Re-tellings

Well, if the treasure that the first three found is actually cursed or if having found the treasure leads them off into dark paths of misfortune, then I suppose it could be a cursed treasure trope. If the kids are fine and the treasure was a good thing, then no.

Three people finding a treasure always reminds me of Three Brothers stories. There's a tradition of folklore in many different cultures that deal with competition of three brothers in splitting a treasure, getting the hand of a fair maiden, inheriting property, getting wishes, etc. The two older brothers generally make poor decisions and come to some kind of folly, but the younger brother, bestowed with whatever virtue the story promotes (charity, bravery, etc.) ends up with the better deal.

If that fits, it could be a three brothers type story. I wouldn't make a retelling comparison of the historical part unless that part is a very significant part in the narrative and not just a backdrop for the present-day story.

Also, for a retelling, it's meant to be a retelling of fairy tales, folklore, and other stories that are part of the public domain. You don't want to claim that your story is a retelling of a copyrighted work (so definite no on retelling the Deathly Hallows or the Sorcerer's Apprentice [movie]).

Your story doesn't HAVE to be a retelling, and if it's not (i.e., you didn't intend for it to be and you weren't inspired to retell a specific story), then I wouldn't try to make it fit just so you can point to a #MSWL label. An agent will be able to tell if the link is a weak one.


ETA: I also meant to say that, imo, you don't call out your tropes or general themes in the query letter (unless the themes are unusual). Like, you would say "This is a modern retelling of Jack and the Bean Stalk", but you wouldn't say, "This is a retelling of the cursed treasure trope," or, "this is a retelling of the importance of family theme." Themes and tropes are just things that exist in a story; they aren't re-imaginings of a specific, previous work.

Agree 100% with Heza: if you didn’t start out this story with the intent of making it a retelling of something, you definitely shouldn’t try to force it into that tag.

That said, and on the general subject of retellings, someone really needs to do a retelling of Monteiro Lobato’s SITIO DO PICAPAU AMARELO. It’s a tragedy it hasn’t received as much international attention as other, similar tales (Alice and Oz being the closest in kind), and I think it’d be pretty fun to do a modern/alternate take on it.

GeneBWell said:

That said, and on the general subject of retellings, someone really needs to do a retelling of Monteiro Lobato’s SITIO DO PICAPAU AMARELO. It’s a tragedy it hasn’t received as much international attention as other, similar tales (Alice and Oz being the closest in kind), and I think it’d be pretty fun to do a modern/alternate take on it.

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You're definitely right about the "[not] as much international attention"; this is the first time I've even heard of it. Now I'm going to have to look it up.

Hi Cindy.

my take re the concept of retelling', is a new or different angle or viewpoint on a stand trope. For example, there's a recent YA novel out that views the events in the Cinderella story from the viewpoint of one of Cinderella's 'ugly' sisters.

Hope that helps.

t0dd said:

You're definitely right about the "[not] as much international attention"; this is the first time I've even heard of it. Now I'm going to have to look it up.

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Tragically it has never been translated into English, though it is available in many other languages including its original Portuguese.