure if starting off like this is going to seem like I’m cheating. Or like fanfiction. You know, using a cookie-cutter starting point.
I don’t want it to seem like that :(
There’s nothing wrong with that for the first draft. Just write it. Then revise it. The better ideas always come out during the process of revision.
Rule of thumb: The final draft looks nothing like the first draft.
Hm. I hope so. But the basic premise will stay the same, right?
Oh… well… um. Maybe not. True. Very true.
Did he write in English? The name makes me think ‘no’.
Anyway, news on the ‘Goose Girl’ front. The original premise will change quite a bit. CB and DA were right. And the REALLY good news? I have 2 choruses already written!!! And the best bit is, it’s an alto part! I always wanted to write a good alto part, cause most of the heroines are sopranos, or at least mezzos, right?
Oh. Looking back, I just wrote that I was working on a ‘thingo’. Let me rephrase. I am working on a musical.
It’s so exciting!!!
EDIT: Wow, that looks like I’m bragging. Whoops.
Lol that sounds cool.
@ steph: you’re an alto? awesome. I’m a soprano, but probably a mezzo. i love harmonizing though, but sopranos are mainly melody. i like melody too, but harmony is fun.
Yah. I recently grew into a higher range that I can sometimes hit, though, (when my vocal cords are warm enough) so I’m like a cross between an artificial mezzo and a natural alto. I LOVE harmonising. Especially up high instead of down low. Like when I’m just singing along and stuff. It feels like I’ve just gotten the key to a whole new level that I shouldn’t really be on.
Still can’t sing ‘Phantom of the Opera’... :(
Go altos! I’m an alto, but my voice teacher refuses to believe me… And yes, harmonizing is wickedly awesome. :D
It sounds SOOOOOOOOOO cool! Why does your voice teacher refuse to believe you?
(Mine doesn’t realise I can go lower the A below middle C), since he won’t try me on anything lower. And I don’t really have the courage to disillusion him…)
She’s under the impression that everyone she teaches is a soprano. rolls eyes I can go down to the E flat below middle C, but I’ve never actually been able to sing a song that low, as my voice teacher wants me to ‘expand my range.’ Yeah, well what about DOWN LOW?!?!?
Lol. You’re beating me by a semitone :(
And down low is downright handy! (should we move this to a different thread, do you think?)
Perhaps… Here, I’ll create one.
Awesomeness.
1 to 29 of 29