Writing Prompts: I Killed for You

Free Write Prompt

Consider a fairy tale.  The archetypal characters, the faraway places, the journey plots are each ripe for plumbing the psyche.  Tell me about a favorite fairy tale.  What draws you to it? Are there any characters with which you identify?  Write for 10 min.  Go!

Poem Prompt

After your free-write, "flip the script" on the fairy tale and write a poem from the perspective of a different character in the fairy tale.  Allow a character who doesn't normally get to speak -- be heard!  Or report from the outside, in third person.  Write for 10-15 min. Go!

Example Poems

Image by Couleur | Couleur

Reflections:

• How does the poem "flip the script" on the original fairytale?
• What's the symbiotic interest between the two genres (fairytale/poem) in telling the story?

Try this in your poem

• Instead of a new persona from within the tale, consider third person narrator/storyteller
• As variations of fairy tales exist across multiple cultures, consider using native language and key cultural or geographical elements in your poem.
• How has the world of the fairytale changed over time? How do the characters reflect on their experiences?

Something Extra

• Fat is Not a Fairy Tale by Jane Yolen
• Witch by Joseph Stanton​

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