lambenttyto
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- Apr 7, 2022
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A while back I said I was going to write some fairy tales in the old school style, and I'm still working on that. A little sidetracked though. However, I have written a folk tale in the same manner of which I said I would write a fairy tale. If anyone is interested, give it a read and let me know your thoughts on the story, the writing and the such. It's a story that is told as if it were an old oral tradition captured on the page in writing. This story is specifically inspired by the One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, although my story has way more action, violence and romance. It's about thirty pages long, though it may feel like way more, because of the manner of the telling, a lot of information and story beats are condensed into those thirty pages.
Actually, it's the first story in a series, though the other installments are not written in the same way. I would really, really like some reader/writer feedback on this story. I had a lot of fun writing it, and in the doing, I realized there are certain differences and advantages to this kind of storytelling. I hope it's an enjoyable read, though I imagine it might be somewhat difficult. It's a bit "literary" with long sentence construction and prose style imitative of the nineteenth century.
I believe this style of writing, not the diction or the sentence construction mind you, but rather the approach to the prose, is superior for reading aloud, since it reads like an oral tradition story. It's also a very good way to condense a ton of story. In the thirty pages, I have enough story beats that would otherwise be enough "instances" or "arcs" to fill an entire novel. One might feel that the characters are flat or lifeless, but that's not the point of this kind of story. Philip Pullman actually wrote some interesting things in this regard. He said that fairy tales and folk tales do not concern themselves with "psychology" the way that modern fiction does. The characters are what they are, because it's a story "told" rather than "experienced." For this reason, the reader accepts the story for what it is and I noticed while writing it that my feeling to suspend my own disbelief was far less than when I write a typical story in our modern fashion, and I found it utterly fascinating! Some crazy stuff happens in this story, and yet I felt no need to explain how or why. It just... was, because that's the story. I think you'll understand what I mean after you finish reading it.
You should be able to complete it in a single sitting for anyone interested. Some folks here in the forums mentioned that they wanted to write some fairy tales in the old style prose, well, this is certainly a modern written folk tale in that regard, so I'd love to know any and all of your thoughts about this story.
Here it is: https://www.scribblehub.com/series/518195/the-epic-sword-amp-sorcery-entertainments-of-ashahnai/
Actually, it's the first story in a series, though the other installments are not written in the same way. I would really, really like some reader/writer feedback on this story. I had a lot of fun writing it, and in the doing, I realized there are certain differences and advantages to this kind of storytelling. I hope it's an enjoyable read, though I imagine it might be somewhat difficult. It's a bit "literary" with long sentence construction and prose style imitative of the nineteenth century.
I believe this style of writing, not the diction or the sentence construction mind you, but rather the approach to the prose, is superior for reading aloud, since it reads like an oral tradition story. It's also a very good way to condense a ton of story. In the thirty pages, I have enough story beats that would otherwise be enough "instances" or "arcs" to fill an entire novel. One might feel that the characters are flat or lifeless, but that's not the point of this kind of story. Philip Pullman actually wrote some interesting things in this regard. He said that fairy tales and folk tales do not concern themselves with "psychology" the way that modern fiction does. The characters are what they are, because it's a story "told" rather than "experienced." For this reason, the reader accepts the story for what it is and I noticed while writing it that my feeling to suspend my own disbelief was far less than when I write a typical story in our modern fashion, and I found it utterly fascinating! Some crazy stuff happens in this story, and yet I felt no need to explain how or why. It just... was, because that's the story. I think you'll understand what I mean after you finish reading it.
You should be able to complete it in a single sitting for anyone interested. Some folks here in the forums mentioned that they wanted to write some fairy tales in the old style prose, well, this is certainly a modern written folk tale in that regard, so I'd love to know any and all of your thoughts about this story.
Here it is: https://www.scribblehub.com/series/518195/the-epic-sword-amp-sorcery-entertainments-of-ashahnai/