Week 15 Review: Grammar and Cats

"goofy cat"

~~

I thought the picture of the grammar check was hilarious. There have been countless times where I have noticed people using the wrong form of your, and you're. I am a culprit of these at times, but I blame autocorrect. The cat picture made me laugh too, but in all honesty, it is true. I thought it was funny how a silly picture of cats can actual have a meaningful saying to caption. Other than finals week coming up, I think you covered the upcoming events!

Improvements

I think your idea about changing some review weeks to planning weeks is a great idea. I found that it was a little difficult to get started in the class due to the lack of familiarity with the software. I felt that I needed more time to adapt. In the end, I ended up getting the hang of it. However, a little more time to train and figure out a schedule would be a nice addition to the already nice schedule.

I also think creating more audio recordings would be awesome. I used the recordings for every reading I could and it helped me immensely. I find myself more focused, but I have always liked listening to a story rather than reading one. An option for better quality recordings would be to get a USB mic such as the blue yeti. It is a reasonably priced microphone with sound quality that would be plenty for these type of recordings. Whether your voice is radio ready or not, it will sound fine!

Famous Last Words: Thoughts on Classes/Future

"writing"

~~

As the class comes to close there are a few things I have noticed. This class has IMMENSELY helped with how much I write and how creative I am in my writing. I used to have a lot of trouble splurging out words onto a piece of paper. Now, it comes so easy to me that sometimes I write far too much! I have another online class that I am enrolled in that also requires a lot of writing. I have found that because of this class, the writing assignments for my other class are a piece of cake. I cannot be as creative in that class, but the effects of writing quantity are still in effect. In summary, both of my online classes are going great. 

In both of my online classes there is a lot of social interaction among the fellow classmates. For example, in my other online class I am required to comment on other student's discussion posts every week. It is similar to commenting on blog posts in this class. That sense of social interaction among the classmates seems to be a universal aspect of online classes. Other than that, this class is definitely higher in the creative aspect. My other class is all facts and research whereas this class I can have a lot more freedom in my writing. That has become one of the aspects I love most about this class. The creative possibilities are endless. I find it fun to create interesting stories out of older plots. 

I have seen such an improvement in my writing that I am honestly scared of losing it! I feel like the only way to remain this way is to keep writing. So, that is one of my hopes after graduating. I would love to keep writing so I do not lose this skill I have achieved. 

Portfolio Index

1) Agent Kai - This is a story about a secret agent tasked to save a fellow agent from their archenemies.

2) The Businessman - a story about a rich businessman, his lover, and their children.

3) The Fisherman - This is a story about a young fisherman who finds love in an unexpected way.

4) Oh The Irony! - This is a story about innocent students framed for something they did not do.

5) Just Deserts - a story about a mobster and his lying cousin.

6) The Fall of the Dark Lord - a story about a noble king and his battle with a fierce enemy.

Week 14 Storytelling: The Fall of the Dark Lord

"kingdom"

~~

Long ago in a far away land, there was a king who ruled all of Cydonia. He was a strong and noble king. All of his subjects adored his leadership and felt greatly protected. One day the king left his kingdom to tend to matters in another kingdom far from home. He left his son, the prince, in charge until he returned back to rule again. Little did the king know, darkness was coming to the land and there would be no one there to stop it.

With the king gone, the kingdom became vulnerable to the enemies hiding in the shadows. A dark lord from the kingdom of Darkshire heard of the king’s leave of absence. He journeyed to the kingdom of Cydonia to take advantage of this rare opportunity. He was met with much resistance at the gates of the kingdom, but the soldiers were no match for the dark lord's immense power. 

The dark lord made it to the steps of the royal castle, but was soon confronted by the king's son, the prince. The prince and dark lord battled fiercely for what felt like days. In the end, the dark lord got the upper hand on the prince. He cast a curse and sent the prince away to a pit of never-ending darkness. With the prince gone, there was no one standing in the way of the dark lord and his will to claim the kingdom of Cydonia. 

Months after the epic battle, the king finally returned to his homestead only to find ruins of the kingdom he once knew. Infuriated, the king marched to the castle doors to find his queen. He found her being held hostage by none other than the dark lord of Darkshire. The king was out of options. He had to rescue his queen and escape the kingdom until he could devise a plan to destroy the dark lord. The king used his wits to gain just enough time to rescue his queen and escape before the dark lord could cast a spell on them. 

The king and queen quickly escaped to old castle ruins just outside of the kingdom. There they began to devise a plan to avenge their son and regain the kingdom. After hours of discussion, they decided they had no other choice. They had to burn down their own castle in order to preserve the kingdom. The dark lord was so vain of his achievement in conquering the kingdom he would not notice the flames until it was too late. 

The king and queen hastily made their way back into the kingdom gates. They grabbed torches from the nearby stands and began to set fire to the wood support beams outside the castle gate. Eventually, the entire castle became engulfed in flames. Despite their hopes, the dark lord realized their plan and began to make his escape through the tallest window of the castle. As he was flying away, lightning bolts from the sky appeared and struck the dark lord. He fell dead to the ground. With the dark lord gone, his curse was lifted and the young prince returned to his home from the pit of darkness. As the king and queen were reunited with their son, they were greeted with cheers of joy by their subjects. The king and queen returned to their thrones and ruled the kingdom in peace for the rest of eternity. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE

My original story was based off a story by Dutton titled The Sparrows and the Snake. In the original story, there lived two sparrows in a nest. I decided to change the sparrows into a king and queen living in their own kingdom. I felt that made the story a little more interesting. The two sparrows had a young hatchling. While the father was gone from the nest, a snake ate the hatchling. So, in my original I made the snake a dark lord. I believe that snakes convey evil characters. Also, I made the hatchling the prince of the kingdom. Instead of the dark lord eating the prince like in the original plot, I had him banish the prince to a different dimension. In the end of the original, the two sparrows decided to burn their nest down in order to kill the snake. The snake realized what was happening and tried to escape, but was later killed by the human who lived at the house. I kept the aspect of burning down the nest (kingdom). I also thought this was an interesting way to incorporate God into the story. The lightning from god that killed the dark lord could be considered the human who killed the snake. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Sparrows and the Snake by Dutton

Reading Notes: The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking

"turtle"

~~

This story is exactly about what the title states. A turtle meets two birds that promise to fly him to their home, just as long as he does not say anything to anyone. The turtle agrees, but he end up talking while in flight to a group of towns folk. The birds end up dropping him from the air and the turtle falls to his death. 

This type of story really reminds me of an opera I have watched called Orfeo. I could write my original plot similar to that. In my original story, there could be a man who has a wife that passes away. However, he can travel to the underworld to save her. Once he finds her he can have her, but there is one condition. She will be following him on the way back to the living world. While they are going back, he can not look back at her to check if she is actually there. Eventually, he would break this rule and look back at his wife. He would see her and be very happy. However, he would soon realize the mistake he had made. He would  lose his wife and return to the world of the living with no success. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking by Babbitt

Reading Notes: The Sparrows and the Snake

"dark lord"

~~

In the original story there are two sparrows who just had hatch lings. While the father is away, a snake enters their nest and eats the children. This leaves the mother crying out in despair as the father returns to ask what has happened. Once he finds out, he decides to burn the nest down using the human's lit torch on his house. The snake realizes the nest is on fire and tries to escape, but not before the human stabs him in an attempt to destroy the nest and prevent the fire from spreading. 

I thought this story could serve well as a medieval war-like story. The two sparrows could be a king and queen. While the king is off on a journey in a neighboring kingdom, a dark lord could take over the kingdom and kill the prince by throwing him in mystical well where no one returns. When the king returns he would find out what happened and devise a plan to get rid of the dark lord. He eventually decides to burn the castle down that the dark lord has resided himself in. The dark lord would eventually realize what has happened and attempt to escape. However, he would meet his end with a lightning bolt from the sky. The human in the original story could be changed into a 'god' like character similar to Zeus. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Sparrows and the Snake by Dutton

Reading Notes: The Brave Little Bowman

"football star"

~~

I thought this story was very interesting. It is about a little bowman who wishes to join the king's army, but he is a brittle man. He is the best bowman in all of the land, but has no way of impressing the king to join. So, he finds a strong man to join the army with and bring him along. In the end, the strong man believes he does not need the bowman anymore because of his success. However, the strongman fails in his first real war and the bowman shines in his failure.

I think this story would fit really well in a high school setting. High school could be considered a kingdom. There are all sorts of different 'class' levels. Such as the football stars and the book nerds. In my story I can change the bowman into a football star who is failing his classes and is ineligible to play the next games. He goes and searches for a smart student to do his homework for him. After a while, the football star would end up becoming eligible and ditching the smart student. He would not compensate him for his work like he said he would and completely leave him in the dark.

This would end up biting the student in the butt. There was one last homework assignment he would have forgotten about. This would cause him to fail his class and become ineligible once again. Leaving his team with no starting quarterback and losing the state championships.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Brave Little Bowman by Babbitt

Week 12 Story: Just Deserts

"tiramisu"

~~

The Park mob was the most feared mob family in town. They ruled the city of Grace with an iron fist. No one dared to double cross them. Except...maybe...one of their own. 

Tony was the oldest son of the family. He was also the up and coming leader of the mob. Tony's main job was to collect the money from their debtors. This duty required him to travel from city to city periodically to retrieve the dough. He had one last stop in the town of Hanul before he could call it quits for the month. Unfortunately for Tony, there was no place to store the money while he was gone. All of a sudden, Tony remembered he had a cousin in Hanul and he could store the cash with him while he was there. Tony quickly ran to a payphone and called his cousin, Sal. 

Tony: Eh, Sal, it's me Tony. Hold on to a bit of cash for me would ya? I gotta make another round and I'll be back up at your place before ya know it... You would? Ah, what a guy!

After the call, Tony got on his bike and rode to Sal's place to drop off the money.

Tony: Eh, Sal I really appreciate you holding the family dough.

Sal: Don't mention it cousin. Family is family!

Tony left Sal and went to collect the last of the debt. Little did he know, Sal had dark plans for the family money. Sal always felt a little betrayed by the family. He was sent to watch the turf in Hanul and couldn't be with his family back in Grace. Bitter as can be, Sal spent the money on some very expensive tiramisu. 

When Tony returned from his last collection, he found Sal lying down in the front yard looking distraught. 

Tony: What happened, Sal? The place is a mess! Who did this?

Sal: It was that damn Sang gang. They broke into my place and stole the money you left. 

Tony was shocked at what happened. He could not fathom how the Sang gang did such a thing. They were the Park mob. Everyone feared them. So, Tony began to investigate. 

As he was looking around Sal's apartment he noticed a plate of what looked like a dessert left on the table. 

Tony: Interesting, it looks like the Sang gang stayed for dessert. 

From this moment on, Tony knew that Sal had tried to trick him. He walked to the front yard back to Sal.

Tony: Well, I guess you're right. The money is not here. 

Sal: I'm so sorry, Tony... how about you come back over for dinner tomorrow? 

Tony: Sure, Sal. Sure.

Tony knew this was Sal's way of closing the deal of his lie. So, what did Tony do about it? The mob thing to do. 

Tony arrived at Sal's house the next day. Before he could knock, the door burst open.  

Sal: TONY! Have you seen my son? He hasn't come home since yesterday. Do you know where my boy is?

Tony: Well, Sal, I believe I saw him get taken away by the Sang gang last night. 

Sal: What are you talking about?! The Sang gang would never harm us. They fear us. Why would you joke with me? My son is missing, dammit. 

Tony: You shouldn't be surprised, Sal. If they would take my money I am sure they would take your boy. Sal, return my money and I'm sure your boy will come home. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE
This story was based off of The Merchant and His Iron by Dutton. In the original, a man left a large amount of iron with his friend. The friend eventually sold the iron for money and lied saying rats ate it. The man knew this was a lie so he decided to kidnap the friend's son in exchange for his iron. I decided to make my take of the original into a gangster type theme. Instead of the main item being iron, I made it money. Better yet, the money that belonged to the mob. I decided to make the main character the head of the mob, or soon to be head. Instead of rats eating iron like in the original, I decided to metaphorically make the friend the rat and have him spend it (eat it) on the dessert. I kept the ending pretty similar to the original. When Tony returned to retrieve his money, he figured out that Sal was lying. In the original, the merchant instantly knew his friend was lying because of how bad the lie was. In my take of the story, I chose to make Tony investigate a little to where he would eventually find a clue, hence the dessert. In both stories the son is taken. In exchange for the money/iron, the boy would be returned. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai by Dutton

Reading Notes: The Tyrant Who Became A Just Ruler

"king"

~~

I am really enjoying the children's tales and have found them to be great inspirations for story ideas. This specific story is about a king who treated his people awfully. His people would pray for a new king to rule them. Until one day, the king had a change of heart and announced it to his people. He realized that people who are evil to others will eventually be consumed by evil themselves. So, I thought this story would prove to be a very interesting way to tell a story of a young bully. 

The bully will be the guy at the middle school that no one wants to mess with. Everyone will fear him. His fellow students would hope that one day he would move away or drop out of school. Eventually the bully would have a change of heart after seeing a certain chain of events. In the original story, the king sees a fox get attacked by a dog. The dog then gets hit by his owner. The owner gets hit by a horse and the horse breaks its leg in a hole. I thought I could sum all of that up into one situation. The young boy gets bullied by some high school students.  

From then on, the boy will never want to grow up to be like those other kids. He would treat everyone with kindness after realizing what evil can do to someone. This would be the basic plot of the story, with some added description in the actual writing. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Tyrant Who Became a Just Ruler by Dutton 

Reading Notes: The Merchant and His Iron

"mobster"

~~

I think the plot of this story is very interesting. It revolves around a merchant who entrusts his friend to hold his iron supply while he is gone. The iron is a backup in case his journey does not go as planned. When the merchant returns, he is expecting his iron, but the friend has sold it already. After a few lies, the merchant is now in control of the situation because he has taken the son of his friend in exchange for his iron.

I thought I could turn this story into some gangster type theme. I could have two people that are in the same gang, a mob-like gang. One of them can ask his friend to hold his money while he is gone, just in case he gets in prison or something along the lines of not coming back. The money would replace the iron in this story. While he is gone, the friend would spend the money on drugs or other needless things. When the man returns to claim his money, the friend will say a rival gang robbed him. In the original, the friend said rats ate the iron. Maybe I can link the rival gang's name to rats. The man would snoop around and eventually find out his friend is lying.

The friend would invite him over for a drink. Just as in the original, he would kidnap his son before they meet. He would say some witty remark about his son missing because superman came and swooped him off his feet. After the friend’s snide comment about not taking him seriously, the man would make another witty comment about restoring his son when he sees his money. I thought this plot links very well to a gangster theme. There are plenty other aspects of the story I will convey in the actual writing.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai by Dutton

Reading Notes: The Quarrel of the Quails

"quail"

~~

Basically, this story is about a group of quails who keep getting captured and sold off by a hunter. The leader of the quails notices this and tells his fellow group members to fly away with his net and put it on a thorn bush. Together, the quails never get caught. However, one day the quails begin to argue and stop working together, then the hunter catches them. I feel like this topic would work very well with a story about burglars.

There could be a group of guys who are the best at robbing banks. They rob a bank almost every night and the police are clueless as to who or where they are. Everything would be going swell until one day one of the members of the group complains about the leaders wishes. He believes he should be the leader of the group and not the current man in charge.

While they are out robbing another bank, the rebellious member will go out of his way to steal some jewelry that was not on the intended target list. This will trigger the alarms of the bank and get all of the robbers caught. I think this story will suit the plot and easily convey that when a group works together they can do anything, but when they split a part it is bad for all.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Quarrel of the Quails by Babbitt

Reading Notes: How The Turtle Saved His Own Life

"turtle"

~~

This story is basically about a few princes who always go to a lake, so the king puts fish in the lake for them to see. Among those fish is one turtle. The boys had never seen a turtle before and are instantly frightened of it and want it gone. The king eventually sentences the turtle to death. However, the turtle saves himself by tricking the people to believe he will die in water. 

This story gave me the idea of writing something involving racial issues. I thought it fit well with that topic. For example, I could have three boys who live in a very rural part of the south. They will be of white descent. 

One day, a young African American boy will move to the town where they reside. Instantly, they would want to segregate him from everything because he is different. The new boy will become very popular with the other open-minded kids because they see him as another student, not someone different because of his skin. In school, the three boys would try to pick on him. Outside of class they would try to fight him and scare him away. 

Eventually, the young African American boy would stand up to the other boys and prove that he is more than the color of his skin. Also, that he is proud of his heritage. His fellow students will help him due to how well-liked he is by all of them. I thought this would be an interesting story to write. I have not worked out the small details, but that is the basic plot. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY
How the Turtle Saved his Own Life - Babbitt

Week 11 Storytelling: Oh The Irony!

"irony"

~~

It was the beginning of another semester at Central High School. All of the students were ready to see each other after a long winter break. Mr. Baker's class had a special assignment over the break. Each student was assigned to bring something that could contribute to the map of the United States being painted for the school art fair that year. Some of the supplies included were paint, brushes and stencils. As the students filtered in the classroom, they placed their supplies at the table in front of the board. 

Mr. Baker: Good morning, class! I see you all remembered the project I assigned to you over the break. Except... where is the stencil of Oklahoma?

Mr. Baker fumbled through the list of students and the requirements given to each one. 

Mr. Baker: Let's see who... had... Oklahoma... hmm... Ah! Cody and Jake! Why did you boys not bring your stencil?

Now, Cody and Jake were not the most well-behaved students in the school. Their father was a very wealthy businessman and the largest donor for the school. That being said, the students felt entitled and did not follow the rules. They also cared little for what teachers had to say to them. 

Cody: Ha! I forgot about the dumb project. You expect me to remember that while I have more important things to do over the break like play video games?

Jake: Yeah! We were too busy with more important things. Not this dumb project!

Mr. Baker was infuriated, but he remembered who the children's father was and had to bite his own tongue. After the rude conversation with the boys, Mr. Baker thought it might be best if he left the classroom to retrieve the stencil the boys did not bring. He opened the door and headed down the hallway to the school store in hopes they would have it in stock. Before he left, Mr. Baker clearly stated that no one was allowed to touch the materials on the desk and everyone must stay in their seat. 

As soon as Mr. Baker left the room, Cody and Jake caused a ruckus. They got out of their seats and poured the paint all over the floor, broke the brushes, and threw the stencils. Their fellow students were appalled. Ed, a top notch student, got out of his seat to stop the boys.

Ed: Stop it! Didn't you hear what Mr. Baker said? Go sit down!

The boys were so busy destroying the materials that they did not hear Ed at all. The rest of the class soon joined in and yelled at the boys to stop and get back to their seats. At this point, the whole class was standing up out of their seats in hopes of getting the two boys to sit back down. 

At this moment, the boys realized everyone was out of their seats and quickly returned to their desks. Unfortunately, right as the boys sat down Mr. Baker returned. He found the class a mess and every student out of their seat except Cody and Jake. Enraged, Mr. Baker assigned everyone who was out of their seat a week's worth of detention. All of the students were shocked, but there was nothing they could do because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Ed, being the good student he is, could not stand for this. He went straight to the principla's office to fight for his fellow classmates and himself. 

The principal's name is Mr. Harkins. Mr. Harkins, unlike many of the teachers at the school, is a no BS man. He does not answer to anyone. He believes what's right is right and what's wrong is wrong. 

Ed: Mr. Harkins, please, you have to believe me! None of us made the mess in our classroom! It was Cody and Jake!

Mr. Harkins: Do you have any proof of this, young man?

Ed: Well... um... sadly no.

Mr. Harkins: Well... how about we find out together if you're telling the truth. Right now.

Ed: What do you mean?

Mr. Harkins was aware of some specific upgrades to the school that no other faculty member knew about. The school had recent renovations to the classroom which included cameras for added security measures. All of the updates were thanks to the father of Jake and Cody. How ironic...

Mr. Harkins reviewed the tape and found Ed to be telling the truth. Being the no BS man Mr. Harkins is, he assigned the two boys to detention and cleared Ed and his classmates from the punishment. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE
This story was based off of Inayat's tale about the guilty dogs. In the original, there were two dogs who lived among royalty. They were considered royal dogs. Rather than keeping these characters dogs, I thought changing them to two spoiled, entitled students would suffice. The two dogs ate a saddle that was on one of the royal horses. Once the king found out he ordered that every dog in the city be executed, but this only applied to normal dogs, not royalty. I changed the dogs into the students of a classroom and instead of being executed, which would be a very dark story, I made them go to detention. After finding out the news, one of the dogs went to the king to defend himself, his fellow dogs and claim their innocence. The king found out that the royal dogs were the ones who committed the act and relived the normal dogs of the punishment. I thought I would make the brave dog into a person that everyone liked and is also a top notch student. Also, I made the king into the principal of the school. I felt that in a high school the 'king' of the school could be considered a principal.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Inayat. Twenty Jataka Tales

Reading Notes: The Guilty Dogs

"student sitting"

~~

Basically, a summary of this story is two dogs who are favored by a king commit an act that would lead to the death of every dog in the city except the royalty. I thought this was a very interesting topic and I believe it can be expanded on in creative ways. 

Instead of having dogs, I can have them be students in a classroom. There will be two boys who believe they can get away with anything they want because their father is a large donor to the school. Usually, the teachers would let them get away with whatever they wanted in fear they would lose their job. One day the teacher would step outside of the classroom telling all of the students to not touch a project they had been working on. The two boys would eventually ruin this project. They would lie about who ruined the project and blame the other kids for doing so. Unfortunately, when the teacher returns to the classroom they find the students around the project and the other two boys sitting in their seats like they had no part in what had been done. 

All of the students would get detention except the two boys. One of the kids that got detention would fight for him and his fellow students. He would go to the principal’s office and beg that he believe they had no part in the act. Ironically, the downfall of these boy's would lie with their father's money. Recently the school would have been renovated and cameras would be placed in every room. No one but the principal is aware of this fact because it is such a new building. The students would be relieved of their detention punishment and never have to worry about the two boys again. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Inayat. Twenty Jataka Tales

Reading Notes: Kumbhakarna Awakens

"addiction"

~~

I found inspiration from another story in the same source I used previously in the week. The story of Kumbhakarna was very interesting and many things came to mind when I read of his upbringing. Kumbhakarma is an ugly giant that cannot stop eating food. He has the appetite of well... a giant. I thought I can turn this story from a folk tale to a struggle story about addiction. 

Instead of a giant my main character will be addicted to some type of drug. I would name him Kumba. Kumba would not be able to get enough of the specific drug he is addicted to. He would be raised in a dark part of town and pick up the habit at an early age. However, he would be able to start a family and live a normal life, but his family will be in the shadows not knowing about his addiction. In the original story the giant is eventually put to sleep (literal sleep, not killed) and he is given one day every month to go eat what he likes. 

In my possible story, I can make it to where the drug addict is caught and sent to a rehab clinic. They would be able to visit their family once a month. I would rather make his 'food' equivalent seeing his family instead of getting more drugs. I like happy stories. Eventually the addict would make a full recovery, however, I can make up some hardships along the way. 

For example, meeting some inmates that taunt him with the very drug that he adores. However, his love for his family will help overcome the addiction. This is a very different topic from the original, but just hearing that story made me think of how drugs are addicting and some people cannot help themselves. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Wilson. Indian Story Book: Kumbhakarna Awakens Part B

Reading Notes: Rama's Quest

"Johnny Bravo"

~

I thought the story Sita told Rama while they were wandering the forest was very interesting. She spoke of a young hermit that ended up meeting his own demise by treasuring a weapon similar to Rama and his bow. Sita is fearful of Rama because his power attracts enemies. This could make for a very interesting story.

I could write about a young man who all of the women at his school adore. He is a very cocky fellow and believes he is at the top of the food chain when it comes to looks. His weapon, instead of a bow, would be his hair. He could get any girl to go out with him on at least one date with his handsome looks. He would have no care in the world whether the girl was taken or single. Not shallow at all right? 

Naturally, the other groups of men that attend his college would notice this man. They will hear their girlfriends always talk about how amazing this man is. They will speak of all of the things he does to sweet-talk them and win them over. Of course, the other men will get jealous due to the young man's naturally charming ways. Also because these women are taken, and the fool knows of it.

The boys would meet up and devise a plan of how to ruin this person’s chances with their girlfriends. They finally figure out that they need to take away the one thing that he truly cherishes, his hair. This in turn can lead to the men shaving the man’s head in his sleep. After the altercation, the boy will be left with a head none of the girls would dare to approach. This follows the whole aspect of setting yourself up with your own demise by cherishing something that attracts conflict.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Wilson. Indian Story Book: Rama's Quest Part A Section 4

Week 9 Storytelling: The Fisherman

"setting of story"

~~

It was a dark, gloomy day in the town of Caro. However, this did not stop a hopeless fisherman from going to the local river and casting his rod. Sam, the town's worst fisherman, visited the river every day in hopes he would finally receive some luck. Day after day Sam would return home in disappointment and have no fish to take with him as a reward for his patience. As Sam approached his usual spot by the river, he noticed a young woman wearing a large hood standing across the way. The woman seemed to not notice Sam's presence, so he continued to mind his own business. This did not last long. The woman took off her hood and Sam was astonished by the beauty he saw with his eyes. He bolted from his spot and hid so he could bask in her beauty. Her hair was long and beautiful. Her eyes were the color of the deep ocean. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Sam is not a very graceful human being so the woman noticed him right away as he scurried to hide behind a rock. The woman took off quickly without saying a word. Sam was so awestruck by the woman's beauty he completely forgot about his fishing endeavors and vowed to return to the river in hopes to see her again. Sam returned home and slept a happier man. 

The next day Sam returned to the river and did not see the woman. He was devastated. Sam thought he scared her away, or possibly came off as a creep because he was staring at her from behind a rock. Sam cast his hook in the river in hopes to get his mind off of her. After a few minutes of sitting and no nibbles, he heard a voice from behind him. 

"Um.. Hi."

Sam quickly sprang to his feet, and to his surprise it was the beautiful woman from yesterday.

"Oh... Hello! I saw you yesterday and couldn't help but notice... you.. have.. pretty..nose.. very.. uhh.."

"Hahaha. Well..thanks?"

Sam is also awful with women.

Sam eventually found out the girl's name was Lisa. They talked for hours by the river. They were really hitting it off. One topic after another, they loved talking to each other. So, they decided to meet at the same place every day to see each other. After a couple of years, Sam and Lisa decided to get married. However, there was one condition to the relationship that did not sit right with Sam. In order for them to be together, Sam could never ask Lisa what she was doing at the river the first day he saw her. He agreed to the terms in hopes she would eventually tell him herself. 

After months of marriage, Sam could not take the curiosity any longer. He asked Lisa why she was at the river that day. Her answer shocked him. She was there to end her life. Her family had recently disowned her, and she had no friends to converse with about her issues. Sam was the first person that seemed like he actually cared for her. Her life was miserable.Lisa was so ashamed of the past, she vanished without telling Sam where she was going. After this heartbreak, Sam waited by the river every day and night in hopes the love of his life would return. 

Days passed and Sam was beginning to lose hope. The river was a lonely place without his former lover. The sound of the water running reminded him of the day he was blessed to meet her. One night, Lisa finally returned in an attempt to end her life once more. She was wearing the same large hood as the first day Sam saw her. Sam called out her name and she turned away in shame. He voiced his love for her and how he would never judge her for how she feels. He said he would always be there for her no matter what the circumstance. Lisa, finally receiving the loving attention she needed, had a change of heart. She returned to Sam and the two were reunited again. As they were talking and expressing their love for one another, there was a sound Sam had never heard before. It was the sound of his fishing pole hitting the rack he braced it on. He grabbed the pole as quickly as he could. 

Sam had finally caught a fish. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE
My story is loosely based on the story of King Shantanu and his wife. In the original story, the king falls in love with a river goddess and asks her to marry him. However, the only requirement to them getting married is that the king could never question her decisions. I decided to make my story similar to that, but instead of a river goddess, I decided to make her a woman whose beauty is incomparable. Also, instead of having her decisions be the deciding factor of the marriage, I made the reason she was at the river be the deciding factor. In the original story the river goddess kills the children of the king. In my version I left this detail out, but I incorporated a suicide with Lisa. I thought it would still have the same dramatic effect that the death of the king's children did. Lastly, in the original story the river goddess leaves Shantanu and never returns. However, I like happy endings so I decided that Lisa would return and they would live happily ever after. I also thought the fish was just a neat thing to add due to the main setting being a river.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mahabharata: Karmic Revolution Part A - Epified TV

Week 8 Growth Mindset

"motivated stick figure"

~~

After reading the list of strengths and weaknesses I could definitely say that my weaknesses would include, focusing on grades, being a perfectionist, and comparing myself to others. My strengths would lie in pushing myself to go further, being ready to spend time practicing and asking lots of questions. I feel like this class has helped me stop focusing on grades. That is not bad thing by the way! I feel as if I focus primarily on learning new material. This class is very creative and the stress of it is just that, the creativity. The grades are not the primary focus, that is why if you complete an assignment you make a 100, regardless of the quality of your creativity. I like that aspect because it helps me focus primarily on the interesting material related to the topics we are reading about that specific week. I also feel like this class has increased my ability to spend time practicing. I have never been a strong writer. However, by writing a story every week and being forced to write creatively I believe this class has helped me immensely with my writing. It used to be so difficult to write long papers, but now I can write non-stop without having to think about what to write about for hours. It has been a great learning experience thus far and I am excited to see the final result. 

Week 8 Reflections

"reflection"

I am definitely happy with stories I have written over the semester. I have never had to do this much creative writing in a class and I am really enjoying it. I have learned that I am capable of writing much more creatively than I imagined. At first, I thought this class would be very difficult because I never thought I could be creative enough. However, I have found that writing stories has become easier and easier as the class progresses. I believe in order to further the creativity in my writing I need to keep thinking of new ways to change up the original stories. A tool that could help me with this are childhood stories. Childhood stories can be molded to fit a lot of different story types. I have found them to be very useful with my storytelling. They help make difficult plots seem simple. 

Week 7 Story Planning: The Fisherman

"couple"

~~

My story would be about a young man named Sam who loves to fish. He is an awful fisherman, however, it has always been his favorite past time. Each day he would go by a nearby river to fish. One day while he is out on his daily fishing run, he would notice a young woman by the river. He instantly falls for her beauty and feels obligated to know her. Each day he would be more and more excited to visit the river to see the beautiful woman from before. The women is oblivious to Sam's presence until one day Sam actually catches a fish. The women approaches Sam after seeing him catch such a fine fish. They talk for hours and eventually decide to keep meeting on other occasions. Eventually the two become best friends. However, the women states that the only way she would stay is if Sam does not ask what the woman was doing at the river all of the days she never noticed him. Sam complied and the woman stayed with Sam. 

Day after day the curiosity would eat at Sam's mind until he could not take it any longer. He would finally ask her why she was at the river all of those days. The woman, devastated by Sam's question, tells him the answer. She was there to kill herself. Her family had thrown her out and she had no friends to consult with. Her life was miserable. She was so ashamed and did not want anyone to know of her situation. 

She was so ashamed she vanished without telling Sam she was leaving or where she was going. After this heartbreak, Sam would wait by the river every day and night in hopes the love of his life would return. One night, she would return to the river in an attempt to finally end her life. Sam would catch her in the act and express his love for her in hopes to change her mind. The woman finally receiving the loving attention she always wanted, would change her mind. The two would eventually get married and live their lives together forever. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mahabharata: Karmic Revolution Part A - Epified TV

Reading Notes: Mahabharata: Karmic Revolution Part A

"couple by a river"

~~

After watching the Mahabharata the story of Shantanu was very interesting to me. If I were to write a story about this, I would write a romance. A guy would go fishing and meet a woman by the river. They eventually talk to each other and they decide to meet there everyday. They would eventually fall in love and get married to each other, the only condition is that the man never asked why she was at the river that day. 

Days pass and they would live a very happy life together. They would keep visiting the river after their marriage. The first time they visit the guy would get a little bit curious as to why she was at the river in the first place. As they continue to visit the river his curiosity will grow and grow until it becomes unbearable. After the 8th day of visiting the river, he finally asks why she was there. To his surprise she tells him why without hesitation. It was to kill herself. She never wanted anyone to know because she was so ashamed of herself and what people would think of her. The woman would leave the man out of sorrow. 

Every day the man would wait by the river in hopes she would return. After days of waiting the man would finally see the woman again. One night, the woman would return in an attempt to kill herself again. However, the man would catch her in the act, and reassure her of his love for her. His kind words would ease her pain and open her eyes to what her life holds. Afterwards, she'll realize her mistake and they will live their lives together forever. This plot would differ from the original in some ways, but I think it would be an interesting read.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mahabharata: Karmic Revolution Part A - Epified TV

Week 6 Story Planning: Compromise of a Princess

"cartoon kingdom"

~~

I found the story of Nalayani and her five husbands interesting and thought I could write an interesting story about it. The story would be set in medieval times, where there are kings, princesses, and kingdoms. In my story, Nalayani will be the princess of a great king that hopes to unite their kingdom and the neighboring kingdom. He devises a plan of sending his daughter to the other kingdom to wed the prince of that kingdom to join the two together. The name of the princess will be Nala. Familiar right? 

As Nala arrives in the neighboring kingdom she is greeted by five young men. She would be confused as to why these five men are greeting her rather than the prince greeting her himself. To her surprise, she finds out that all five of the men are the princes to the kingdom. The five princes have been tasked to impress the princess in any way possible and it would be her choice to choose who she would like to marry. However, this never happens. Nala feels as if none of the princes have proven their worth by anything they have done. Each prince is equally good or bad at what the others are capable of.

The king decides on a new solution. All five princes will be the husband of Nala. Nala will be very reluctant to this declaration and try to argue with the king, however, it does not fall well for her. She pleas to the king that she believes it is not right to be married to five men at once. The king would hear her out this last time and come up with a final compromise. Each prince will be her husband only during a specific time of the week. This way, Nala could preserve her virtue while still combining the kingdoms. Nala agrees to the proposal and lives her life with five husbands. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Public Domain Edition, Mahabharata, Part B Reading

Reading Notes: Public Domain Edition, Mahabharata, Part B Reading

"Kingdom"

~~

I really enjoyed the story of Nalayani and her five husbands. I feel like it would be a very easy topic to expand on and make a very interesting story. I could write a story about Nalayani. She could be a princess. Instead of her finding a rishi, she will be under the control of her father, the king. The king would send her to a neighboring kingdom in order to bring the two kingdoms together by marriage. When she arrives at the kingdom she would be greeted by five princes. Each prince is a son of the kingd that her father is trying to befriend. The princess will be very reluctant of this whole situation the entire time. Acting like she doesn't want to be there and seeing no reason to give them the time of day. Each prince will try to prove to the princess that they are the right one for her, however, they would never reach an agreement to who is truly the winner of her hand. So the king of their kingdom rules that she would be the wife to all five of the princes. The princess would be outraged similarly to the original story. She would protest to the king that this was not right and she believed that a woman of her stature should only have one husband. However, the king would have not hear it and ignored her opinion. She pleaded that she wanted to remain virtuous and having more than one husband at a time would break that virtue. So the king decided she would only act as a wife to one son at a time. They would divide the days of the week to where she would only be with one person at a time. This would convey her feeling like she preserved her virtue. Similiar to the original story where Nalayani wants to remain a virgin for each one of her husbands. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Public Domain Edition, Mahabharata, Part B Reading