Diversifying fairytales

I'm really interested in "diversified fairytales", by which I mean retellings of traditional stories which give a place to characters not generally included (or not positively included). Examples of this would be my own Happy Ever Afters, which is a version of Sleeping Beauty in which a servant-girl kisses the princess, and Malinda Lo's Ash, which is an LGBT retelling of Cinderella. I'm sure there are other retold fairytales out there: Disney's The Princess and the Frog might count, given that the princess is a person of colour -- I haven't seen it, though. Other ideas might be to include characters with disabilities, non-neurotypical people, people who don't fit into the gender binary...

In any case, I'm really interested in seeing more of this kind of thing. I would love to put together some kind of anthology, perhaps as an ebook and as a 'print on demand' type thing. Problem is, I haven't the least idea of how to do it, and I don't have many people interested in submitting.

So, I turn to you, internet! Please, bring your friends. Retweet. Reblog. Pass it around. Pass the link to authors who would support such an endeavour, and might send me some help! Share what you know. Help me figure out how to do this. If you think you know exactly what to do, talk to me -- maybe we can do this together.

(I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little scared by the idea of leading such a project. Be gentle with me.)

Day Three

Today, I procrastinated a lot, did a lot of laundry (how do I wear so much?!), and eventually eked out the required word count... most of which will be cut in editing. I'm still feeling my way into the story, so I'm not unduly worried, and all of this is useful for that.

I've learnt a lot about Cai and Bedwyr, over the last few days. So far, it's been the minor characters that interest me most, which is interesting, given that Gawain is normally my main focus. It's probably a good sign that I love my subplots this much, in any case, and it's all relevant going forward into the potential other books (if I write the whole series, there will be five of them).

I always find myself wondering how much to tell people. Like the ultimate gossip, I know who all my characters are dating, but my POV character doesn't. If I don't tell you, you might figure it out for yourself, and that's awfully fun. On the other hand, you might not, and then you wouldn't know that there's an epic love affair going on behind the scenes. It reminds me of Rowling's pronouncement that Dumbledore was gay -- I didn't hallucinate that, right? -- I know who my characters are doing, but is it fair to give word of God on something that isn't actually included in the text?

For example, since I've mentioned it already, in a way: I'm pretty sure Gaheris is asexual. He just is, and he won't say so at any point in the text. I don't think he's even aware of the concept, he just knows he doesn't want a wife or any kind of lover. He's got more important things to do. As a reader myself, though, I don't really want the author stepping in and saying things are this way or that way: I have my own understanding of the characters. If I were reading it, maybe I'd desperately want to see Gaheris kidnap his brother's wife and marry her, or something. Or maybe I'd be pissed about the lack of the traditional wife and quest for him -- Enide, and his quest to prove himself a valuable knight even as a married man -- and want to write her in myself. In any case, I'd have my own ideas.

I think I've answered my own question, haven't I?

(But as a writer, I want to tell you!)