Twists on Tales
In this week’s Story Club, my young writers’ workshop, we looked at tales with a twist.
Putting a spin on a well known story or character can draw our readers in. We may want to tell a humorous tale, like Sherlock Bones (dog detective) by Tim Collins. Or perhaps we wish to break stereotypes (as in Three Little Vikings by Bethan Woollvin where three Viking girls take on a troll and save a village).
Enola Holmes by Nancy Springer (a series of books made into two films by Netflix) does both. Mayhem ensues in a fun yet meaningful plot where Sherlock Holmes’ little sister breaks out of the role expected of a young woman in 1884. Enola uses her clever mind and jujitsu abilities to solve crimes.
So what tales did Story Club young writers wish to tell?
My Zoom group on Tuesday chose the route of Fractured Fairy Tales. The three witches in Macbeth were turned into propheseying teens with a strong fashion sense. Cinderella absolutely hated balls and was dragged into it by a step-sister (who was secretly a friend). The misunderstood queen was simply trying to gift Snow White the first apple off her tree, not knowing it was poison.
My Wednesday group also spun a fractured fairy tale. Little Red Riding Hood knees the wolf when he gets scary, and happily makes it to Grandma’s house … to find out Grandma is a Cyborg. This was linked to a discussion on heart valve replacements. Odd though it might seem, I found it a really good way of having a conversation about metal replacements in the body. The idea of cyborg actually helped us talk about it.
We also had a story where an attacking lion turns into a friend. The main character ends up riding the lion in the story. And a King who knows his life is threatened receives an ‘immortality spell’ that turns out to be poison.
What twists do you want to tell?
