January with Thumbelina

January is a quiet, broody month. The end of the holiday season is as sudden as the beginning of it. The weather is unpredictable and rarely appreciated. And the new year has a sense of urgency to be different or at least better than the last. It’s all exhausting! I think about Thumbelina hiding out …

Believing your own hype–like a tailor

Being a writer is hard. I know everyone says that, but it's like parenting--you don't know how hard it's going to be until you're in the trenches, slogging through it all. It turns out writing and rewriting (and rewriting, and rewriting...) is actually the easy part. Especially if you hold to the rule that you …

Formula: The Sequel or Comfort Mind Food

Last week I wrote about Hallmark Movies and their tendency to be formulaic. And I don’t think formula's are always a bad thing. But there was a time when my literary snobbery got in the way of a good time. As a teenager I flirted with a certain author’s romance stories that would be considered …

Hallmark Movie Drinking Game ©

The worst kept secret in fairy tales is that they conform to a formula. There’s something comforting in that, if a bit predictable. A modern-day equivalent is a Hallmark movie. They are predictable and comfortable, like worn-in shoes. Not great, not bad—just a pleasant way to spend an afternoon (or a holiday season). A bit …

Fairy Tale Ambitions

I’ve been thinking about ambition lately. Wishes, yearnings, desires. It all sounds very intimate. Ambition is all about what we want deep down inside and work toward. We all have them, don’t we? Here’s where Snow White lost me. After escaping a death sentence because the queen’s servant takes pity on her and finding shelter …

Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Rip Van Winkle and Me

Fairy tales and folklore have a tradition of putting protagonists in comas. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Rip Van Winkle are only a few examples of letting things cool down while the main character takes a prolonged nap. Evil queens are dispatched. Curses are lifted and generally life goes on. It changes the trajectory of …

Also Starring…A Secondary Fairy Tale Character

Fairy tale retellings has become its own sub-genre. We want to keep fairy tales in our lives but understand that the stories are problematic from a modern standpoint. We want agency, depth and inclusivity—a tall order for something written centuries ago. But we do our best, giving heroines backstories and pluck in the hopes of …

Evidence of things not seen…

I’m not one to quote the Bible, but it can’t be denied that no matter what your beliefs, it’s very quotable. I’ve always had a particular fondness for the sentiment of “things not seen” being primarily a fantasy writer. I like to think I see things that others don’t because my imagination allows me to …

A Writer’s Winter Fairy Tale Come True

Now that the Christmas season has come and gone, I can make a confession. I really don’t like “It’s A Wonderful Life.” I didn’t see it until I was in college and my roommate expressed horror at my lapse in film viewing. I explained that one Christmas I saw it listed in the TV Guide …

Breadcrumbs and the Dark Woods, the “What If” Game with Hansel & Gretel

I like playing the "What If" game. If you don't know it (see what I did there?) it's the game you play with yourself (or others, rules are optional) wondering what can or did happen. It's especially gratifying with fairy tales. For me, happily ever after isn't enough of a denouement to satisfy. One of …