Epics of India

For my Week 10 StoryLab, I chose to watch one of the Crash Course videos on Mythology . The video I chose to watch focuses on heroes and how they are often developed in mythology. It’s interesting how mythology often uses heroes to display a wide variety of human emotions and actions. Some use the heroes to set this wonderful idea that we physically can’t reach but should strive for, and some even appear to use heroes to demonstrate that even those better than us often struggle and have challenges they may not be able to overcome. The most interesting emotion they used heroes to convey was selflessness. It isn’t an emotion you would generally expect heroes in stories to convey but they often did, emphasizing the importance of it even more. Image of Nordic Heroes  

The current version of this story can be found at my Portfolio here! The battle was near, and both sides waited in a moment of tense anticipation. On one side, Perseus’ dad stood armed and ready ahead of his troops, prepared to charge forward at any second. Poseidon had led them thus far, and those who followed him had faith in his ability to lead them to victory. On the other side, his nemesis Zeus stood in a similar manner. Both knew that they would be the deciding factor in the battle, as each was capable of wiping out the other’s entire army with ease. In a moment of weakness, Zeus came up with a plan to defeat Poseidon in battle. With both sides about to rush forward, Zeus raised his hand in the air, as if he wanted to pause and say something. Poseidon was confused. “What is the meaning of this?”, he asked. Zeus smirked, and yelled across the battlefield. “Oh nothing. I just thought you’d like to know that we captured your son Perseus and killed him.” “That can’t be, P...

For my story lab this week, I decided to look at Jon Winokur's "Advice to Writers" website . The most fascinating advice I took from this website is Ken Kalfus' suggestion to simply, "turn off the f***ing router." I love his thoughts on the distractions of the internet and the level of originality it can take away from our own writing, and would agree that if you truly want to write something that is personal to you and that you're passionate about, the best place to start is within you and to avoid as many distractions as possible. I personally don't care much for the use of electronics, so I think that if I ever do commit myself to writing, ignoring the internet won't be a problem. Still great advice regardless, and I like the level of dedication he goes to, as he says to actually just turn off your router instead of just "don't use the internet". I also liked Nina Sadowsky's thoughts on writer's block. She doesn't...

After several long days they were finally back together, and it was hard to believe that what they’d been through was real. Congressman Rama sat in embrace with Sita and thought about what had transpired.  3 days ago, Rama had been cleaning up the kitchen after dinner when he heard a scream come from the living room. He took off towards the room only to find a broken window and shattered glass covering the floor.  “Sita? Sita!”, he called out, but no answer was heard.  When the police arrived to their home, an investigation began, and it was determined that Sita had been kidnapped. By who they weren’t sure, but it seemed like Rama had been targeted due to his powerful position.  A few days passed without.a word. The police continued their investigation efforts, and Rama drove around town trying to find anyone who may be able to help, but nothing turned up. Then suddenly on the third day, Rama left his home to find a note taped to the front door. The ...

This week for the story lab assignment, I chose the EmpoWord assignment, reading Chapter 2 on the guide to telling a story. I loved the last interpretation of the Doctor Who quote on the first page: “Our individual stories have no definite conclusion until we can no longer tell them ourselves. How can you tell a piece of your story while it’s still up to you?” Off all the interpretations the author provides for the quote, I enjoyed this one the most because it seems the most impactful and implies more so than the others that you can control your own story.  One idea from this article I’d like to apply to my own writing is the use of sequence and pacing to signify importance. Giving certain events or ideas more time than others, and even placing them out of order on occasion, can really help create an impactful moment for the reader and help them understand why I’m writing. Freytag’s pyramid is the common method for storytelling, but I’d like to experiment with other methods...

Link to updated story in my portfolio. "See ya later Percy!" Perseus had just gotten off the bus, a sophomore at Westlake High, and was walking towards his house. His friend shouted at him from the bus window, but Perseus had other things on his mind. His father was a believer in polygamous relationships, and his third wife had recently moved into their home. Perseus wasn't very fond of her, though he did like her son, Jason, who had moved in with her and was about the same age as Perseus. He got to the door and hesitated, not knowing what he should expect on the other side. Finally he opened the door and found his father looking rather distressed on the couch.  "What's wrong dad?", Perseus asked.  "Son, we need to talk." "What is it?" "Well, a long time ago, Jason's mother did something very kind for me, so I in turn gave her an IOU...." Perseus was confused at his dad's struggle to get to th...

There was once a powerful monkey king, Brahmadatta, who lived in the jungle. He was surrounded by a tribe of all female monkeys, as he had killed any son that had been born into the tribe. One day, one of the female monkeys was going to give birth and, fearing for the life of her son, escaped far away to the outskirts of the jungle. The son, Bodhisatta, was born and was safe, and soon grew to be much larger and stronger than was normal for a monkey of his tribe. One day, Bodhisatta's mother decided to tell him about his father. "Your father is a powerful monkey king who lives in the heart of the jungle", she said. "Why did you take me away from him?", asked Bodhisatta. "Your father is fearful of losing his power, so he would've killed you had I not." "I want you to take me to him", said Bodhisatta. His mother reluctantly agreed, knowing that if she didn't he would go by himself. When Bodhisatta returned to the tribe, his fath...