Reading Notes: Beauty and the Basilisk

As I have stated before in previous blog posts, fantasy is one of my favorite genres. It was no surprise to me that I was lured to the retelling of the Beauty and the Beast story, with the new title being "The Three Roses,"  since it is not only fantasy, but one of my favorite fairy tales (I might have accidentally saw the new rendition of the Disney movie four times while it was in theaters).

I like the idea of the Beauty and the Beast story being about a monster that is more known throughout literature. The fact that the "beast" is a monstrous serpent gives the story, however, a more biblical feeling than I would have liked.  Making the creature more familiar is something I would be willing to keep, but I would rather it be a griffin, or something of the like. A fun aspect to play around with is, according to Medieval lore, griffins mate for life. So the griffin in the story choosing to love our protagonist forever would be a romantic aspect that adds a little more life to the characters and the story.

Griffin from Cosmographia. Found on Wikipedia Commons.

I also liked the idea that the main character had sisters. Since I am one of three girls, like in the retelling, it was more relatable to me than having the character be an only child - something that I am unfamiliar with. I think that I will keep this aspect of the story the same, while also making the sisters have a larger role in the story.

I want to add a conflict into the story. There seemed to be nothing to create tension throughout the tale other than the main character's own shortcomings (i.e: she did not want to chop off the basilisk's head). Adding a conflict to the story will make the tale more three-dimensional and not so plain. Making the conflict between the three sisters, maybe, or having the griffin and the main character argue over more than just killing one half of the pairing would suffice. I do not want to make the story cliche with the aspect of usual literary romances where one side of the couple has been in love with the other for a significant amount of time without letting anyone know. It is overdone, and if we're being honest, annoying.

Why Teenage Boys in YA novels are boring by bookbookchai on Tumblr

The language used in the story is quite simple, and the grammar/how sentences are laid out makes the text kind of confusing to read. I would try to extend my descriptions so that the readers are aware of their surroundings throughout the story, but try to keep it so they are not confused with the language that I choose. Using more modern language will not only make the story easier to read, but it will make an already fantastical tale just a little more relatable for the audience.

All in all, I'm looking forward to rewriting this story into something that I will enjoy, and hopefully others will enjoy reading as well.