Ballnik,+Andrew+D


 * Unfamilar Genre Project**


 * Fairy Tale**

1) Allegory -- -- I am interested in this because allegories are a great way to get a point across (or lesson) yet be able to transform the message into something that is relatable and understandable to the audience. -- Allegories are message stories. There is a clear message in the story but it told in a unique way.

2) Fairy Tales -- -- Obviously, I am interest in fairy tales for partly entertainment reasons. However, fairy tales are very hard to write effectively because I sometimes find myself hindered by my imagination (or lack there of). I think it would be a challenge to try and produce work by letting go of stereotypes, common knowledge and the overdone. -- Fairy tales (like allegories) usually have a clear message but they rely heavily on fantasy and wild imaginations.


 * Annotated Bibliography**

Andersen, H.C. //The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen//. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. This collection features many favorite Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales including the Emporer's New Clothes, the Little Mermaid, the Ugly Duckling and Thumbelina, as well as many other lesser known stories.

Bottigheimer, R. //Fairy Tales: A New History//. Albany: Excelsior Editions, 2009. This book discusses the origins of fairy tales which date back all the way to the Italian Rennaissance. The author goes in depth into the oral traditions that primarily made up classic fairy tales which were later translated and recorded by various authors, primarily the Brothers Grimm. This book also talks about the nature of fairy tales, the differences between them and folktales, and their lasting impression on society today.

Grimm, J, and W Grimm. //The Brothers Grimm: Popular Folk Tales//. New York: Doubleday & Comapny, Inc., 1978. This book features a large collection of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm. THe collection has some of the most popular stories: Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty (Briar-Rose), Little Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, and Rumpelstiltskin. The book also has some of the lesser known stories: the Sad Tale of Clever Elsie, the Seven Ravens, and the Blue Light.

Schwitters, K. //Lucky Hans and Other Merz Fairy Tales//. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009. This book is a collection of stories largely considered to be Kurt Schwitters most popular fairy tales. The stories were taken from unpublished manuscripts as well as published works. The translator included the stories that he most considered to be fairy tales versus Schwitters prose, poetry and dramas.

Fairy Tales are extremely diverse in their structure, characters and themes. They seem to follow the creativity and imagination of the author more so than anything. Most fairy tales began as oral traditions and were handed from generation to generation until writers (such as the Grimm Brothers) collected the stories into volumes. Though despite the diversity among fairy tales, there are definite common ties that link much of the fairy tale world together. Here is a list of do's and don't's when creating your own fairy tale --
 * User's Guide to Fairy Tales**
 * Moral guide/compass - every fairy tale has a moral center, a lesson that needs to be learned or explored. Sometimes its a warning tale (Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel), origin tales of perhaps animals or phenomena in nature (such as why the moon hangs in the sky), or is a carousel story where the main characters end up right back where they started (not learning the ultimate lesson of the story). Whatever the medium might be, the fairy tale must have a lesson to be learned or a moral to be discovered.
 * Conflict - despite being dressed up in magic and the supernatural, fairy tales usually have a basic conflict: good versus evil. Your tale should have his opposition be the main conflict in the story. The conflict is usually manifested outwardly by a villian, however a conflict can very well be within the hero themselves.
 * Characters - hero/heroine and villian - Usually your hero is human and oridinary, or perhaps an animal who is very ordinary. There should be no special powers or advantages whatsoever. The villian is usually supernatural or inhuman in origin. They either display magical powers (Rumpelstiltskin), animals with human and superhuman qualities (Little Red Riding Hood) or perhaps a malevolent and mischievous spirit. The villain should want or covet something of the hero's, which doesn't necessarily need to be physical (beauty, virtue, love) or they want to ultimately destroy these qualities within the hero. Few stories have the villian personally tied to the hero (step-mother, step-sister) or just a random spirit wanting to cause trouble. It depends on your story how the villian is connected. The hero also doesn't necessarily have to be perfect or "good." Your hero could be extremely flawed, but eventually learns a lesson by the end of the story.
 * Time/place - most fairy tales that exisit today take place around the Medieval times (stories of princes, princesses, castles, dragons, witches, etc...) because that's when they were written. Fairy tales should exist in the time they are written and in a place that would be relevant to the story. Futuristic fairy tales virtually do not exist.
 * Magic - all fairy tales should have an element of magic or the supernatural in them. It gives the oridinary hero something special to overcome, making them seem that much more heroic. Sometimes the magic comes from fairies, elves or other magical creatures that aid the hero in their quest. Traditionally the magic element comes from the villian who uses magic to subdue or hurt the hero in someway. In some cases, like Cinderella, the magic comes from a witch to help the hero against her opposing forces, who are not magical but extremely malevolent. Ultimately, the magic aspect can come from any number of sources, as long as it doesn't come from your primary hero, but it must be present in the story somewhere.
 * Peripheral characters - some stories have background characters that usually provide some comic relief or the magic element to the stories. Some stories don't have any additional characters at all. However, if you choose to have the characters, they must in some way, help the hero/ineand propel the plot forward.
 * Final Battle/Conflict - In most fairy tales, this happens near the end of the story, however it can actually happen anywhere in the fairy tale as long as it is a battle (or battle of wills) between your hero and villian. The battle usually consists of the hero falling due to the magicks of the villian, but then somehow gaining the strength to overcome the villian either by pure human means or with the magical aid of some other character. Or the battle could be a change in character because of the villian's magicks. The conflict is where everything changes.
 * Finale - In most cases, such as Rapunzel and SLeeping Beauty, the hero wins and the world is rid of the villian forever, however in some cases the hero doesn't win and ultimately dies, in which the ultimate molal has not been learned. In either case, most stories end with some reasoning behind the story, the //why// of the story. The story DOES NOT have to have a happy ending.
 * Length - Because fairy tales started out as oral traditons, they are relatively short. The story should be concise and easy to read, yet still very imaginative and different.
 * Extras - because of the "Disney-ification" of a lot of fairy tales, the adult humor and violence of true fairy tales has all been forgotton. Fairy tales by nature are very violent stories (witches eating children, eyes being eaten by birds, thorns searing flesh). Almost every story has some kind of violent act in it. Since these stories are geared toward children, most translations do not have this violent aspect. You can add the violence, though it just depends on your audience.