back to basics: the princess bride (propp's functions)

The final example of how Propp’s Fairy Tale Functions serve a story. Here is a summary of The Princess Bride with the correlating functions in parenthesis:

The film is an enactment of the following story read by the grandfather of a sick boy as the boy sits in bed listening, framed and occasionally interrupted by scenes of the reading.

A beautiful young woman named Buttercup lives on a farm in the fictional country of Florin. Whenever she gives her farmhand Westley an order, he answers "as you wish," and happily complies (0. Initial Situation). Eventually she realizes he loves her and admits her love for him. Westley leaves to seek his fortune so they can marry (11. Departure), but his ship is attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts, who has a reputation for never leaving anyone alive (1. Absentation).

back to basics: stardust (propp's functions)

Note: I was so concerned with getting started on my book early today that I forgot to blog. So sorry for being a bit late. /facepalm

So, for you to better understand how Propp’s Fairy Tale Functions serve a story, here is a summary of Stardust with the correlating functions in parenthesis:

The English village of Wall lies near a stone wall that is the border with the magical kingdom of Stormhold. A guard is constantly posted at a break in the wall to prevent anyone from crossing. At the beginning of the story, Dunstan Thorne crosses over the wall and into the Wall Market. There, he meets an enslaved princess who offers him a glass snowdrop in exchange for a kiss. Nine months later, the Wall Guard delivers a baby to Dunstan, saying his name is Tristan.

update from brooketown

I just wanted to update you guys on what was going on both here on the blog and with my writing. First, the blog: I have two more posts to do as part of the Propp’s Fairy Tale Functions sub-series—an analysis of Stardust and The Princess Bride. After that, I plan to do a few random posts, which may or may not be related to writing, before starting the next sub-series on Blake Snyder’s Beat Sheet. First, I have to get Save the Cat! back from a friend of mine (Justin, I’m looking at you!). Somewhere in the middle of doing that series, I’ll take a break to do a few posts about preparing pitches/queries and polishing your first few pages in preparation of WriteOnCon, which is a free writing conference for those of you who don’t know. The conference is August 14^th and 15^th this year, and even though I don’t have a completed manuscript to use, I’ll be lurking in the forums, offering feedback on other writers’ work. Go sign up.

Now, as for my writing, those of you who follow me elsewhere in this internet thing know this already, but I’ve been making excellent progress on my work-in-progress, currently titled The Wizard’s Heart. I’ve been working for three weeks now, and I’m up to 23,500 words. I started a new sort of writing schedule. I write new material Tuesday through Friday, and on Monday, I edit what I wrote the previous week. This way, I’m still editing as I go, just in larger chunks. I like this method much better than how I wrote The Clockwork Giant. With it, I kind of did a one step forward, two steps back approach, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph. I started doing the same with this project, but it was maddening. I’d sit and stare at a single sentence for over an hour without writing another word. Yeah, not cool.

back to basics: harry potter and the sorcerer's stone (propp's functions)

So, for you to better understand how Propp’s Fairy Tale Functions serve a story, here is a summary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (the bulk of it stolen from Wikipedia because, why not?):

Harry Potter is a seemingly ordinary boy, living with his hostile relatives, the Dursleys in Surrey (0. Initial Situation). For his cousin Dudley’s birthday, the Dursleys and Harry go to the zoo, but before they leave, Mr. Dursley tells Harry not to do any funny stuff while they’re there (2. Interdiction). In the Reptile House, Harry talks to one of the snakes, and Dudley pushes him out of the way. Angry, he does magic without meaning to, releasing the snake and trapping Dudley (3. Violation of Interdiction).

back to basics: aladdin (propp's functions)

So, for you to better understand how Propp’s Fairy Tale Functions serve a story, here is a summary of Aladdin (the bulk of it stolen from Wikipedia because, why not?):

When the story starts, Aladdin is nothing more than a street rat, stealing bread and running from the palace guards to keep out of trouble. He’s living on his own in an abandoned house in the center of Agrabah, and his only friend is Abu (0. Initial Situation).

Jafar, Grand Vizier to the Sultan of Agrabah, is attempting to retrieve a magical oil lamp containing a genie from the Cave of Wonders. After seeing a petty thief's failed attempt to enter the cave, Jafar and his parrot, Iago, learn that only a "Diamond in the Rough" can enter the cave (4. Reconnaissance). He finds Aladdin (5. Delivery).

Jasmine, the Sultan's daughter, frustrated with her life in the palace, flees to Agrabah's marketplace. There she meets street rat Aladdin and his monkey, Abu. The two discover they have a lot in common. They both dream of a different life (1. Absentation). When Aladdin is detained for thievery (8. Villainy or Lack), Jasmine orders him released, but Jafar lies to her that Aladdin has been executed.

back to basics: propp's functions, pt. 8

We’re to the end of Propp’s Fairy Tale Functions, finishing with the last four stages: Exposure, Transfiguration, Punishment, and Wedding. I’ll continue using the films Aladdin, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Stardust as example material. Commentary on stages belongs to Christopher Vogler and David McKenna, authors of Memo from the Story Dept. Examples and story analysis are mine.

28. Exposure: The villain fails to perform the task or otherwise is revealed to be an imposter.

This is the mirror image of the previous function (Recognition), revealing the villain’s true nature. It’s a positive moment for the hero, canceling out the last threat to his or her success. It may not be necessary to expose the villain if his evil nature has been discovered earlier in the story, but there may be an equivalent neutralizing of the villain as he is disarmed, blocked, or abandoned by his supporters.

back to basics: propp's functions, pt. 7

Next up in Propp’s Fairy Tale Functions: Unfounded Claims, Difficult Task, Solution, and Recognition. I’ll continue using Aladdin, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Stardust as example material, except in cases where these stories don’t have the function. Commentary on stages belongs to Christopher Vogler and David McKenna, authors of Memo from the Story Dept. Examples and story analysis are mine.

24. Unfounded Claims: A new villain claims credit for defeating the first villain or claims the right to marry the princess/inherit the kingdom.

Among the many possible final tests for the hero is the appearance of a rival claimant or some circumstance that casts doubt on the hero’s victory. Suspense and tension are increased by this last-minute obstacle. A spot for this development is embedded in the traditional wedding ceremony, where the celebrant says to the congregation if there is anyone who has grounds to object to the wedding. If the hero can stand up to this final test of false claims, he or she is truly qualified for the prize.

i started the first draft!

In case you keep up with me on the social media, you already know this, but on Monday, I officially started writing—like, writing writing. I finished my outline over the weekend, and I’m pleased with the story (of course, if I wasn’t pleased, I would have redrafted the outline). Sunday night, I sat down to brainstorm some more, to see if there was anything else I wanted to add to the outline, and while writing paragraphs about the main character’s initial situation in the story, I started getting snippets of dialogue and action, and so the beginning was born. I wasn’t even sure if it was a proper beginning, since it was mostly brainstorming, so I labeled the document ‘beginning maybe’. When I pulled the document up on Monday, I played with what I had written the night before and cut the brainstorming paragraphs before the first bit of dialogue and then wrote a new opening and viola! I cleaned up the dialogue and then kept going. I wrote 2000 words Monday, another 2000 Tuesday, and 1700 yesterday (I probably would have written a lot more yesterday, but I was having issues with Spotify, and of course, there were July 4^th celebrations), bringing my total word count up to 5700.

back to basics: propp's functions, pt. 6

Next up in Propp’s Fairy Tale Functions: Return, Pursuit, Rescue, and Unrecognized Arrival, using Aladdin, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Stardust for examples. Commentary on the stages belongs to Christopher Vogler and David McKenna, authors of Memo from the Story Dept. Examples are mine.

20. Return: The hero heads for home, or for the court of a king.

Stories need to articulate the moment when the hero turns away from his victory against the villain and commits to going back home or completing the quest he originally started (if of course, that quest is something other than defeating the villain). This can be a verbal statement of intent to finish, or simply the realization that it’s time to pack up and head for home. There should be a sense of acceleration, rushing toward an inevitable climax.