RTW: Twice Upon a Time

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

This Week's Topic: 
 In honor of this month's Bookmobile book, Marissa Meyer's CINDER, name a fable or story you'd like to see a retelling of. If you're feeling creative, come up with a premise of your own!

I've been thinking a lot about fairy tales lately and -- in the process of working my way through the original Grimm Brothers ones -- have been thinking about ones I'd like to see retold. Despite that, it was really hard for me to think of one for this post because there are already so many that are being retold. Plus, I'm obsessed with Once Upon a Time (eleven days to season two!) and I adore their adaptations of a lot of things.


One idea that I've been playing with for a long time is KITSAN (Knight In Shining Armor -- NOT). It's a tale about a princess trapped in a tower who is rescued by a prince who expects her to be so grateful that she'll sleep with him. Furious, Kaelyn escapes his grasp and sets out into the city to find her own destiny -- and her own prince.

One of my favorite Grimm Brothers tales is Jorinda and Jorindel. In the original tale, a witch transfixed anyone who came too close to her castle, turning innocent maidens into birds that she kept caged in her castle. Jorinda and Jorindel, promised to marry each other, wandered too close. After Jorinda was turned into a nightingale, Jorindel was freed. Jorindel dreamt of a flower that protected him from the witch's spells, removed the evil magic from the witch, and turned all the birds back into women.

I just think there are some great chances for interpretations in it and I would love to read one!

Comments

Colin Smith said…
I think you're right--"Jorinda and Jorindel" has some great potential! :)
September 19, 2012 at 11:35 AM
Jaime Morrow said…
I agree with Colin: Jorinda and Jorindel would be a great tale to retell! I'm a major sucker for fairy tale retellings, so I love the idea of broadening the pool of what's out there right now. I'd especially love to see more of the lesser known tales brought to life in a unique way. :)
September 19, 2012 at 12:04 PM
The Busy Author said…
Nevermind that Jorinda would be a great name for a YA heroine!
September 19, 2012 at 12:26 PM
Nickie said…
I said Jorinda and Jorindel, too! There's so many fun ways that the story could be updated. What about a creepy guy who lures women and locks them in his basement? Hmm. So much potential! I like your KITSAN idea as well -- I love that the heroine wants love on her terms.
September 19, 2012 at 4:36 PM
Juliana Haygert said…
Second one I saw today about Jorinda and Jorindel (yeah, it was Nickie). I like this idea. So many possibilities!
September 19, 2012 at 9:31 PM
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