Writing Excuses 8.6: Retellings and Adaptations

Published: Feb. 11, 2013, 2:08 a.m.

Retellings are pretty popular right now. Game of Thrones is a retelling the War of the Roses. The Thirteenth Warrior is a retelling of Beowulf, and The Lion King is a retelling of Hamlet. Why do we write these? What do we like about them?
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\nFamiliar stories let us explore things in new ways, both because we know what's coming, and because we don't need to be brought up to speed on the story.
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\nThe line between retelling and adaptation is a blurry one, though. For writers, a good approach, especially early on, is to grab a great story, peel everything away to the plot and key characters, and start writing something new.
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