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Discussion: New takes on old myths
One I haven't read but which is on my to-read list is Grendel, by John Gardner. The amazon.com page calls it "A modern re-telling of the Beowulf epic from the point of view of the monster." How can you not love a hook like that?
http://www.amazon.com/Grendel-John-Gardner/dp/0679723110/ref=pdbbssr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220412268&sr=1-1
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Cloister's active submissions:
The Fallen
That does sound good. My dad loves books like that, he read a couple, Wicked and another one whose name I can't remember that were the same sort of thing. They might even be by the same person, I hate to say it on a site for writers but I tend to skim the authors name, so I can't be sure.
Well, that's right up my alley as well. When I wrote Stn. George, I had a volume of Grimm's nearby to get themes or concept ideas if I got into a pinch. I remember that I read the story of The Stupid Boy and then thought, that there could be an idiot's story. It turned out to be one of the hardest to write, though.
When it comes down to it, though, a lot of great literature is a retelling of a well-known myth or legend with a new and modern twist. It's a way of tapping into the collective consciousness of the world to bring out a new way of seeing things.
Wayzgoose
Well, Joseph Campbell taught us that there are no new archetypes, only new settings to put them in. :) Which may or may not be just as well. I wonder if someone really did come up with a new archetype, whether any of us would be able to relate to the character in any reasonable way while reading, or whether it would just be confusing and weird.
Sign up for National Novel Writing Month at www.nanowrimo.org starting October 1!
Cloister's active submissions:
The Fallen
Maybe our heads would explode. :) That's always my favorite part of reading a new book though. There are so many ways to write the concept that often I don't realize how similar some books are until I've finished reading them. It always amazes me.
Well, for NaNoWriMo, I'll be writing an adult version of Little Red Riding Hood, with a couple of other fairy tales thrown in for good measure. I'm hoping that if it's good enought it'll eventually get posted on longtale
Chaos_reigns's active submissions:
(K)Night School (revised)
Cool idea, I think you do really well with your plots, if (K)night School is any indication, but especially for a NaNo novel you should have a couple friends go over it with you. Catch the typos and stuff.
An excellent suggestion. I've had friends and family read and make notes on hardcopy of all my manuscripts. I've gotten some really good feedback that way, and it's always helpful to have more sets of eyes looking out for typos and other weird artifacts of the typing process.
Sign up for National Novel Writing Month at www.nanowrimo.org; novel writing starts November 1st!
Cloister's active submissions:
The Fallen
Yeah, plus it's just easier if you can just tell somone your suggestions. Not everyone can write eight page deatailed reviews you know.:)
"Daughter of the Forest" by Juliet Marillier is based off the tale "The Six Swans", if anyone knows it.
I haven't heard of it before but I'm definetly going to check it out:)
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I love the books that take an old fairy tale or myth and tell it back to you, seriously or mockingly. I especially like Kelly McCullough's Webmage series, as well as Mercedes Lackey's Urban Fantasy and Five Hundred Kingdoms books. Has anyone read them? Or even better, does anyone have any recomendations?