GenresFiction
Myth & Fairy Tale
Old stories retold, or newly unearthed.
Myth and fairy tale retellings start with a story the reader may already know, which is a gift and a problem. The gift is recognition. The problem is that recognition is not a plot. You need a reason to tell the story again: a character who was silent the first time, a setting that changes what the bargain means, a moral the old version took for granted and yours is willing to question.
Know the source well enough to depart from it on purpose. A retelling that only swaps the names and adds a romantic subplot is usually less interesting than the tale it came from. Fairy tales are short because they leave a great deal out, and the novel's job is to choose what to fill in. Give the characters a daily life, a voice, and a want that isn't only to survive until the ending everyone remembers. If you change the ending, make sure the change is the point of the book.
The kinds of book inside it
Fairy tale retelling
A known tale is expanded, and the new version should have a clear argument with the old one, even a friendly argument.
Myth retelling
Gods and heroes are pulled closer, and the scale of myth has to make room for a person's private reasons.
Folklore
The story is rooted in a place and a tradition, so the local detail matters more than a generic enchanted forest.
Arthurian
The legends are crowded already, which means a new book needs a particular door in, a knight, a servant, a queen, a century, rather than the whole round table at once.
When you want a first sketch, Storywell can draft a story summary in this vein. You are still the one who writes the book. Compose an idea.