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.