When I was going through the old question threads, compiling questions, I got a kick out of this post from Mare about a fun-sounding fairy tale challenge.
I was laying in bed when I thought of this question so I got up and put my computer on before I fell asleep and forgot all about it lol That's dedication!
Anyway, since we've been talking about niches and what we think defines who we are as writers, my mind went to an idea for a challenge. To take a fairy tale like The Three Little Pigs for instance and anonymously write our own versions of it and then people would have to guess who wrote what just based on our styles and what we would do to the characters etc... like if I wrote it, I would focus mainly on their brotherly bond as they all fought the evil wolf. If Julie wrote it I'm pretty sure one of them would end up dying of swine flu? If Rose wrote it, one of the pigs would end up as bacon and be eaten by the others, Lore and Steph might have them accidentally transported to another universe, Saka Steph might have the black sheep angsting about the situation, Tracy might have a psycho pig move next door, Karah might have a female pig move in etc... but then after I came to the realization that everyone would say "YAY that sounds like fun!" but no one would actually do it! (besides Tracy and maybe Steph) I figured it would make a pretty great question instead, so here's the question after that big lead up! lmao
Pick a fairy tale that you think best matches up with yourself and your 'niche' and explain why.
I think in my case it would be The Three Little Pigs. You have the brotherly bond. The older one is stubborn and shakes his head at the younger two until he's needed by them at the end to rescue them from the wolf. It's tailor made for me lol
So, what about you guys? For fun you can also name some fairy tales you think other writers would pick as theirs.
And now I can go back to bed lmao I'm such a dorky loser!
It was fun just thinking of an answer to this question, but the actual challenge Mare suggested sounds pretty fun, too, and you know I'm not a challenge person! I am an elementary school teacher, though, so I love a good fractured fairy tale LOL.
Would anyone be interested in actually doing something like this? If so, there are a couple of ways we could go about doing it (maybe more, if you guys have other suggestions). Per Mare's suggestion, we could either decide on a well-known fairy tale, like The Three Little Pigs, that we would all write our own versions of that best fits what we're known for writing, or we could each write our own BSB fanfic version of a fairy tale of our choice. Or we could combine those ideas and each try to Backstreet-ize the same fairy tale, while putting our own twist on it. I would just suggest we not do The Three Little Pigs, since Mare already came up with some awesome examples of what we'd each do it with LOL.
Let me know your thoughts on which way you'd want to do it. If we decide we want to all write the same fairy tale, we can discuss which fairy tale then.
EDIT: Looks like this is a go! Here's the challenge:
- You are to write your own version of Beauty and the Beast, starring the Backstreet Boys, which fits into your writing "niche." It should be the type of story you are known for writing - see the quote from Mare in my original post for examples.
- To add to the challenge, you will post your story anonymously on the site, and we will try to guess who wrote each tale, based on your writing style and the type of story you wrote. Mare has created an account that we can all use to post the stories. The username is "challenges," and the password is "acbsb." When your story is done, just log in to that account and post it. After the challenge is over and we're all done guessing, you can add yourself as a co-author if you want it to show up on your account.
- There is no word count limit for this challenge, but since fairy tales are traditionally short, it should be a one-shot, not a novel.
- The deadline to post your story is August 31. That gives you over a month to write it. After that, I will compile a list of all the challenge entries here, and we'll start playing the guessing game! Until then, don't post any guesses, and don't let us know when you've completed the challenge, or you might give it away.
Here is a link to the traditional version of Beauty and the Beast, if you want to read it for reference:
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/beauty.html Feel free to use anything from the Disney movie or other versions, too. As long as your story is recognizable as a twist on Beauty and the Beast, anything goes!
Challenge Entries:Shorty and the Deceased (
http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=11123)
written by RokofAges75
Unintended (
http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=11124)
written by Carter-Orange
Judy and the Beast (
http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=11126)
written by Mare
Prisoner (
http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=11127)
written by DelphinaCarter
Beauty and the Backstreet Boy (
http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=11129)
written by RokofAges75
Brian and the Beast (
http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=11130)
written by Carterkid
My What a Guy (
http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=11132)
written by Julilly
Nick and Belle.... (
http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=11146)
written by Alexsgirl_ritz
Beauty & The Extra-Terrestrial Beast (
http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=11150)
written by Carter-Orange
Code Name: Beauty (
http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=11157)
written by Purpura Lipstick
The Beast's Beauty (
http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=11158&warning=4)
written by Mamogirl
Blondie and the Beast (
http://absolutechaos.net/viewstory.php?sid=11161)
written by Rose
Poll
3 (8.6%)