O: Once Upon a Time

My theme for the A to Z Blogging Challenge this year is a mishmash of books, movies, writers and TV shows that have in one way or another taught me something about writing and helped me be a better writer. Some inspired my own stories and a few taught me what not to do. Each post is a one minute lesson on writing. You can also find lots of inspiration at the IWSG blog the entire month.

I may have mentioned on this blog how much I enjoy the TV show, Once Upon a Time both as entertainment and for the amazing writing and plotting in the program. The characters are fairy tale characters ripped from their enchanted worlds where magic is common to our world where they try to cope with the histories they shared in that other world. The writers do an excellent job of creating terrible villains and then  exploring what turned that character undo their evil path. And many times redeeming the bad guys. The fairy tales they explore are usually based more on the origin tales rather than the Disney animated interpretations. And no one is a perfect, sin-free hero either. Family

dynamics are complicated and entangled. The writers run a theme through a season such as what home is, what makes a hero or a villain and accepting people for who they are. And the characters are all searching for their happy ending like a book come to life. Some of my favorite twists they've used is that creepy Peter Pan was the bad guy. Captain Hook was driven to villainy and trying to redeem himself. Rumpelstiltskin is the beast from Beauty and the Beast and is the biggest villain of all, Snow White has become friends with the Evil Queen. Red Riding Hood is a werewolf and even more familiar fairy tale characters are told.

Lesson: People still enjoy the retelling of classic fairy tales. Those classics can be twisted and retold to make them fresh and interesting. Making villains complicated and sympathetic adds depth and emotion to stories. Don't make the heroes squeaking clean or too perfect.

Captain Hook
Once Upon a Time

"If only your wits matched your looks." Cruella de Vil to Prince Charming

"Magic always comes with a price." Everyone on Once Upon a Time at some point

"Careful, Mate. It's unwise to insult the size of a pirate's ship." Captain Hook

Do you believe that fairy tales still make popular reading material? Is there a TV show where the writing really impresses you? Can you name a good book or movie where the villain is redeemed?