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AH, retellings! My new obsession. 😉 And I’m loving how diverse retellings are becoming – diverse characters, diverse genres. It’s no longer the same-old same-old (modern-day Cinderella, Snow White, etc.) It’s exciting. So I’ve listed five fairytale retellings I’ve read, and five retellings I’ve added to my TBR. Enjoy!

HAVE READ

*Can we take a moment to admire how fantastic these covers look side by side?

1. The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh – retelling of A Thousand and One Nights

2. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas – retelling of Beauty and the Beast

3. Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis – sci-fi retelling of Snow White

4. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge – retelling of Beauty and the Beast

5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer – sci-fi retelling of Cinderella (followed by sci-fi retellings of Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel)

WANT TO READ

6. Winter by Marissa Meyer – sci-fi retelling of Snow White

7. A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston – retelling of A Thousand and One Nights

8. Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge – retelling of Red Riding Hood

9. Ash & Bramble by Sarah Prineas – retelling of Cinderella

10. Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis – retelling of The Wild Swans

 

DID YOU ADD ANY OF THESE BOOKS TO YOUR TTT? YOU TELL ME – WHAT HAVE I MISSED?? I’M ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR INTRIGUING RETELLINGS! BRING ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS! BE SURE TO LINK TO YOUR TOP TEN TUESDAY POST SO I CAN CHECK IT OUT. 🙂

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I have actually just returned home from a three week vacation – it’s good to be back! I thought, naively, that I’d be able to keep up with my posting schedule while I was away, but unfortunately that was not the case. So I apologize for disappearing from the blog without any advance warning or explanation! Anyhow, I’m excited to be jumping back in with this fun TTT. It melts our book nerd hearts when we read about fellow bookworms. We remember these characters because, hello, they are our people. 😉

1. BETSY RAY

“Betsy returned to her chair, took off her coat and hat, opened her book and forget the world again.” – Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown by Maud Hart Lovelace

2. ANNE SHIRLEY

“I love a book that makes me cry.” – Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

3. HERMIONE GRANGER

“What are you doing with all those books anyway?” Ron asked.
“Just trying to decide which ones to take with us,” said Hermione. “When we’re looking for the Horcruxes.”
“Oh, of course,” said Ron, clapping a hand to his forehead. “I forgot we’ll be hunting down Voldemort in a mobile library.” – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

4. ELIZABETH BENNETT

“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” – Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

5. LIZ SUTTON

“It’s almost like…”
“The library,” Liz said, and immediately I knew that she was right. It was exactly like the library at the Gallagher Academy, from the position of the fireplace to the tall windows that overlooked the grounds.
“How do you know?” Zach asked.
Liz looked totally insulted. “Because…uh…library.”
“Okay.” Zach threw up his hands. “Point taken.” – Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter

6. TESSA GRAY & WILL HERONDALE

“Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry.” – Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

7. LIESEL MEMINGER

“Books everywhere! Each wall was armed with overcrowded yet immaculate shelving. It was barely possible to see paintwork. There were all different styles and sizes of lettering on the spines of the black, the red, the gray, the every-colored books. It was one of the most beautiful things Liesel Meminger had ever seen.” – The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

8. SYDNEY SAGE

“Sydney had been horrified to discover my home library consisted of a bartending dictionary and an old copy of Esquire, and at her pleading, I’d promised to read something more substantial. I was trying to think deep thoughts as I read Gatsby, but mostly I wanted to throw some parties.” – The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead

9. CELAENA SARDOTHIEN

“Her salary as King’s Champion was considerable, and Celaena spent every last copper of it. Shoes, hats, tunics, dresses, jewelry, weapons, baubles for her hair, and books. Books and books and books. So many books that Philippa had to bring up another bookcase for her room.” – Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas

10. GIGI

“In fiction, I searched for my favorite authors, women I have trusted to reassure me that not all teenage guys are total ditwads, that the archetype of the noble cute hero who devotes himself to the girl he loves has not gone the way of the rotary phone.” – Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer

 

Have you read these books?? Who are your favorite book nerd characters? Share your thoughts! Give me recommendations! 

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WANT TO READ

1. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

2. Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

3. The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

4. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

5. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

DON’T WANT TO READ (?)

6. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

7. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

8. The Jewel by Amy Ewing

9. If I Stay by Gayle Forman

10. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

This is the seventh installment of my New Novel blog series. Last week I wrote about making an unlikable protagonist sympathetic. 

I’ve been slowly but surely plodding along on this first draft of my new novel. I feel comfortable with my character’s voice and I enjoy writing from her POV. My supporting characters are interesting. The story is always on my mind. All good things, #amiright?

So I recently shared an important scene with my writers group because I needed some feedback. Something didn’t feel right but I didn’t know how to fix it. Long story short, their advice was to add more emotion to the scene.

When I revised the scene with their advice in mind, I was super excited about the result. *I don’t typically revise as I’m drafting, because I think it’s important to just keep writing and to keep moving forward. But adding to this scene was necessary to regaining my momentum.

Let me tell you what emotion is NOT. Emotion is not melodrama. If your character is angry or upset, he/she does not need to sob or fall weak-kneed to the floor in order for you to get this across.

So what is emotion? It’s what your character is thinking/feeling at any given moment. It’s your character’s reaction to being fired from his/her job, or meeting a new friend, or losing a loved one. Reaction is key.

WHY is the emotional aspect important? WHY should we give the reaction more attention/emphasis? I’ll give you 3 reasons.

If your reader does not feel connected to your protagonist, if they could care less about your protagonist’s situation, they’re likely to stop reading. This is especially important for me to remember because my protagonist, Gwen, is somewhat unlikable at the beginning. (I wrote about this predicament last week!)

So when I shared the latest scene with my group, they told me Gwen wasn’t really internalizing her feelings. Readers want to know what your POV character is thinking and feeling, and internalization is key.

They pointed out a few strategic places where I could amp up Gwen’s emotional reaction. For example, they were interested to know what was going on in Gwen’s head when she began interacting with another character.

The scene was important to me because it directly followed the inciting incident of Act 1. Therefore, this scene is largely about Gwen’s reaction to the inciting incident (the event that sets the story in motion!).

I received this comment from one of my group members: “Let 1st impression/reaction [to character x] show how things have changed.”

While writing the scene, I’d forgotten that everything Gwen is experiencing should be colored by the events of the inciting incident. She has a new perspective on her situation and the other characters. Therefore, she’ll make different decisions based on new information. She’ll be asking new questions. And as Gwen is processing her emotions, I have to tie it all back to the plot.

You don’t want to tell your reader that your protagonist is angry or upset or excited. Rather, show your character reacting emotionally.

In the scene, my protagonist Gwen is exhausted and annoyed. She’s still reacting to the inciting incident of the story, and she isn’t given much time to process it before she’s thrust into another surprising situation. So now she’s angry. In my head, I could visualize Gwen’s anger/anxiety and her resulting facial expressions. But it was difficult translating this into words.

My writers group recommended The Emotion Thesaurus. The thesaurus lists the physical signals, internal sensations, and mental responses associated with 75 separate emotions. For example, the book reminded me that someone who is angry might be sweating, cracking their knuckles, glaring, breathing noisily, or baring their teeth. Internal sensations include grinding one’s teeth, quivering muscles, a speeding pulse. I could then choose the “tells” that made sense for my character.

Hope this helps! Have you faced similar challenges? Please share your thoughts! As always, feel free to contact me if you have a question. 🙂