The Writer’s Fairy Tale

Last weekend, it was Girl’s Night Out for my daughter and I. We watched Into the Woods at the little theater in our town, while stuffing our faces with popcorn. Buttered of course! I had wanted to see it with her for the longest time. She is the only person I know who loves fairy tales as much as I do. The movie, an original spin on several fairy tales, was amazing—the music, the characters…so good! In my own opinion, of course. 🙂

But here’s the thing. My daughter and her boyfriend hit a rocky patch a few days before. If you’ve never watched your child get their heart broken, it’s pretty much the same thing as having your own heart ripped out and run over by a bus. And even though she’s bounced back quite well, it’s still hard to watch. And so Friday night I was surprised when she picked that movie for us to see, when she had already seen it with her friends. I mean Cinderella and Prince Charming would be in it, after all. I had wondered if this movie would make her even sadder. I had wondered if her fairy tale illusions were forever altered. I know, cue the dramatic music…

I think her illusions were forever altered this week. But they weren’t destroyed. I could see it in her face as she sang along to the music and raved about its characters right along with me. This movie didn’t showcase traditional happy endings or happily ever after either. I won’t give anything away, don’t worry. But I bring it up because both my resilient daughter and the movie taught me something about fairy tales that night. Even when it looks as though you might not get your happy fairy tale ending, something comes along and either changes your perspective or changes your path. It may not be in your original plan. It may not be the way you’ve dreamed, but it may still be a good ending. It still may be your fairy tale ending.

So then, what about our writing? Will we ever get our fairy tale ending? If our dream is to someday get published, is there only one way for that to happen? My fairy tale ending looks the exact same way now as it did seven years ago. But as my story unfolds and obstacle after obstacle get thrown in my way, will my vision change? Will I change? Will my ending look completely different?

In a future post, I’ll be talking about different options for getting our books published. There are so many different prince and princesses out there, why wouldn’t there be different kingdoms for them to explore and castles to live in some day too? My happily ever, in some ways, is here right now. I’m able to write. I have adventures and characters in my head waiting to be turned into stories. Not many people can say either of those things.

The next chapter in my writing fairy tale awaits me though, and I’m sure yours awaits you too. Just remember, each of our adventures may look different, but that doesn’t mean they don’t each sparkle as brightly against the backdrop of your kingdom and your castle as someone else’s might.

So I encourage you to press on. Keep writing. Keep revising. Keep editing. This journey is your fairy tale. Make it a happy one!