To continue the theme introduced on Tuesday of learning techniques to strengthen your world building skills from current television shows, let’s take a look at Grimm.
This new fairy tale themed show takes a different angle than Once Upon a Time. It’s less about one central fairy tale with a supporting cast and more about the Grimms as mythology investigators, themselves.
The Grimms can see all the creatures who are masquerading as humans and it’s their job to protect humans from the bad ones. Of course, there’s room for interpretation about what equals ‘bad’ Grimm and that allows for a bit more horror, and a bit more humor to balance out their storylines.
They seem to be tackling the premise that not every fairy tale character is pure villain or hero and last week’s spin on Goldilocks was brilliant. I particularly enjoy the reformed werewolf who was pushed ‘a little too far’ in a fight this past week.
One of my readers even told me she thought the Grimm series reminded her of my Matchmaker’s Mark book, but with a darker edge. I thought that was a great honor – Thanks, Melanie!
But as to what tips you can learn from this series to help your writing, the first lesson is one you’re heard (hopefully) countless times already:
No one can write it exactly like you.
Grimm and Once Upon a Time prove there are still fresh ways to retell an old classic. Each storyline has potential as diverse as the authors themselves, so don’t get hung up on what ‘so and so’ is writing or the super-fantabulous world building they did for their paranormal romance novel. None of that. Focus on what you want the reader to get out of your story.
Additionally, when world building for a paranormal romance novel or any other genre, you can look to shows like Grimm for fabulous examples of modern interpretations. I won’t spoil it, but the three bears in the Goldilocks remake weren’t exactly on the same page as to how things should be done in the most recent Grimm episode.
That change up truly affected the story, which is a great visual lesson in how the unique way you perceive even a small detail can make a big difference in the overall effect.
Live the adventure!
