I've always been a fan of fairy tales and fractured fairy tales, but there is one tale in particular that I'd always had a problem with -- can you guess?
Goldilocks and the Three Bears!
Why? Well, for several reasons. First, we have a presumably (at least to me as an adopted child) orphaned child roaming the depths of the forest (although there are variations -- one where she is baking a cake with her mother). Secondly, it's fair to say from the way the story is written that she's basically an intruder who trespasses upon the home of the three bears and then steals food and uses their stuff. Next, she doesn't ever seem to be sorry for her actions or learn a lesson. Many versions have her being chased off and almost eaten, never to be seen by the three bears again. At least there's a moral -- never enter someone's home without their permission.
But there were definitely some good things about the story! This is clear from how many adaptations there have been! So when I set out to write my own Goldilocks story in the way I wanted it to end, I had my work cut out.
I did my research and read every Goldilocks fracture that I could get my hands on. It almost seemed like it had all been done before. There were variations with pandas, aliens, dinosaurs, rockers, goats, cowboys, pigs, criminals, you name it! Goodreads lists them here:
[Pictured: 6 Examples, including Moldilocks, from ErinDealey.com]
I was almost about to move onto another project when it came to me -- Monsters! There was not any version with monsters. Just then the title came to me -- Moldilocks and the Three Scares. Though I wasn't particularly fond of zombies (of course I am now LOL), I realized my main character had to be one.
But this particular spin on the idea was fresh and new, and that's one of the reasons, I believe, for its success.
The other reason, I believe, is its execution. However, I didn't put one word of this "story" onto paper until I figured it all out in my head. I did make a word web though, which was comprised of people, places and things, as well as language, I might incorporate into the story.
For example, Frankenstein monster, cemetery, bats, sarcophagus, alpha-bat soup, mummy, a haunted house, porridge, chair, electric chair, bed of nails, coffin, a bloodhound, plasma, a maggot fly, zombie, and more -- just whatever popped into my head that was either related to the Goldilocks story or monsters.
From there my story began to develop. I didn't want her to be an intruder, but just someone who was searching for something -- something she would find in the house. So of course, I thought -- HOME! To facilitate that and make it acceptable, I had the scent of soup (recognition of home) lure her, and I created a need / problem for the scares and made her an answer to their nightmares (prayers).
So, Moldilocks wanted a home, Papa wanted another mouth to feed, Mama wanted an assistant for the lab, and Baby wanted someone to play with. From there, it was just lots of fun trying to shake up the story. Of course, I kept the parts that are the cornerstones of the Goldilocks story -- the fact that she entered the house, the porridge, the chairs and the bed and the just right repetition.
I overlaid monster words on some of the objects, like Alpha-bat Soup instead of porridge, and electric chair instead of a regular one. Check out the fabulous art by David Rodriguez Lorenzo to see the rest and how he amazingly incorporated all the details, even my maggot fly, Zombee!
But the main thing I changed to make it fresh and new -- it was now the story of people who needed people (as is often the case of fostering and adoption), and it has become a wonderful story with a very happy ending.
I hope you enjoyed these aspects of my "Story Behind the Story" and that they will inspire you to create your own saleable fairy tale fracture.
You can grab your own copy of Moldilocks -- hardcover or Kindle, HERE.
Happy Halloween!
Lynne Marie
Director of RateYourStory.org
Mentor, Critiquer and Developmental Editor at ThePictureBookMechanic.com
Co-Host at www.SeasonsOfKidlit.com
Columnist at Children’s Book Insider (www.writeforkids.org)
Comments