Putting a New Twist on an Old Story
There are a lot of ways to play this writing game but today we’re going to focus on protagonists. (Never fear, we’ll play variations later, too.)
Four Steps for Making Old Stories New Again
Step One: Choose a Classic Story
By “classic story” I mean an established story that resonates in the culture in which you find yourself. For most of us in western countries, that will mean that stories from Classical Mythology, the Bible, Shakespeare, and European fairy tales are all good starting points. In other areas you may wish to start with your stories taken from your local dominant religions, literary foundations, and ancient myths.
Step Two: Change the Protagonist
Change a key identifier for the protagonist: for example, swap the gender, sexual orientation, age, race, and/or class.
Step Three: Carry Those Changes Through the Script
When you make significant changes to your protagonist, those changes ripple out through the story. For example, look at Romeo and Juliet. If you change Romeo to Romola, you now have the story of two young girls in love–great! But if your Romola is heterosexual and you want to stick close to the original plot, then your Juliet needs to be Julio. On the other hand, if you’re still writing the story of Romola and Juliet and you want them to secretly get married, you need to move your story to a setting where women can marry; if you don’t want to set your story modern day, then you also have the option to change the genre to set it in a scifi or fantasy world. Keep carrying your changes through the script, see what breaks, and fix it.
Step Four: Kick Away the Source Material and Tell Your New Story
You can choose to adhere as closely or loosely as you wish to the original story but at a certain point you need to free yourself of those shackles and make the story your own. Maybe you add or subtract a scene or change the order of things. Maybe the new genre requires a combat scene or an comedy set piece. Maybe the nature of the key relationships dictates a different outcome. Be true to your choices and go where your story takes you. Maybe in the whole exercise you discover one character or relationship or moment that spurs a new idea: throw out the rest and run with the good stuff. (But before you give up on this game, try to see one story through to the end of a full re-versioning: it’s really good for your writing brain!)
Making Old Stories New for Flash Fiction Writers
There are all different kinds of flash fiction and I’m a fan of the “zoomed in” flash that focuses on a key moment. Flash writers, try going through the steps above and focusing on a well-known moment or beat in your story: how is it different with your new protago
nist? Zoom right in on that and show us what shifts and what opens up in the new version. (Or share with us what else you’d do with this prompt!)
Making Old Stories New Again Together
I’m growing fond of Romola and her paramour, so let’s work out their story together. (I’m assuming you’re all familiar with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet but if you’re not, follow the link for a plot summary).
Do you team Romola with Juliet or Julio? What are their sexual orientations, regardless of their genders?–This could be a passionately platonic relationship after all. Will you change their age, race, or class? Why are their families divided? Where and when do you set the story? Do you keep the genre as drama/tragedy or do you change it? (I’d love to see a slapstick R&J in which the Montagues and Capulets have a big pie fight!) As you make your changes, do they cause friction with key plot points or story assumptions in the original?–What do you do with that? How far away from the original do you wind up?
If Romola & J don’t tickle your fancy, pick another story to work from and go for it.
No matter what story you start with, think it through at least until you hit a thorny story problem that you want to tell us about, or until you discover something wonderful in your new version that surprises or delights you and let us know what it is.
Tip: Don’t try to be clever. If you can put your ego aside and commit to the story, you’ll wind up with something much more interesting. To get the most out of this exercise, make a big, bold choice at the beginning, and then keep honoring it, justifying it, and serving the story.
This isn’t “for marks” (nothing is around here) so have fun and see where this prompt takes you.
PS If you’re awake at night staring at the ceiling, or stuck on a long commute, or waiting in a long line at the store, reimagining old stories this way is a great exercise for “writing in your head”.
There are a lot of ways to play this writing game but today we’re going to focus on protagonists. (Never fear, we’ll play variations later, too.)
Four Steps for Making Old Stories New Again
Step One: Choose a Classic Story
By “classic story” I mean an established story that resonates in the culture in which you find yourself. For most of us in western countries, that will mean that stories from Classical Mythology, the Bible, Shakespeare, and European fairy tales are all good starting points. In other areas you may wish to start with your stories taken from your local dominant religions, literary foundations, and ancient myths.
Step Two: Change the Protagonist
Change a key identifier for the protagonist: for example, swap the gender, sexual orientation, age, race, and/or class.
Step Three: Carry Those Changes Through the Script
When you make significant changes to your protagonist, those changes ripple out through the story. For example, look at Romeo and Juliet. If you change Romeo to Romola, you now have the story of two young girls in love–great! But if your Romola is heterosexual and you want to stick close to the original plot, then your Juliet needs to be Julio. On the other hand, if you’re still writing the story of Romola and Juliet and you want them to secretly get married, you need to move your story to a setting where women can marry; if you don’t want to set your story modern day, then you also have the option to change the genre to set it in a scifi or fantasy world. Keep carrying your changes through the script, see what breaks, and fix it.
Step Four: Kick Away the Source Material and Tell Your New Story
You can choose to adhere as closely or loosely as you wish to the original story but at a certain point you need to free yourself of those shackles and make the story your own. Maybe you add or subtract a scene or change the order of things. Maybe the new genre requires a combat scene or an comedy set piece. Maybe the nature of the key relationships dictates a different outcome. Be true to your choices and go where your story takes you. Maybe in the whole exercise you discover one character or relationship or moment that spurs a new idea: throw out the rest and run with the good stuff. (But before you give up on this game, try to see one story through to the end of a full re-versioning: it’s really good for your writing brain!)
Making Old Stories New for Flash Fiction Writers
There are all different kinds of flash fiction and I’m a fan of the “zoomed in” flash that focuses on a key moment. Flash writers, try going through the steps above and focusing on a well-known moment or beat in your story: how is it different with your new protagonist? Zoom right in on that and show us what shifts and what opens up in the new version. (Or share with us what else you’d do with this prompt!)
Making Old Stories New Again Together
I’m growing fond of Romola and her paramour, so let’s work out their story together. (I’m assuming you’re all familiar with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet but if you’re not, follow the link for a plot summary).
Do you team Romola with Juliet or Julio? What are their sexual orientations, regardless of their genders?–This could be a passionately platonic relationship after all. Will you change their age, race, or class? Why are their families divided? Where and when do you set the story? Do you keep the genre as drama/tragedy or do you change it? (I’d love to see a slapstick R&J in which the Montagues and Capulets have a big pie fight!) As you make your changes, do they cause friction with key plot points or story assumptions in the original?–What do you do with that? How far away from the original do you wind up?
If Romola & J don’t tickle your fancy, pick another story to work from and go for it.
No matter what story you start with, think it through at least until you hit a thorny story problem that you want to tell us about, or until you discover something wonderful in your new version that surprises or delights you and let us know what it is.
Tip: Don’t try to be clever. If you can put your ego aside and commit to the story, you’ll wind up with something much more interesting. To get the most out of this exercise, make a big, bold choice at the beginning, and then keep honoring it, justifying it, and serving the story.
This isn’t “for marks” (nothing is around here) so have fun and see where this prompt takes you.
PS If you’re awake at night staring at the ceiling, or stuck on a long commute, or waiting in a long line at the store, reimagining old stories this way is a great exercise for “writing in your head”.
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