Write Fairy Tales
A fairy tale is a story of fantasy, with simple characters. Most typically, fairy tales involve nobility, peasants and those who stand right outside the two extremes. Usually there is at least one villain. Other elements added to fairy tales include magical skills, prophesies, good and wicked deeds, journeys, self-discovery, revolution and a moral at the end of the tale. There isn't one "right" way to produce a fairy tale though––indeed, the more original your story, the better it will be for the evolutionary progress of this standard genre.
Contents
Steps
Developing the tale
- Decide on the characters you'd like to include the tale. Will there be a trapped princess? A lost lamb? Four pigs? Be inspired by other fairy tales, such as "The Three Little Pigs" or "Snow White". There are a lot of stories written by the Brothers Grimm or you can check out the massive collection of fairy tales in the Andrew Lang colored fairy tale books.
- Create a setting. A broken down castle? A farm in the middle of nowhere? Write a couple of sentences describing your setting. Describe it in good detail, so as to make it seem real.
- Write your plot line. A good way to do this is by drawing a rainbow shape across the page. Then, start at the bottom right and work your way up. The arch of the rainbow should be the climax, where the story is at its worst. It should get better from there (if it's a story with a happy ending.)
Writing the fairy tale
- Come up with an introduction. There are the standard classics, such as: "Once upon a time..." "In a land far, far away..." "Long ago when...", and the like. However, if you're creative enough, you can come up with a much more imaginative introduction on your own. How about "Legend says.." or "Deep in the heart of the woods.."
- Begin your first draft. Start with your chosen introduction and begin with the main character doing an action. Is she running through the forest, sitting at home reading, or doing something else? Remember that fairy tales are almost always fairly short, so unless you want to write a novel in the fairy tale genre, keep the story succinct and tightly written.
- Edit. When you are done with your draft, edit it. Spell check, look for structural issues, and more. That draft will be your second draft.
- Write as many drafts as you feel like. The fairy tale could take two drafts, three, four, five, or 100! Just try to make sure all the spelling is correct.
Turning your tale into a readable format
- Create a cover. You can go without a cover, have someone else make it, or draw it yourself. It should be a reflection of the story and be interesting.
- Finished! When you have finished, read it to an audience. Read it to kids, your family and the neighbors. If they like it, you might even try to publish it.
Writing fairy tales for adults
- Use additional elements that are not appropriate in a children's fairy tale. For example, an adult's fairy tale can delve much deeper into the turmoil of emotions experienced by human beings. And adult fairy tale can include sexual intimacy, exploration in depth of challenging emotions, and even violence and depravity; however, do not use these additions to get out of writing well. The fairy tale must still hold together well, make good sense and be treated sensitively and maturely.
- Flesh out the characters with greater depth than for a child's fairy tale. Adults will be keen to understand the motivations that underlie a character's supposed goodness or evil nature. What has caused the character to see him- or herself as a good person? What flaws does that character have in spite of trying to be as good as possible?
- Never make a character without flaws––this is unrealistic and readers find such characters a royal pain and can't wait for them to be killed off quickly. On the other hand, never make the evil character plain evil––occasionally write moments which show what drove the character to see the world as a hateful place and to only wish to commit bad deeds.
- Explore the interface between good and bad and how this too is messy and unclear, and how what seems good can sometimes turn evil and vice versa. Often, the sense of what is good and what is bad is in the eye of the beholder or the pen of the storyteller, so have some responsible fun exploring this.
- Set the tale whenever you prefer but give consideration to modernizing the tale. While the past seems to be a traditional time for many fairy tales, it is also fascinating to place a fairy tale in the here and now. This can be fun for you as the writer too, as you can explore how modern day realities impact the tropes of the standard "set-in-the-past" fairy tale and can lead to humorous and entertaining outcomes. It can also highlight that the underlying morals, warnings and hopes of the fairy tale genre still have applicability in modern day life.
- Make the ending realistic. It doesn't have to be a happy ending. It doesn't even have to be a sad ending. It can be an ending that befits with the modern way of thinking about the world, an ending that throws up more questions in the face of the complexity of living that human beings constantly do battle with. Of course, use all of the appropriate skills to produce an ending that is interesting but don't feel obliged to comply with either killing off the villain or ensuring the married couple rides off into the sunset. Stick to being original and come up with an ending that leaves the reader thinking.
Tips
- Make sure your story has a happy ending if it's for children, or at least has an ending that makes good sense to a child.
Warnings
- Don't copy other fairy tales. Even if they're no longer in copyright, nobody will be excited about reading a fairy tale they already know too well. Seek to be original.
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