Chuck Wendig: Terribleminds

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January 24, 2014 / 269 Comments

Flash Fiction Challenge: Fairy Tales, Remixed

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)

  1. Cyberpunk
  2. Dystopian
  3. Erotica
  4. Spy Thriller
  5. Southern Gothic
  6. Satire
  7. Urban Fantasy
  8. Space Horror
  9. Space Opera
  10. Young Adult Contemporary
  11. “Grimdark” Fantasy
  12. Psychological Horror
  13. Hard Sci-Fi
  14. Slasher Film
  15. Ecothriller
  16. Sword & Sorcery
  17. Lovecraftian
  18. Zombie Apocalypse
  19. Superhero
  20. Detective

104 Comments

Add yours →

  1. 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

    Reply

  2. Mr Urban Spaceman says:

    Would a fable be okay, in place of a fairytale?

    January 24, 2014 — 7:43 AM

    Reply

    • 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

      Reply

      • 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

        Reply

  4. 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

    Reply

  5. mark says:

    Wow, everybody is on early!

    January 24, 2014 — 8:23 AM

    Reply

  6. 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

    Reply

  8. 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

    Reply

  9. 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

    Reply

  10. 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

    Reply

  11. 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

    Reply

  12. 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

    Reply

  13. 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

    Reply

  14. 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

    Reply

  15. 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

    Reply

  16. 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

    Reply

  17. 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

    Reply

  19. 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

    Reply

  20. 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

    Reply

  21. 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

    Reply

    • 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

      Reply

  23. 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

    Reply

  24. 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

    Reply

  25. 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

    Reply

  26. 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

    Reply

  27. 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

    Reply

  28. 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

    Reply

  30. 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

    Reply

  31. Coyote Twilight says:

    I’m picking Rapunzel and got Swords and Sorcery. This should be fun 😀

    January 25, 2014 — 7:11 PM

    Reply

  32. 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

    Reply

  34. 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

    Reply

  35. mikes75 says:

    Rewriting a fairy tale sounds like fun! *rolls a three* Well, this should be interesting…

    January 26, 2014 — 11:45 AM

    Reply

  36. 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

    Reply

  37. 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

    Reply

  38. 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

    Reply

  39. 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

    Reply

  40. 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

    Reply

  41. 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

    Reply

  42. Brice says:

    Three Little Pigs.
    Subgenre: Erotica.
    I think I’ll pass.

    January 26, 2014 — 7:31 PM

    Reply

  43. 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

    Reply

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