5 Tips For Writing Retellings

1:00 AM

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I've had a lot of fun retelling the fairy tales of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and The Snow Queen. However, my favorite retelling project was The Vintage Jane Austen series.


1. Make sure you legally can. I know, this is boring advice, but I've seen some retellings pop up based on copyrighted material. Also, make sure that when retelling a tale, you don't use material from another retelling that might be copyrighted. The last thing you need is to land in the middle of a legal battle. 

2. Decide how close you're going to follow the story. You might want to do a classic rendition and stick close to the story we all know and love, or turn it on its head. Decide ahead of time what you want to do. This will really help, I promise. 

3. Make sure you have a unique element. You want your story to stand out. Think ahead and plan out something. It's so much fun. I loved this part in every one of my retellings.

4. Get input from others. Ask some people you know will like the story for their input. They can help you smooth out all those rough places or just squeal with delight with you.

5. Remember, not everyone is going to love it. Some people will think your reimagined version is amazing. Others will hate it because it isn't close enough, or it's too far from the original (sometimes both). It's a hard, sad truth. Prepare yourself for that.

What story would you like to retell? 


I'm giving away a special bundle of my retellings! Enter to win!

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2 comments

  1. I have never written a retelling before, but those tips would be helpful if I ever do. :)

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  2. Of the moment, I'm currently working on:
    Misfortune: A Rapunzel retelling loosely inspired by the book of Daniel.
    The Dancing Princess: A 12DP retelling that is genderswapped and has a subtly B&B arc.
    The Merchant of Menace: The sixth Bookania Quest featuring Cinderella, the Oddesey, The Merchant of Venice, and pirates.
    Rose Petals and Snowflakes: A mashup between Snow White and Rose Red and Sense and Sensibility, the first of a series of Austen/Fairy Tale mashups.
    Superheros Don't Prowl at Night: A B&B retelling with Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde themes, the first of a series of superhero stories based on fairy tales aimed at young girls.

    Also, lower tiered in importance is The Cost of a Queen, which is a very loose Rapunzel retelling about a set of triplet girls who are veeeery interesting to work with.

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