We all love a fairy story. If you fancy getting creative and penning your own, all you need is a handful of fairytale tropes and a sprinkling of magic.
Fancy yourself as a Brother (or Sister) Grimm? Fairytales lend themselves to rewritings and reimaginings, with their familiar tropes and age-old stories. Find a quiet spot, gather your writing materials (and a Thermos of coffee to sustain you) then choose three of the fairytale tropes from our list below as a starting point for a story. We’ll see you at ‘happy ever after’.
Pick three of these fairytale tropes to inspire your story
A mirror
A castle
A princess
A deep forest
A stepmother
A witch
A child given up as payment by their parents
Royalty disguised as someone in poverty
Frogs
Enforced hardship and hard work
Humans disguised as animals
Wishes granted
Things happening in threes
Rules being broken
Animals being kind to humans
Dragons
Wolves
Damsels in Distress
Knights in Shining Armour
Loving fathers
Objects imbued with magic
Poison
Dances and balls
Long hair and long beards
Gruesome endings
If you’d like to learn a little more about fairytales and their roots, read our feature, Once Upon Some Times, in our October issue.
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