So a friend and I are swapping blog posts today about short story retelling of Snow White we wrote for Rooglewood Press. Kendra is awesomeness in ink by the way. So have fun and then hop over to her blog to read my post there.
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to talk about a recent writing foray of mine - The Seven Drawers, which is a
retelling of Snow White, written for the Rooglewood Five Poison Apples contest.
I was initially stumped with an idea for this fairy tale, but then my sister gave me
the title … and I ran with it.
So, basic gist - my main character, Jennifer, had to use a set of drawers to
hop between parallel realms to win back seven objects of power from her
stepmother, in order to take her rightful place as queen after her father’s death.
I’m going to talk about those seven objects here, and why I chose them.
So, first off, and obviously, I had the mirror. Called
the Mirror of Sight, this looking glass can show the holder whatever they wish to
see. I think my favorite use for it over the course of the book is that she
summoned an image of the sun to use as a flashlight at one point.
Now, the next few items weren’t so obvious at a first glance at the fairy tale, but I was really looking to break down and examine the elements of the story. And the next act was the Huntsman. I think I briefly considered the knife … but I ultimately decided instead to focus on the box that he was supposed to put Snow’s heart in to take back to the queen.
Dubbed the Amore Box, this box functions similarly to the Love Magnet that the
Shaggy Man wields in the Oz books. In short, it promotes positive feelings
towards the wielder and dispels fear and hatred.
Now, the next act was Snow White finding the cottage in the woods and cleaning it up with the help of the wildlife. And so I considered a magical mop bucket for a moment … and then decided to focus on the wildlife instead.
I don’t know if this flute has a name … but its music commands birds to do the player’s bidding. Like clean a house. Or force your stepdaughter to clean the house. Whichever one you prefer.
And then I moved on to the dwarves … and was promptly stumped. I really wanted something to represent them, but there wasn’t anything particularly obvious presenting itself. And then I called to mind what little I remembered about the Disney movie. An image of Dopey staring through some diamonds. And I knew I had my fourth item.
The Diamond of Wealth generates more jewels and coin and, in general, makes the owner rather rich. Quite convenient. Not something you want a dragon getting a hold of. Oh wait…
Then I was finally back into obvious territory … and was faced with a choice. The stepmother makes two failed attempts on Snow White’s life - once with ribbons tied to tight around the girl’s waist, and the second time with a poisoned comb. While I liked both of them, I decided to go with the comb, as it seemed slightly more iconic to me.
The Comb of Beauty basically allows the wearer to manipulate the physical appearance. Straightforward.
And then we came to the most obvious part of the fairy tale - the poisoned apple. I knew I had to handle it right - and decided to make it an apple from the Tree of Life. Won’t say anything more than that on it, though!
And, finally … the fairy tale ends with Snow white trapped in a glass coffin. So I decided to make the final object a key that fits any lock so she could get out of there.
And that’s a glimpse into my logic. Feel free to come over to my blog to see the post that RoXie did about the characters of her book. Also, The Seven Drawers was far from my first foray into the realm of Fairy Tales. My debut, Sew, It’s a Quest, was a lively romp through several tales, and it’s free for kindle!
And, yes, I’m terribly addicted to puns and plays on words. Kendra out!
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Vat! An apple from the tree of life? Kendra, you're a genius. Why didn't I think of that?
RhoXie
