It's that time of the month when a group of like-minded authors discuss the chosen topic of the month. #readaroundtherainbow. And yes, it does appear that I'm here two months in a row. Shocker!
The topic this month is retelling. But what is a retelling?
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| Mark Twain quote: “There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.” |
If we accept this quote from Mark Twain, then everything is a retelling. Or to paraphrase that comedy legend, Eric Morecombe, I'm using all of the same ideas, just not necessarily in the same order. And yes, that is a valid argument but it's not what we're going for.
As more and more classic reads fall out of copyright, then an influx of books about that character by new authors become available. You only need to look at the number of new Sherlock Holmes stories that have flooded the market in recent years. But again, I'm not here to discuss the morally grey area of riding on a dead author’s coat tails, especially since I'm not 100% certain where I sit in this particular argument.
The purpose of these posts are to discuss direct reworkings of other authors' stories. By this I'm talking about taking the plot and certain character traits and changing it up. How do we do that? Oh let me count the ways:
- Genderbend the characters.
- Make it contemporary. Or set it in the future.
- Or add vampires, witches, werewolves, zombies.
Alternatively the option is there to use the characters before you but in a totally different way.
- Take two random side characters and give them their own story.
- Rewrite fairy tales or bring the the Gods of Myths and Legend to life and settle them on our mortal plane.
Which of these takes do I prefer as a reader? Probably the last one. But let's consider them all.
If it's a classic book and you're going to make it queer, then quite often you'll need to genderbend one of the leads. This is done effectively in Anyta Sunday's Love, Austen series, where she writes Jane Austen novels with male leads and in a contemporary setting but loosely follows the plot and various traits of the characters. The first book in the series is a retelling of Emma, with misunderstandings and an oblivious MC, just as you'd expect. Of course, a retelling of a story with two male leads often just requires removing the obligatory female love interest. Where these style of stories sometimes fail for me, is when the author sticks too closely to the source material. These can then be bland and predictable without any flair. Maybe those stories need Twain's kaleidoscope twisting a bit more.
Adding the supernatural. Recently Rebecca Cohen has been retelling her own Crofton series but putting a supernatural twist on it. I'm thoroughly enjoying the darker versions of familiar characters as vampires and fey.
Giving side characters their own story. Well, don't we all do that as soon as we write a series but obviously in this case the characters aren't our own. The first work that came to mind is actually a play not a book, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard. Stoppard takes these two characters and creates the story of what they are doing while they aren't on stage in the main play. I must admit that I struggled with applying this concept to gay romance until I remembered the swashbuckling, evil doings of The Henchmen of Zelda by KJ Charles. Telling the tale from the morally dubious pov of the henchmen of the ‘tache-twirling bad guy, certainly puts a new spin on a classic Victorian pulp novel. A Romance with a capital R it is not, but it’s a cracking read, especially if you cast Rupert as the ever gorgeous Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
So, we come to my favourite type of retelling, fairy tales and myths. Whether it’s Clare London’s take on Little Red Riding Hood in her new Christmas story, or Eli Easton’s Beauty and the Beast retelling, ‘Billy & the Beast. Or maybe it’s the more complex world of Greek gods and demi-gods who walk the Earth, falling in love, and fighting for humanity in Sam Burns & WM Fawkes Lords of the Underworld/Sons of Olympus series. Why do I like this type of story so much? It’s hard to say. Maybe it’s because the source material goes back hundreds or even thousands of years, that we’re far removed from the word of mouth origins. Maybe it’s because the source material is somewhat dark and yet favourite authors turn them into Romances with that capital R and multi book series full of action and swoon-worthy heroes.
Have I written any retellings? Well, yes, but none that you’ll find for sale. Back in my fanfic days I turned both Around the World in 80 days and The 39 Steps into stories from my fandom of choice. But I know that several of my fellow RATRs have turned their hand to a retelling or two. Check out their posts to find out.
Nell Iris - Read Around the Rainbow: Retellings
Ofelia Grand - Read Around the Rainbow | Retellings
Fiona Glass - Read Around the Rainbow: retellings
Ellie Thomas - Read Around the Rainbow: Retellings
K. L. Noone - read around the rainbow: retellings
Addison Albright - READ AROUND THE RAINBOW :: Retellings #RAtR
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