Creative Writing Week 3: Fractured Fairy Tales

1.    View/read the following fractured fairy tales.  A fractured fairy tale uses familiar fairy tale stories, but subverts some elements, such as characters, setting, points of view, and/or plot points.  They are usually humorous and satirize the genre or modern life in some way.

a.    The Ugly Duckling

b.    The Frog Prince Revisited

c.    TheTrue Story of the Three Little Pigs

2.    Write a brief explanation about how each of the fractured fairy tales that you viewed/read subverts the original and what humorous commentary the tale seems to make.

3.    Write a rough draft of your own fractured fairy tale, using a different fairy tale than the above mentioned.  It should have:

a.    A clear conflict

b.    A developed protagonist and at least one other character

c.    A setting: time and place

d.    An exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and a resolution

e.    Obvious references to the original fairy tale

f.     Obvious differences from the original tale.  You may consider telling the story from the point of view of the “villain” or writing a sequel or prequel to the story or making the story updated (the female saves the man, for example)

*Fairy tales to consider:  “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Cinderella,” “Hansel & Gretel,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Rumpelstiltskin,” “Goldilocks & the Three Bears,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Snow White.”  You may use other fairy tales, of course, but this list should give you some ideas…

**Lizzie:

1.    Complete this worksheet about the elements of fiction. You will need to use the ReadWriteThink link to find your answers. Please note, the elements are in a different order on the website than they are on the worksheet.

2.    Focus in on some of the oldest forms of fiction: myths, legends, fables, folktales, and fairy tales.

a)    In a few sentences, write down what you think the similarities and differences between these terms are.

b)    Visit the following websites and create a good definition for each of the terms (myths, legends, fables, folktales, and fairy tales): http://www.ability.org.uk/mytholog.html, http://classiclit.about.com/cs/10th14thcentury/a/aa_definemyth.htm.

3.    Read the stories: "The Tortoise and the Hare" and "The Lion and the Mouse." For each of the stories, find and record: the characters, the setting, and the theme. Then, explain which genre these stories are and why you think so.

4.    Write your own fable.  Remember, a fable should be short, have animal characters and provide a lesson to the readers, often stated at the end of the story as “the moral of the story.”