More Contest Ideas

For those of you who are still stumped after getting some story starter ideas, here's a list of books based on fairy tales that you can read to get even more inspiration. If anyone else knows of one that's not mentioned here (or if you have a review of one of these you'd like to contribute), send me an email and let me know! Please note, I haven't read most of these, but all of them sound great!

Cinderella
Before Midnight: A Retelling of "Cinderella"by Cameron Dokey
Just Ellaby Margaret Peterson Haddix
Bella at Midnightby Diane Stanley
Ella Enchanted (Trophy Newbery) by Gail Carson Levine
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister: A Novel by Gregory Maguire
Bound by Donna Jo Napoli

The Goose Girl
Goose Chase by Patricia Kindl
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Rapunzel
Golden: A Retelling of "Rapunzel" (Once Upon a Time) by Cameron Dokey
Zel by Donna Jo Napoli
Twice Upon A Time #1: Rapunzel, the One With All The Hair (Twice Upon a Time) by Wendy Mass

Sleeping Beauty
Beauty Sleep: A Retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" (Once Upon a Time)by Cameron Dokey
Briar Roseby Jane Yolen
Spindle's End by Robin McKinley
Twice Upon a Time, No. 2: Sleeping Beauty, the One Who Took the Really Long Nap (Twice Upon a Time)
Thornspell by Helen Lowe

Snow White
Snow: A Retelling of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (Once Upon a Time) by Tracy Lynn
Mirror Mirror: A Novel by Gregory Maguire
White As Snow (Fairy Tales) by Tanith Lee
Mira, Mirror by Mette Ivie Harrison
Fairestby Gail Carson Levine

Arthurian Legend
The Last Grail Keeper by Pamela Smith Hill (Review available here)
Avalon Highby Meg Cabot
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Damosel by Stephanie Spinner
Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve

Beauty and the Beast
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley
Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
Beast by Donna Jo Napoli
Spirited (Once Upon a Time)by Nancy Holder
Belle by Cameron Dokey (Once Upon a Time, out Nov. 23)

Rumpelstiltskin
Spinners by Donna Jo Napoli
The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde
Straw Into Gold by Gary D. Schmidt
The Crimson Thread by Suzanne Weyn
A Curse as Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Greek Mythology
Waiting for Odysseus by Clemence McLaren (Review available here)
Sirena by Donna Jo Napoli
Inside the Walls of Troy: A Novel of the Women Who Lived the Trojan Warby Clemence McLaren (Review available here)
The Moon Ridersby Theresa Tomlinson

Tam Lin
Earthly Knight, Anby Janet Mcnaughton
The Perilous Gardby Elizabeth Marie Pope
Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
Winter Rose by Patricia McKillip

12 Dancing Princesses
The Night Dance (Once Upon a Time) by Suzanne Weyn
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
The Phoenix Dance by Dia Calhoun
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George (Out in Jan 09)

Short Story Fairy Tales
A Wolf at the Door: and Other Retold Fairy Tales by Various
Swan Sister: Fairy Tales Retold by Various
The Fairy's Return and Other Princess Talesby Gail Carson Levine (Review available here)
Once upon a Fairy Tale: Four Favorite Stories by Various
The Rose and The Beast: Fairy Tales Retoldby Francesca Lia Block
Book of Enchantments by Patricia C. Wrede (Review available here)

Other Fairy Tales
The Magic Circle by Donna Jo Napoli (Hansel and Gretel)
The Rose Bride: A Retelling of "The White Bride and the Black Bride" (Once Upon a Time) by Nancy Holder
Scarlet Moon by Debbie Viguié (Red Riding Hood)
Sunlight and Shadow (Once Upon a Time) by Cameron Dokey (The Magic Flute)
The Swan Maidenby Heather Tomlinson
Water Song: A Retelling of "The Frog Prince" (Once Upon a Time) by Suzanne Weyn
The Storyteller's Daughter: A Retelling of "The Arabian Nights" (Once Upon a Time) by Cameron Dokey
Daughter of the Forest (The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Book 1) by Juliet Marillier (The Wild Swans)
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
East by Edith Pattou
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
The Wishing Moonby Michael O. Tunnell (Aladdin)
Midnight Pearls: A Retelling of "The Little Mermaid" (Once Upon a Time) by Debbie Viguié
Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Prince and Pauper)
Aurelie: A Faerie Tale by Heather Tomlinson
The Wild Orchid: A Retelling of "The Ballad of Mulan" by Cameron Dokey (Out Feb 09)

Story Starter Ideas

I’ve had a couple people mention that although they want to participate in the Summer Writing Challenge, they don’t know what to write about. For those of you who are having trouble getting started, here’s a few ideas.

1. Pick your fairytale- It could be one of your favorites, a commonly ignored one, we’ll even accept folklore/mythology for this one.

2. Follow some of the below ideas to get started. You are welcome to use any/all of these ideas, but remember to make them your own! You don’t have to use them at all if you don’t want to, these are merely things to get your ideas flowing.

If you’re writing a poem for the contest:

1. Match your format to the piece you’re retelling

• Japanese mythology could be retold in haiku
• Retell Greek/Roman stories in epic format (though maybe not epic length…)

2. Use character voice

• Pick a character. Write how the story looks from their eyes. What do they see?

3. “Dr. Seuss” it!

• Put your favorite stories into a cute rhyming format

If you’re writing a short story:

1. Change the setting

• What if the story took place in a different time period?
• Would changing the location change the story?

2. Tell YOUR Version

• Unsatisfied with the way the story went? Rewrite it the way you want to!

3. Play “What if”?”

• What if Cinderella had been a boy?
• What if no on woke up Sleeping Beauty?
• What if Bluebeard’s wife hadn’t opened the door?
• What if Beauty hadn’t gone to the Beast’s castle?

4. Change the Point of View

• How did the Dwarfs really feel about Snow White leaving?
• What did the Frog Prince think about the princess?

5. Decide what happens next

• Is “happily ever after” really the end?

6. Mix them together

• How would your favorite characters react to each other’s stories?

Hopefully that gets some ideas going. In the next few days I’ll be posting a bunch of booklists you can also look to for inspiration… just in case you get stuck.

Good luck everyone!

Sunday News

Whew! It's been a long week. But it's been nice and cool here in sunny CA this week, and I finally got my hands on Harry Potter, so it hasn't been too bad.

On my blog round-up this afternoon, I happend to find this lovely post over at BookMoot. To those of you who've wondered where all the reviews on this blog have gone, go read this! This is so much my life right now. I simply haven't had time to review all the wonderful books I've read this summer. I'm hoping I might have a little more writing time once I start school next month. (I realize this seems a little contradictive, but I really do seem to have more time at school. Go figure.) I've been (dare I say it?) lax on my reviewing lately, but I promise to get better!

Also coming up soon as some idea starters for the Summer Writing Challenge. If you haven't yet, you should check out the prizes because they will be awesome.

And in other words, I just found out about Becoming Jane, a movie which was, apparently, released 2 days ago and I had absolutely no idea about. Anne Hathaway stars as Jane Austen in this one, from what I gather, it's supposed to be a bit of a biography. Has anyone else heard about this one? It took me completely by surprise!

That's all the news for now. Look out for those ideas coming later (maybe tonight)!

More Prizes added!

Guess what, lucky Summer Challenge Participants! I've added more prizes for you to pick from in the Prize Box. New selections include ARCs of:

Hex Education by Emily Gould
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
and
Sisters of Isis: The Summoning (Sisters of Isis #1) by Lynne Ewing

If you missed the prize post, that's listed here, and you can view the complete prize box here.

Prizes, Prizes, Prizes

I finally got my last prize package from Simon and Schuster in today's mail, so now I know what the prizes will be for the Summer Writing Challenge. Yay! I just love prizes!

Here's where they stand right now, but, you know, no one's signed up yet. Visit the first post for details on how to do so. Did I mention you can email me your entry too? Remember, if no one signs up, I can't give away these awesome prizes:

1st Place- 1 $10.00 Amazon.com Gift Certificate
2 picks from our Prize Box
1 Strawberry and Champange Massage Candle (great for reading in the bathtub!)

2nd Place- 1 $5.00 Amazon.com Gift Certificate
1 Pick from our Prize Box

3rd Place- 1 Pick from our Prize Box

Wondering what the Prize Box is? It's all the books I have just waiting to go home with a contest winner. You can click here to see what's currently available. Follow the links to amazon.com for more information about each book. There's some great stuff in there, including a few fairytale-inspired titles. 1st place will get first pick from the box, 2nd place gets second pick, and 3rd place gets third pick.

PLUS- The deadline has been extended! I stupidly stuck the deadline smack in the middle of my annual move back to school, so I obviously won't be doing much posting. :-) Now your entry must be in by September 21st, and judging will commense afterwards.

Contest News!

Congrats to Safia, who won July's contest. Send me an email at shadyglade (at) mail.com with your address, and I'll get your prize in the mail.

There will be no book contest for August, to make way for the Summer Writing Challenge. Now is the time to get started on your entry, I know you can do it! One short poem or short story, and you're in.

I'm in the process of finalizing prizes right now, but I can tell you they will be cool. You still need to sign up by posting your entry (or emailing it to the address above) so hop to it!

As always, email your questions. And make sure you help spread the word, the more participants, the better!