Flash Fiction Challenge: Fairy Tale Upgrade
Last Week’s challenge: “Tell A Story In Three Sentences“
Today’s challenge shall be a curious one.
Take a fairy tale — any fairy tale at all you want, or a fable, or a Mother Goose story — and rewrite it in a modern context.
Now, “modern” is a little open to interpretation — if you took Little Red Riding Hood and set it in the 1920s, sure. Or The Ant And The Grasshopper and set it on a space station 100 years in the future, that’s fine, too.
Point is: avoid any sense of medieval-ness. Get out of the past. Into this (or the last) century and beyond.
As always: 1000 words.
Post on your blog, link back here.
Due by next Friday — FRIDAY THE 13TH MOO HOO HA HA. By noon EST.
Spin us a tale, won’t you?
Chris
July 6, 2012 at 9:10 AM //
Small but important detail. Did you mean to type 1,000 words, or did you mean 100?
terribleminds
July 6, 2012 at 10:19 AM //
@Chris:
1,000. Standard flash length.
Good luck!
– c.
Laura Libricz
July 6, 2012 at 9:49 AM //
Goldilocks and the Three Bears!
http://lauralibricz.blogspot.de/2011/12/another-short-story.html
Nic Rowen
July 6, 2012 at 10:17 AM //
Red Riding Hood – strung out, tired, comming down off and bad trip, and on her last delivery of the day.
http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/Wrenchfarm/-nvgr-psychedelic-red-riding-hood-230816.phtml
Ishai Barnoy
July 6, 2012 at 10:58 AM //
Hey Chuck,
I just saw your challenge, and it sounded like a good idea. Here’s a link to what I came up with: http://www.ishaibarnoy.com/2012/07/let-off-by-farm.html.
Lemme know what you think, everybody.
– Ishai
Danzier
July 6, 2012 at 11:18 AM //
Another question! I’ve done several of these but never posted them online. However, I get the feeling that a story I wrote before and post now would be a cheat. Should the story be original to this post?
Circles Under Streetlights
July 6, 2012 at 12:37 PM //
Got a couple for you!
The Pied Piper of Hamelin: http://circlesunderstreetlights.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/the-rat-catcher/
and Sleeping Beauty:
http://circlesunderstreetlights.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/sleeping/
Looking forward to reading everyone else’s efforts!
x
Darlene Underdahl
July 6, 2012 at 12:54 PM //
I give you The Smart Snake:
http://darlene.underdahl.net/?p=167
Mike
July 6, 2012 at 1:06 PM //
Ooo – my Fairy Tale Folk are all excited about this one!
Alexa
July 6, 2012 at 1:27 PM //
Here’s my entry, which I had a lot of fun writing – though it may be reflecting some of my current frustrations…
The Prime Minister’s New Clothes
http://awannabewriters.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/terribleminds-flash-fiction-challenge.html
Tiana Warner
July 6, 2012 at 3:58 PM //
Humpty Dumpty sat on a high-voltage electric fence
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All America’s doctors and all America’s plastic surgeons
Shocked him back to life with a defibrillator, then restructured Humpty’s face so it looked even better than it did before the accident.
Shiri Sondheimer
July 6, 2012 at 6:23 PM //
I was going to do The Little Mermaid, but came across The Singing Bone . Huzzah! Hopefully, I’ll have a chance tonight. Will have to run it by the five day old progeny…
Shady
July 6, 2012 at 7:56 PM //
My story, Humpty Dumpty Noir, is ready. Hope y’all like it.
http://49shadesofme.blogspot.com/2012/07/humpty-dumpty-noir.html
Shiri Sondheimer
July 6, 2012 at 10:53 PM //
Yep. The SINGING BONE definitely worked for me. Text of the Grimm Fairy Tale can be found here, courtesy of the University of Pittsburgh: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm028.html
And my version here: http://swsondheimer.wordpress.com/flash-fiction/the-singing-bone/
AJ Bradley
July 6, 2012 at 11:32 PM //
OooOooo…totally gonna do Rumpelstiltskin!
Jason Heitkamper
July 7, 2012 at 11:06 AM //
Alright, I decided that the Pied Piper of Haemlin needed a nice inner-city reboot circa 1985.
http://writinword.blogspot.com/2012/07/terrible-minds-flash-fiction-challenge.html
Joshua D
July 7, 2012 at 1:43 PM //
I wanted to do a fairy tale I hadn’t heard before so I hit up the wikipedia entry for fairy tales to see what I could find. I came up with this Native American fairy tale:
http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/027.htm
Which in turn prompted me to write this tale:
http://joshuadevans.com/2012/07/07/a-broken-promise/
Anna Lewis
July 7, 2012 at 5:38 PM //
Funny that I had *just* started reading “The Child Thief” by Brom the day before this challenge came up. (If you haven’t read that, you should…it’s an uber-dark retelling of Peter Pan, written and illustrated by one of the twisted souls who worked on Blizzard’s Diablo.)
For your potential enjoyment, “The Fisherman & His Wife”:
http://corsairharbour.blogspot.com/2012/07/this-weeks-flash-fiction-challenge-at.html
AB Singer
July 8, 2012 at 6:48 AM //
I’m an alien; I’m Episcopalian, an English churchman near to York.
Eat well.
http://ultravioletandinfrared.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/modern-fairy-tale.html
Jared Domenico
July 8, 2012 at 8:58 PM //
A near future/scifi retelling of the Lion and the Mouse. My first idea was a ‘Beauty and the Beast’ thing with a psychologist and a full-conversion combat cyborg, but this seemed a bit more exciting.
http://strangetorpedo.blogspot.com/2012/07/drone-and-mechanic.html
David Grigg
July 9, 2012 at 12:30 AM //
As usual, these prompts sometimes take a bit of an odd turn when they go into my brain. Don’t think it’s really a fairy tale any more. But at least this one meets the word limit at just over 600 words.
You’ll know which fairy tale it’s based on when you read it. It’s called “The Thorns”, though if I think about it long enough I might come up with a better title.
Here it is: http://narratorium.com/2012/07/09/the-thorns/
Jo Eberhardt
July 9, 2012 at 3:03 AM //
After considering and discarding modern versions of everything from The Three Billy Goats Gruff to The Steadfast Tin Soildier, I finally decided on something a bit different.
Enjoy!
Charlene
Jeff Xilon
July 9, 2012 at 6:08 AM //
Ok, I’m back. Missed the last couple of these but I put something together for this weeks. My answer to the challenge is based on a Korean Folk/Fairy Tale called “The Fortuneteller and the Demons” my rewrite is called:
“When John Lee met Smiley”
http://www.jeffxilon.com/flash-fiction-upgraded-fairy-tale/
BJ Kerry
July 9, 2012 at 7:33 AM //
My Story.
http://kerry-mutterings.blogspot.ie/2012/07/chuck-wendig-challenge-rewrite-fairy.html
Josh Loomis
July 9, 2012 at 8:07 AM //
Much like mixing Greek myth with sci-fi and Norse myth with Westerns, I tried my hand at pairing a fairy tale with superheroism. Thus, ‘The Red Hood’.
http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/2012/07/09/flash-fiction-the-red-hood/
Jackie
July 9, 2012 at 11:02 AM //
“Snow White,” condensed, reflected. http://thespidereen.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/flash-fiction-the-vanity/
Anninyn
July 9, 2012 at 5:45 PM //
Supernova. It’s not that good.
http://ifuckinglovebooks.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=122&action=edit&message=6&postpost=v2
oldestgenxer
July 10, 2012 at 12:53 AM //
Chuck, this is one my most favoritest ideas for a challenge I’ve seen! Thanks.
I’ve been reading about the Cold War lately, and I love bacon. This seems so obvious, I hope no one else wrote this…
Hungry Like the Wolf
I can’t wait to read the other stories.
J.M. Dow
July 10, 2012 at 1:04 AM //
I wound up doing a modern retelling of the story Bluebeard, which you can read about here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluebeard
And of course here is the link to my story:
http://whirlingnerdish.blogspot.com/2012/07/flash-fiction-challenge-fairy-tale.html
Enjoy everybody!
Jim Franklin
July 10, 2012 at 9:49 AM //
I’m a little later than usual with this one, but there were so many fairy tales and fables to choose from. I stuck with a classic though: The Three Little Pigs.
So, I’m delighted and nearly lactating with pleasure to bring you… ‘Bringing the House Down’
http://www.thezombiechimp.com/2012/07/10/flash-fiction-bringing-house-down/
Joy Bernardo
July 10, 2012 at 12:06 PM //
Here is my take on The Three Little Pigs
http://onthewritingfront.blogspot.com/2012/07/flash-fiction-challenge-fairy-tale.html
Amy Qiu
July 10, 2012 at 9:24 PM //
I started out with “The Little Mermaid” in mind, but the plot twisted away from me and I am now left with a strange re-imagination of that classic story. I can’t even remember how the fairy tale actually ended, so don’t expect to find much parallels with the original in this one: http://shiftingmoments.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/the-little-mermaid-re-imagined/
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Beth L.
July 10, 2012 at 9:49 PM //
A Russian fairy tale picks up and moves to New Orleans, turn of the century. There’s a writer, a cat, and a green fairy. Enjoy!
http://knotachance.tumblr.com/
Scott Weber
July 11, 2012 at 12:57 PM //
Post Apocalypse Fairly Tale, with extra violence.
Run, run as fast as you can
Scott Weber
July 11, 2012 at 12:59 PM //
Lets try this again…
Post Apocalypse Fairy Tale, with extra violence.
Run, run as fast as you can
http://scottweberwriter.wordpress.com/
Geoff Moore
July 11, 2012 at 2:20 PM //
I couldn’t resist posting this old story for this one. Written six years ago now
http://www.dublinwriters.net/wordpress/?p=1687
Hope you like
TA Saunders
July 11, 2012 at 6:34 PM //
The Aesop’s Fable of the Bear and the Two Travelers meets a Zombie Apocalypse.
http://fictionfoundry.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/chuck-wendigs-flash-fiction-challenge-mister-bear-and-his-due/
Jenna
July 11, 2012 at 6:38 PM //
Love this challenge. This is certainly one of those that can be revisited time and again for inspiration and a little bit of a writing work out.
Mine: http://jennaelf.blogspot.com/2012/07/flash-fiction-challenge-fairy-tale.html
Candice
July 11, 2012 at 10:28 PM //
My modern-ish attempt at The Ugly Duckling: http://www.candicerobinson.ca/2012/07/11/blind-to-her-beauty/
Casz Brewster
July 12, 2012 at 12:04 AM //
A fairy tale redo was my first “sold” short story.
http://amzn.to/ywkbyV
So, I’m definitely game to try another.
tara tyler
July 12, 2012 at 9:32 AM //
been a while since i’ve had time to join in…but here goes
http://taratylertalks.blogspot.com/2012/07/mr-r.html
Kaitlyn
July 12, 2012 at 11:52 AM //
Wish Seller: Aladdin – Wall Street style.
http://katarinaflyfree.tumblr.com/
ChrisWhiteWrites
July 12, 2012 at 7:43 PM //
Here’s mine: The Little Tin Soldier
http://chriswhitewrites.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/the-little-tin-soldier/
And thanks to Chuck I also have a retelling of Goldilocks and the Three *Bears* unfinished on my desktop – implicit and explicit sex scenes abound…
Jack
July 12, 2012 at 11:29 PM //
My take on a familiar wood cutter fable. Hope you enjoy.
http://writesanity.blogspot.com/2012/07/were-too-old-to-playflashfic-4.html
marta
July 13, 2012 at 1:16 AM //
By chance I discovered this site just today. Well, yesterday. And I love to rewrite fairy tales. So. Here’s my entry. (Although, perhaps the pingback is enough? Well, just in case. )
http://mapelba.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/a-mermaid-story/
Great space you’ve got here.
Cat
July 13, 2012 at 6:03 AM //
My first contribution!
Red Riding Hood ditches her basket of muffins for kevlar and hollow-point bullets:
http://vampiresandchocolate.tumblr.com/post/27115705063/red-reloaded-a-red-riding-hood-tale
Kelly
July 13, 2012 at 8:29 AM //
Hansel and Gretel take a trip to 1930′s Oklahoma.
http://countlesslives.blogspot.com/2012/07/fairy-tale-friday.html
Cat
July 13, 2012 at 11:00 AM //
Posted last night, didn’t show up. Second time’s the charm!
Red Riding Hood trades her basket of muffins for kevlar and hollow-point bullets.
http://vampiresandchocolate.tumblr.com/post/27115705063/red-reloaded-a-red-riding-hood-tale
Mike
July 13, 2012 at 11:13 AM //
Hansel and Gretel
http://www.ravensview.ca/ravens/2012/07/fairy-tale-upgrade.html
Mike
July 13, 2012 at 11:38 AM //
I liked this one
http://katarinaflyfree.tumblr.com/post/27054234442/wish-seller
but have no idea how to comment on a Tumblr account. Someone suggested reblogging it – but where do I comment?
Kristin Mireles
July 19, 2012 at 8:51 PM //
I’m late! I hope you can still post this; it’s the Billy Goats Gruff as told by a 1980s Valley Girl!
http://mireles-musings.blogspot.com/2012/07/fairy-tale-revamped.html