Last week’s challenge: The Who, The Where, The Uh-Oh
Pick a fairy tale.
Go on, do it.
I’ll wait.
If you don’t know your fairy tales — Google is your friend, of course.
Hell, here’s a pretty good list of the Grimm’s tales.
I want you to pick one — I’ll let you do that — and rewrite it.
Except, wait now, hold on.
I want you to also roll to choose a random subgenre. You will then apply said random subgenre to the fairy tale you have picked for maximum awesome. Get it? Got it? Rad.
You have 1000 words.
You have one week — due Friday, January 31st, noon, EST.
Write it at your online space. Link back here.
Do tell us which fairy tale you’re using by making it the title of your story.
Subgenre
(roll a d20 or go to a random number generator)
- Cyberpunk
- Dystopian
- Erotica
- Spy Thriller
- Southern Gothic
- Satire
- Urban Fantasy
- Space Horror
- Space Opera
- Young Adult Contemporary
- “Grimdark” Fantasy
- Psychological Horror
- Hard Sci-Fi
- Slasher Film
- Ecothriller
- Sword & Sorcery
- Lovecraftian
- Zombie Apocalypse
- Superhero
- Detective
Matthew Eaton says:
Oooo, I don’t think I can do the sun ball bouncing into the well and the overall subliminal sexual nature thing. I was forced to read Grimm’s Tales for a class and it makes me hate fairy tales. Looking forward to the others participating in it though!
January 24, 2014 — 7:07 AM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
Would a fable be okay, in place of a fairytale?
January 24, 2014 — 7:43 AM
Mozette says:
http://youcantgoback-andotherimpossibilities.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/little-red-riding-hood-grimms-fairytale.html
Okay… I tried this, and it’s harder than it looks! 😀
January 24, 2014 — 7:57 AM
Rebecca Martin says:
It really is harder than it looks! I think the difficulty may lie in the adaptation. With the last flash fiction challenge, we worked from the initial prompts; the story was entirely from our own imagination. Here, though, we have to stay true to the basis of the fairy tale. That being said, I’m changing some of the more traditional parts of the fairy tale I chose.
January 25, 2014 — 10:42 AM
Mozette says:
All I did was stick with the good guys and bad guys… giving them the usual bits used in the fairy tale and then filled in the rest with modern things we use around us all the time; but still, it was difficult 🙂
January 25, 2014 — 7:39 PM
Shane Vaughan says:
Ok, I chose Little Red Riding Hood and I rolled 2 – Dystopia.
Here’s my Flash – Little Red Riding Hunter. http://writesomethingsmidge.blogspot.ie/
A young girl loses everything, but she fights to get it all back. (Damn that was hard to compress into 1000 words ha!)
January 24, 2014 — 8:06 AM
joe petty says:
Nice, I really like where you went with that.
January 24, 2014 — 12:48 PM
Shane Vaughan says:
Thanks, Joe!
January 24, 2014 — 1:13 PM
Sian Chapman says:
I sort of wish she could have met Captain Wolf in the wastes, as that would have been an interesting conversation. Hard to do with the number of words though.
January 24, 2014 — 6:39 PM
Shane Vaughan says:
Yeah, if I’d had 2000 words I could have done soooo much more. Dystopian futures are reallly hard to condense haha. But I think it was still oh-kay given the limits.
January 26, 2014 — 9:42 AM
Kate Sparkes says:
Interesting take, and I love the ending!
January 29, 2014 — 8:48 AM
mark says:
Wow, everybody is on early!
January 24, 2014 — 8:23 AM
Mark Gardner says:
I was originally trying to make “Little Mermaid” work, but I just wimped out and went with “Little Red Riding Hood.” This isn’t specifically part of The Afflicted, but I wrote in in third person in case I decide to integrate it. I went with the original written version, so don’t expect a happy ending. At 968 words, I give you the zombie apocalypse:
http://article94.blogspot.com/2014/01/fairy-tale-remix.html
January 24, 2014 — 11:15 AM
Kate Sparkes says:
Ooh, creepy! Definitely not a HEA…
January 29, 2014 — 8:53 AM
Sian Chapman says:
Depends how you define early I suppose. It’s just gone the 25th here.
And here’s my contribution. I used “The Juniper Tree”, and rolled a 20 for detective. There wasn’t a heap of detecting going on, but I think it turned out alright.
Blurb-y thing: Once upon a time, a boy came back to life, and avenged his death. Now, years later, he discovers that he might have stopped before his part in the vengeance was complete.
http://antagonistsneeded.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-curse-of-juniper-tree-flash-fiction.html
January 24, 2014 — 8:50 AM
joe petty says:
Oooh, great last line. Interesting.
January 24, 2014 — 1:00 PM
Sian Chapman says:
Thanks. It felt a little squashed due to word space, but I’m glad you liked it 🙂
January 24, 2014 — 6:33 PM
Mark Gardner says:
I liked it! Good job!
January 25, 2014 — 10:07 PM
Kate Sparkes says:
Interesting! I’d never heard that one before. I’ll have to go read the original, now.
January 29, 2014 — 8:59 AM
J. S. Collyer says:
OK THEN
January 24, 2014 — 8:56 AM
Jeremy Podolski says:
Red Riding Hood + Detective = Hoodwinked. Have to avoid that one. Been done. (though my kids love that movie)
January 24, 2014 — 9:09 AM
gnashchick says:
Been miffed at myself for not having time for a bit of a flash challenge the past few. Blah Blah grant season, day job, paying bills, blah blah blah.
Right. Southern Gothic Fairy Tale.
January 24, 2014 — 9:11 AM
Ensis says:
I rolled 3. Erotica.
Oh, boy. I get to deflower some of my favorite characters.
Perhaps I’ll use my tears for lubrication.
January 24, 2014 — 9:41 AM
Teddy Fuhringer says:
This made me laugh 😀
January 24, 2014 — 11:35 AM
joe petty says:
Ohh, can’t wait to see that.
January 24, 2014 — 1:01 PM
Ensis says:
I think it’s gonna have to be over the top. Like, ‘Dirty Potter’ over the top.
Go ahead and google it. Just don’t blame me for what you find.
January 24, 2014 — 1:03 PM
Ben Scofield says:
I just whipped up a random tale + random genre mashup generator: http://fairy-tale-remix.herokuapp.com/
Dystopian Hans the Hedgehog, here I come!
January 24, 2014 — 10:02 AM
Laura Quirola says:
I picked The Youth Who Went Forth To Learn What Fear Was, because it was one of the stories from when I was little that always stood out to me.
Then I rolled Spy Thriller.
I can work with that.
Be back later!
January 24, 2014 — 10:19 AM
Teddy Fuhringer says:
Grimm’s THE BLUE LIGHT as a Space Opera. This is fun! 🙂
http://tdfuhringer.blogspot.ca/2014/01/grimms-blue-light-as-space-opera.html
January 24, 2014 — 10:46 AM
joe petty says:
Oh, that was fun.
January 24, 2014 — 1:12 PM
Teddy Fuhringer says:
Thanks Joe, your encouragement goes a long way 🙂
January 24, 2014 — 1:17 PM
Andy Cowley says:
I rolled 11. Grimdark Fantasy having chosen Hansel and Gretel. It’s not massively challenging to write a dark Brothers Grim tale, they’re dark anyway. But I tried to put a bit of a spin on it. 1,000 words is really tricky, no wiggle room.
http://infinitegibbons.wordpress.com/short-stories/hansel-and-gretel/
January 24, 2014 — 10:48 AM
joe petty says:
I loved this! Read it to my partner who loved it equally as much.
January 24, 2014 — 1:35 PM
Andy Cowley says:
Thanks bro, to both of you 🙂
January 24, 2014 — 1:42 PM
J.J says:
I picked Rapunzel and rolled a ten. Young Adult Contemporary. Okay then. This isn’t too strange. Off I go.
January 24, 2014 — 10:54 AM
Tami Veldura says:
The White Snake
Psychological Horror
Not sure how well I did with this one but… I like the way I altered the original tale.
http://www.tamiveldura.com/2014/01/prompt-white-snake.html
January 24, 2014 — 11:20 AM
joe petty says:
Very fun indeed, my partner and I loved it.
January 24, 2014 — 1:53 PM
Tami Veldura says:
Thanks Joe! Glad you enjoyed.
January 24, 2014 — 10:07 PM
joeturner87 says:
Still have to pick a fairy tale, but the RNG gave me Satire. I must devour South Park for inspiration!
January 24, 2014 — 11:54 AM
joe petty says:
yah I got satire too… driving me crazy
January 24, 2014 — 5:23 PM
joeturner87 says:
It wasn’t the easiest sub genre, though I enjoy trying something new, I feel that’s what these challenges should be about.
January 25, 2014 — 11:08 AM
joeturner87 says:
Well, don’t know if it’s Satire, and the rewrite is loose. But, here goes.
http://joetblogs.wordpress.com/2014/01/25/terribleminds-flash-fiction-challenge-fairy-tales-remixed/
January 24, 2014 — 7:32 PM
Mark Gardner says:
Oh it’s definitely satire. Good job!
January 25, 2014 — 10:39 PM
joeturner87 says:
Thanks, Mark!
January 26, 2014 — 10:36 AM
Mr Urban Spaceman says:
I cheated, but I’m very repentent about it: http://mrurbanspaceman.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/the-three-little-pigs-a-flash-fiction-piece/
January 24, 2014 — 12:01 PM
joe petty says:
LOVE it!
January 24, 2014 — 1:58 PM
dangerdean says:
I liked that, and not only because I have a friend named Roxanne Hood. 🙂
January 28, 2014 — 6:44 PM
fortworths says:
I chose ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’. I rolled a ‘9’: Space Opera’.
Quite enjoyed writing this (as random as it is!)
http://chambone.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/flash-fiction-challenge-three-billy.html
Thanks.
January 24, 2014 — 12:21 PM
joe petty says:
That was glorious… loved it.
January 24, 2014 — 2:07 PM
fortworths says:
Thank you.
January 24, 2014 — 2:40 PM
Mark Gardner says:
I liked it. I had to re-read 3BGG to remember, I liked your take. The remix could easily stand on its own.
January 25, 2014 — 10:18 PM
fortworths says:
Sweet! Thanks.
January 26, 2014 — 7:19 AM
CindySheaNH says:
Very interesting and fun to read. I’m enjoying reading everyone’s work. So much talent!
January 26, 2014 — 3:14 PM
Nick Nafpliotis (@NickNafster79) says:
The Boy Who Cried Wolf…Zombie Apocalypse. That’s almost too easy, but I think I have an interesting take on it. Time to get to work 🙂
January 24, 2014 — 1:50 PM
Anastasia McP says:
OK, what the hell is GrimDark? No doubt I am revealing the depth of my uncoolness, but I don’t know this as a genre. Are we supposed to pick the fairy tale before we pick the genre? That seems to be the rules, I was reading the entire post and came across a sub-genre I didn’t know. Oh – and please give me an example of a work in the Grim Dark genre as well – I might have read in the genre without realizing it – it was years before I know that one of the things I liked was actually urban fantasy. LOL. I tend to refer to a lot of different genres as the literature of the fantastic and leave it at that…..not the biggest fan of niche marketing. Bah Humbug.
In other news, I added my review of The Cormorant to amazon and also sent the entire trilogy to two people having a hard winter who need to lose themselves in a read that is a world in a mass market paperback. I immediately thought of Miriam.
For this, I’m going to try something a bit off the beaten track in terms of the fairy tale – though of course, everyone loves the classics.
January 24, 2014 — 2:14 PM
Sian Chapman says:
Grim Dark is… when the setting/characters are cynical, dark, ect. Morals are harder to come by, and they tend to be very survival/needs based. Your main characters don’t always live, more often than not don’t do the right thing, but do instead what is needed to do to survive.
It’s about people living in hard times, doing hard things to each other to get by. It’s more Game of Thrones than Star Wars, let’s put it that way.
January 24, 2014 — 6:49 PM
Justin Walker says:
Rolled a 7… Urban Fantasy….
The Water-Nix (Urban Fantasy Remix)
http://justinwalkerbooks.blogspot.com/2014/01/terribleminds-flash-fiction-fairy-tales.html
January 24, 2014 — 7:43 PM
J. Lannan (@jLannan) says:
The Bremen Town Musicians…and Lovecraftian.
The Call of the Bremen Town Musicians
http://sordidstoryteller.blogspot.com/2014/01/flash-fiction-call-of-bremen-town.html
January 24, 2014 — 8:04 PM
Dani says:
I loved it. The Bremen Town Musicians is one of my favorite Grimm stories.
January 26, 2014 — 2:41 AM
J. Lannan (@jLannan) says:
Thanks
January 28, 2014 — 2:40 PM
Ana Spoke says:
I had a go at Rupunzel, but I can’t post it, sorry. For some reason she turned out to be a sex offender, locked up in a tower for her crimes against the missionary (position). Then she wondered the countryside and got mixed up with the Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf. What’s worse, she didn’t even know which prince was the father of her twins…is that Grim Dark?
January 24, 2014 — 8:05 PM
angelacavanaugh says:
http://angelacavanaugh.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/flash-fiction-friday-the-wicked-one/
Snow White, Young Adult Contemporary
**confession, I wrote this one awhile ago. It was a flash fiction challenge to myself, but it fits so perfect here. check it out anyway?
January 24, 2014 — 8:20 PM
mikes75 says:
Great job! That was a lot of fun to read.
January 26, 2014 — 11:42 AM
angelacavanaugh says:
Thanks!
January 26, 2014 — 2:41 PM
CindySheaNH says:
Really cute!
January 26, 2014 — 3:00 PM
Nick Nafpliotis says:
‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’ and ‘Zombie Apocalypse’
I went a little over the 1,000 word limit, but the chance to expound on the fraudulent nature of conspiracy theory pundits like Alex Jones and Glenn Beck was way too much fun.
http://www.ramblingbeachcat.com/2014/01/flash-fiction-friday-day-wolves-came.html
January 24, 2014 — 9:01 PM
joe petty says:
Wow! We loved it.
January 25, 2014 — 4:09 AM
Nick Nafpliotis says:
Thanks 🙂
January 25, 2014 — 5:02 PM
Nick Nafpliotis says:
And in the spirit of full self promotion, here is the article I once wrote about Alex Jones and how is conspiracy theory nut job persona is most likely an act (the part about him living in a posh, gated community from the story was true)
http://www.ramblingbeachcat.com/2013/04/alex-jones-brilliant-at-pretending-to.html
January 25, 2014 — 5:09 PM
Dani says:
“Snow White (or the Queen’s Regret)” and erotica (I rolled low. This is why I don’t game anymore. Too many crit hits on my own character). This is from the huntsman’s/evil queen’s perspectives. It is explicit, but then again it is erotica.
http://writingouttakes.wordpress.com/2014/01/25/snow-white-aka-the-queens-regret/
January 24, 2014 — 9:30 PM
Tami Veldura says:
Well done, Dani! The stretch for an unfamiliar genre worked for you. I like it 😀
January 24, 2014 — 10:11 PM
Dani says:
Why thank you! 🙂
January 25, 2014 — 12:57 AM
C.M. Simpson says:
Tricky, and I’m not sure I pulled it off. Still, it’s based on a German fairy-tale, The Juniper Tree, and in the spy-thriller genre, which I’ve never written before. You can find it at:
http://cmsimpson.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/flash-fiction-challenge-result-man-from.html
January 24, 2014 — 10:46 PM
Mildred Achoch says:
Snow White’s Secret 🙂 https://www.facebook.com/notes/mildred-achoch/snow-whites-secret/10151921221771527
January 25, 2014 — 5:58 AM
CindySheaNH says:
LOL! Loved it! I would not have thought to go in that direction.:)
January 26, 2014 — 2:38 PM
Mildred Achoch says:
Thanks so much Cindy! And I enjoyed the twist in the tail of your Southern Gothic tale 🙂
January 27, 2014 — 4:33 AM
Elvie says:
Got the genre Urban Fantasy, and I picked ‘Brother and Sister’ because why not.
http://elviewrites.tumblr.com/post/74533479497/then-never-more
January 25, 2014 — 5:05 PM
Coyote Twilight says:
I’m picking Rapunzel and got Swords and Sorcery. This should be fun 😀
January 25, 2014 — 7:11 PM
R. A. Opp says:
I’m doing Goldilocks and the Three Bears as a satire, and I don’t care if it’s not on the list. It is perfect for the subgenre.
January 25, 2014 — 8:10 PM
joe petty says:
I think the list was a suggestion, I’m writing Beauty & the Beast as Satire, though it’s driving me bonkers.
January 25, 2014 — 9:44 PM
R. A. Opp says:
Yeah, satire can easily become absurd. I’m struggling to keep mine from being either preachy or too obvious. It’s hard to find the middle.
January 25, 2014 — 11:13 PM
Nicki1323 says:
http://ndeneau.tumblr.com/post/74572109883/flash-fiction-challenge-fairy-tales-remix-hansel-and
Hansel and Gretal: Psychological thriller
January 25, 2014 — 11:59 PM
Andrea Speed says:
I got zombie apocalypse, and so I remixed the old, obscure fairy tale of the wolf and the fox – http://andreaspeed.com/2014/flash-fiction-challenge-wolf-and-fox/
January 26, 2014 — 5:37 AM
mikes75 says:
Rewriting a fairy tale sounds like fun! *rolls a three* Well, this should be interesting…
January 26, 2014 — 11:45 AM
CindySheaNH says:
I’ve never done a writing challenge before, but I am doing the Zero to Hero challenge on WordPress and it was suggested we give it a try. This was an interesting idea and really took me out of my comfort zone. I chose Rapunzel and rolled a 5 for Southern Gothic. So here goes:
http://cindyshea.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/my-writing-challenge-rapunzel/
January 26, 2014 — 2:11 PM
Mildred Achoch says:
I enjoyed reading it! Well done! I look forward to reading many more of your writing challenge entries 🙂
January 27, 2014 — 4:35 AM
CindySheaNH says:
Thank you. My hope is that each one will get a little better.
January 27, 2014 — 7:54 AM
fortworths says:
Lovely. I had too look up ‘Southern Gothic’ too. 🙂
I think the mixture of the two elements really works well in the piece. Well done. One little piece of advice, I would say that some of the dialogue moments need tying down with some kind of action (eg: more elements of setting, or even better some kind of physical action from the characters) to give them context.
January 27, 2014 — 7:02 AM
CindySheaNH says:
Thanks for the advice. I will try that next time.
January 27, 2014 — 7:53 AM
Mike Berkey says:
I did the Princess And The Pea.
http://billionmonkeys.blogspot.com/p/the-princess-and-pea.html
As with every single damn time I roll a random genre, I got Southern Gothic, which I know involves Poe, swamps, voodoo, uh, social stratification, brooding horror and was…I dunno, the name of a great album by The Constellations. Not very familiar with the genre as you might guess. So I wrote a story about online dating, wanna-be politicians and voodoo instead.
When I reached 1000 words, I knew I wouldn’t be able to cram it into the limits, so I swung for the bleachers and did 2500 instead, instantly failing the challenge. I am now holding a pointy hat and putting it on. I am putting on my loser hat. There it is, on my head, with the Big L on it.
January 26, 2014 — 2:43 PM
Rebecca Douglass says:
It was a common problem with this one! Join the club, and don’t sweat it. No one’s giving grades. Or even little gold stars.
Dang it, Chuck, where’s my little gold star?
January 31, 2014 — 12:57 AM
terribleminds says:
/gold star
January 31, 2014 — 6:26 AM
Michael Berkey says:
Gold stars are the only reason I do anything. 🙂
Maybe little lace doilies, too.
January 31, 2014 — 8:47 AM
Rebecca Douglass says:
You just totally changed the nature of these rewards.
January 31, 2014 — 10:58 AM
Betsy says:
Here’s The Willow Wren as young adult.
http://writetotheend.com/2014/01/betsy/the-willow-wren/
I like how it turned out. Hope you enjoy it.
January 26, 2014 — 3:00 PM
Alex says:
It’s my first time taking part in such challenge so I’m pretty nervous posting it here. Anyway, here it is. My choice was Sleeping Beauty as space opera.
http://brainpinata.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/sleeping-beauty-flash-fiction-challange/
Cheers.
January 26, 2014 — 3:46 PM
Rebecca Martin says:
I randomized both the story and the genre. I got Little Briar Rose and space opera.
http://thereallydivinemissm.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/sleeping-beauty-a-space-odyssey/
January 26, 2014 — 4:44 PM
AJ Bauers says:
Well, I did Jack and the Beanstalk rolled for space opera. I had a lot of fun with this 🙂
http://ajbauers.blogspot.com/2014/01/jack-and-beanstalk.html
January 26, 2014 — 5:22 PM
Nick Nafpliotis says:
Never thought Jack and the Beanstalk could be such a badass story–nice job!
January 26, 2014 — 6:40 PM
Brice says:
Three Little Pigs.
Subgenre: Erotica.
I think I’ll pass.
January 26, 2014 — 7:31 PM
Jeremy Podolski says:
Points for integrity.
January 26, 2014 — 10:08 PM
joeturner87 says:
Shame, I think that would’ve been genius.
January 27, 2014 — 8:40 AM
Kait says:
I guess we’re not supposed to give the spoiler of which fairy tale we chose, but I rolled 5. Southern Gothic. Not familiar with the genre but from what I’ve just looked up on the topic, oh how I long to roll again.
I apologize in advance if I misunderstood. I feel dirty as I prepare to weave a mortifying tail of racism and intolerance.
January 26, 2014 — 8:02 PM
Kait says:
Oops. Misread. Clearly says “Do” give title. Grimm’s Snow White.
January 26, 2014 — 8:05 PM