New Years Week Challenge!
Let us start 2024 off right - with a new writing challenge. This writing challenge will be a retelling of a fairy tale or fable. You can go light, sweet, or something deeper and darker. This will be a week long challenge that will end Sunday night at midnight PST.
There will be a few rules.
First and foremost, this doesn't need to be a blow-for-blow rewrite of the tales we all know and love. Instead, you need to have elements of the tale included in your story such as The Beanstalk (or its equivalent) from Jack and the Beanstalk or the poisoned apple from Cinderella. You need at least one main element, but you can list other elements you included and gain additional prizes by including as many as you can.
Secondly, it cannot include things that are present in the story but don't fit in Mizahar's world. For example, if you use Cinderella, you can't have a fairy godmother per say, but you can have a benevolent helpful person who steps in to give you an assist to overcome some obstacle present in the tale (ie...having the resources and wherewithal to attend the Prince's Ball).
This retelling needs to be at least 5k words, but more will be encouraged and lead to bigger and better awards. I will post a list of awards around Weds to motivate everyone to join and win at writing during the challenge.
In talking about this via Discord, I used the example of Jane Yolan's book Briar Rose. Its the darker version of Sleeping Beauty, the one that has German origins and isn't the cute cleaned-up Disney version. There was no magic in this book's story. There was only the almost supernatural ability to make a reader invest in the story and sob like a baby during parts of it.
Here's what Amazon says about Briar Rose.
In the heat of midsummer 1942, deep in a forest in the heart of Poland, Briar Rose arrives at a castle that has fallen into the hands of an evil army. Corrupted by dark deeds and choked by a poisonous mist, the castle will soon come to be known as Chelmno extermination camp. And in that place of death, Briar Rose is plunged into a deep sleep....
Ever since she was a child, Rebecca has been enchanted by her grandmother Gemma's stories of Briar Rose. Becca would have sworn the stories were made up, but on her deathbed Gemma extracts from Becca a promise to fulfill three impossible requests: find the castle, find the prince, and find the spell-maker. Her vow sends Becca on a remarkable journey to uncover the truth of Gemma's astonishing claim: "I am Briar Rose."
Yolen's graceful retelling of the German folktale of “Briar Rose”―known to some as “Sleeping Beauty”―sets the story amid forests patrolled by the German army during World War II. Yolen confronts the deeply tragic events of the Holocaust with lyrical prose and rich characterizations that tell a tale of good and evil, hope and despair.
This could really lead to great storytelling. I'm already trying to decide what I want to write about and which tale I want to retell in my own character's voice within the confines of Mizahar's rich and diverse world.
To participate, simply register below by leaving your character's name, the fairytale you want to retell and reimagine, and links to the threads you post. Anyone can use any fable or fairytale. More than one person can use the same fairytale. Be creative. We might have a vote for the best retelling after this contest is over as well. You have all week to finish this. There won't be an extension. Here's your chance to add real plot into your PC's life and have them go through extraordinary things leveling them up from mundane to very enriched as a PC.
I hope you all enjoy this. Look for a first glance at prizes on Weds or sooner.
Goss
