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Winter 2010 Contest

 
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ScottyDM
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Joined: 12 Feb 2005
Posts: 1142
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

PostPosted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 6:37 am    Post subject: Winter 2010 Contest Reply with quote

I thought of this theme about four months ago. Honest! It's only pure dumb luck that the winner of the fall contest also happens to be a perfect example of this quarter's theme too. Fortunately, one may not reenter stories once they've been entered in the contest. The rules.

The theme this quarter is Fractured Fairy Tale. Remember The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show? Yea! Just like that.


So what did WendyKitten do in her story? I asked and she sent me the link to the Russian fairy tale that was her inspiration, Morozko. Although I see Father Frost is another variation of that story. Then she wrote her story Pavla and the Greedy Fox. All three stories share the same basic characters and plot, but Ms Kitten named her characters and gave them more personality, added the greedy fox (which pulled her story into anthrofiction), changed Father Frost a bit (he's disguised as an owl in part of her story), and at the end she managed to do away the evil stepmother as well as her vain daughter.


I've had plenty of time to do a sample story, but I've not even started it. I had an idea for a plot twist of Beauty and the Beast, but now I have a different idea.

As part of a larger project I need to retell a Native American fairy tale from the POV of the traditional villainess--showing that she's been unfairly judged. Sure she transformed into a grizzly bear and attacked her brothers, but they had murdered her husband! A girl can only take so much. This retelling will add much to the original tale, especially about the unfortunate husband.

If I can get this tale in good shape before NaNo I'll upload it as an official example for this quarter.


And of course everyone knows that Disney "fractured" The Little Mermaid. Disney gave the characters names; changed the sea witch from the role of helpful but overpriced wizard into the #1 villainess (the #1 villain had been circumstances in the original); made the little mermaid's romantic rival the sea witch instead of some random human princess; and then at the end, rather than becoming a spirit of the air, the little mermaid becomes human and she gets her man.


So go thou and do likewise. And have fun, of course. Very Happy

S~

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Almost real enough to be considered non-fiction, if it weren't made up.
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ScottyDM
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Joined: 12 Feb 2005
Posts: 1142
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

PostPosted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 12:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am deep in the thrall of NaNoWriMo and haven't give much thought to the contest (good thing entry deadline is December 7th), but as I mentioned on Fur Affinity, for NaNo I'm doing a fractured version of Little Red Riding Hood.

I was procrastinating yesterday and ended up finally reading the Wiki entry for Little Red Riding Hood, and in the course of doing that I discovered a wonderful website by the name of SurLaLune Fairytales. SurLaLune is the labor of love for a woman by the name of Heidi, and Heidi loves fairy tales. In fact she loves them so much she's posted the full text of thousands of fairy tales for which the copyrights have expired. And, she's annotated several dozen of those tales, posted multiple versions of each, etc.

Heidi also talks about what is a fairy tale. But the greatest value of her website are the tales themselves. She has two launch points into the tales:

Annotated Fairy Tales: If you plunge into this section note the links in the upper-left corner of the page. For example, her annotated version of Little Red Riding Hood starts with the English translation of Charles Perrault's story. In the second paragraph is a link to the later Grimm version of the tale, Little Red Cap. But what's really interesting are the links in the upper-left. One is to an offsite version of the story that predates Perrault, with an essay about the earlier story: The Path of Needles or Pins: Little Red Riding Hood. But note too the link for Heidi's page, Similar Tales Across Cultures.

Heidi's eBook section contains the greatest number of stories, and they truly are from all around the world. And I didn't see any that weren't in English. I did happen to find too Blackfeet fairy tales in the Canadian section: Star-Boy and the Sun Dance and The Blackfoot and the Bear. (My NaNo story is set on the Blackfeet Indian reservation in Montana.)

You don't have to use this site. There are many other online collections of fairy tales. But when working with fracturing an existing fairy tale there is a huge possible gotcha: Some fairy tales have many versions, so try to do your best and become familiar with several. It would be a shame if you used an obscure version you knew well, and fractured it so it was almost like a popular version--that could kill your originality score.

Remember, I need a link to the original tale... or tales. I'll diddle the story text to include the links (so they don't count against your word limit). We readers would like to compare your story to the original(s). There are so many of these things out there it's more than possible you'll choose a fairy tale many Anthrofiction Network readers won't know.

Good luck and have fun.

S~

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Almost real enough to be considered non-fiction, if it weren't made up.
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ScottyDM
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Joined: 12 Feb 2005
Posts: 1142
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 5:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Had the stories ready to go a couple of days ago. I should have posted the story links back then, but here they are now.


The Stories for the Winter 2010 Contest are Ready to be Judged

Simply read the stories, as few or as many as you like, but the more the better. Then score the stories you read and leave a comment or two for the author.

You must log in to view the stories. An account is free and I hate spam, so I will not sell, rent, or give away your e-mail address. It’s helpful if you understand the Contest Rules and the theme for this quarter, which is Fractured Fairy Tale. Authors love feedback as long as it’s not mean, so leave a comment. Finally, when you click the “Cast Ballot” button your scores and comments are saved on the system. You may come back any time before the close of the judging period and change your ballot. When the judging period closes all ballots are frozen.

Judging closes January 7th 2011 at the end of the day, UTC (like GMT, but without daylight savings).


Here are the stories and the first few lines from each:

--------------

The Truth About Cinderella

There are many versions of the Cinderella story. Most of them get at least some of the details right, like that she was a blonde and that she did most of the house work, but none of them happen quite the way I remember it. You see, Cinderella didn’t get her name from working in the fireplace, but from me, her pet dragon. And I use the word “pet” lightly. I was more of a sister or a friend to her than a pet. But, her real name is Cindy and mine is Ella. … read more


Rapunzel

Once upon a time, in the leonine country of King Richard the First…

“And the winner is…” Sir Frederic announced in his enormous ball room that held just about everyone in the county. As per the Saint Joan’s Ball custom, all the adolescent lions and lionesses that attended had their names written on a slip of paper and put into a fishbowl. The winner of the drawing got to choose his or her dance partner for the night, and then another name was drawn and that person got to choose his or her partner, and so on. … read more


Who’s the Big Bad Wolf?

It’s just like a dream. You don’t know how it began, but here you are, somewhere in the middle of the woods with a path a few feet in front of you. But you know it’s not a dream because you nip yourself in the arm just hard enough to make it hurt a little. You smell the air, and strangely, the forest smells old, dusty, and processed. You don’t hear any birds singing or any squirrels scurrying, so you guess your reputation precedes you. … read more


Evil Red Riding Hood

Once upon a time a girl was born into the world in a small rural village near the forest. She wore a red hooded cloak every day, thus all the people of the village started to call her Little Red Riding Hood. Does the name sound familiar? Or perhaps ring a bell? Oh yes, Little Red Riding Hood, that sweet, kind, caring, innocent young little girl who delivers special gifts to her grandma, right? Well, not so much, you see, Little Red did not have very many friends, and was fairly poor, leaving her to feel isolated and lonesome. … read more


“Graffers”

She was not surprised, after having met him in the woods, to find the Wolf waiting for her at her grandfather’s cottage. Nor was the absence of her ailing grandfather entirely unexpected considering what she had told the Wolf during their conversation. Her grandfather—“Graffers”, as he insisted she call him—had always been mean-spirited, demanding, and demeaning, and his debilitating illness had done nothing to improve his disposition. Therefore, it was with a certain satisfaction that she saw the door of the closet tightly closed and a heavy bench pushed up against it. … read more


Conla and Sorcha

The year is 2045.

Sorcha huddles down in the blackened earth to wait patiently. That is one thing as a Wolfhound I can do, she thinks. Each minute feels like a day. Ears constantly straining for the slightest sound she waits. The sun fails in its daily battle to break through the chemical laden air making her breathing short and noisy. Luckily she is not cold in this bleak bed as her Irish Wolfhounds coat has become more like an Elkhound, double layered. It is welcome protection against the vicious winds attempting to uproot anything in their path. … read more


The Wolf Who Cried Man

There once was a large forest, that covered the side of a mountain. Nestled among the meadows and valleys, was a hamlet of simple, hardy folk. They farmed where they could among the rocky soil, and had sheep that grazed the mountain pastures.
In the forest surrounding the hamlet was a noble Pack of wolves. For many generations the Pack had thrived, hunting amongst the great variety of game in the forest, but in lean times, crept along the boundary of the hamlet. … read more

--------------

Thanks a million for your help. I appreciate it and I’m sure the authors appreciate it too.

S~

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Kantaro wrote:
Almost real enough to be considered non-fiction, if it weren't made up.
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TwylaFox
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Joined: 07 Dec 2010
Posts: 54
Location: BFE, Califorlornland

PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dang! Wish I'd spotted this thread sooner!

Oh, well.... Guess I gotta wait for the Spring 2011 one. *sigh*

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ScottyDM
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Joined: 12 Feb 2005
Posts: 1142
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

PostPosted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 2:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Results of the Winter 2010 Contest

Kadrian Blackwolf's story "Graffers" took first place with an earned a score of 4.68.

Josh's story The Wolf Who Cried Man earned a score of 4.10.

Maria's story Conla and Sorcha earned a score of 3.78.

Murphy Z's story Who's the Big Bad Wolf earned a score of 3.37.

Azola's story The Truth About Cinderella earned a score of 3.24.

Murphy Z's story Rapunzel earned a score of 3.04.

Kaylen's story Evil Red Riding Hood earned a score of 2.80.

Thanks to everyone who read and scored the stories.

S~

_________________
Kantaro wrote:
Almost real enough to be considered non-fiction, if it weren't made up.
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ScottyDM
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Joined: 12 Feb 2005
Posts: 1142
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

PostPosted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 7:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

New quarter starting up.

S~

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Kantaro wrote:
Almost real enough to be considered non-fiction, if it weren't made up.
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