Extra Reading Diary: Marriage Tales

Extra Reading Diary: Marriage Tales

I'm continuing my reading of marriage tales for my Extra Reading Diary. I enjoyed the first half of the unit and I expect the second half will be just as great!

The Dog-Husband: When I read this title I was a little suspicious that it could have to do with werewolves, but I thought it was probably just my imagination. But I was right! Although the story doesn't mention werewolves, there are humans who can turn into dogs. I thought it was a very clever and interesting idea to have the main character have a man (werewolf) lover who stayed disguised in his dog form so he could be with her. It was a bit uncomfortable when the children were born as dogs, but I guess that played into the story later. Overall, I really liked this concept.

The Youth Who Joined The Deer: This story was nothing like I expected. These shapeshifter stories never end! I thought this story was amazing. I did find it odd that the man like deer so much at first and yet he still killed them. But it fit in perfectly with the ending of the story. I think this is a beautiful way to look at nature. I also found the concept interesting that deer would sacrifice themselves for their people, but they were always revived. I think it would be an interesting concept if a deer volunteered to be killed, but someone stole his bones so they couldn't bring him back. These marriage tale stories are right up my alley!

Deer
Source: Wikipedia Commons

Reading Diary A: Marriage Tales

Reading Diary A: Marriage Tales

I'm always interested in how different cultures look at love and marriages. In today's society we are so used to the idea of people having soulmates that the thought of an arranged marriage is barbaric. I think that it differs on the time period and it's interesting to see how people have adjusted to their cultures and customs.

The Piqued Buffalo-Wife: I found this to be an interesting story. I like stories about shapeshifters and I didn't expect this story to include it. I liked how the mother and son were both buffalos, but the father was still human. It's interesting to see that the man wasn't horrified or worried that his wife was different than him. Most people are scared of the unknown. I also like when characters have to go through a series of trials to get what they want. I can see this story being told around a bonfire, and those are my favorite kind.

Indian Woman
Source: photo by Edward Curtis

Bear-Woman and Deer-Woman: With the buffalo story, I expected this story to be similar, but was pleasantly happy to find that it wasn't. I like stories where animals interact with each other and are able to talk. I like the dimensions and character that each animal had.

Extra Reading Diary: Alaska

Extra Reading Diary: Alaska

I have family that live in Alaska, so I thought it would be interesting to learn a little bit about the history of where they live. I'm interested in seeing how Alaskan people differ from the Great Plains indians that I read about in my other units for the week. I'm hoping to read something about polar bears too, if possible!

Eskimo Girl
Source: Myths And Legends of Alaska

The Raven Myth: Raven's Creation: My favorite part of this story was the shape-shifting raven. The raven mainly focused on creating animals that would have been relevant to the Alaskan people. Whereas other stories focus on buffalo or such, this author focuses on goats and caribou. I like the idea of a raven creator. I wonder how he was made? Is he a god? I think this could be an interesting topic to explore. 

The Raven Myth: Raven Creates the People: I was particularly intrigued by the little snippet in this story about mosquitos. I think it's funny that in this story mosquitos never bit men until they were told to do so (by man himself no less!). I like that the creator, in this case the raven, is wary of man. I think it's an interesting concept when the creator is a bit horrified of what he has made. Another concept that I like his how quickly the children grew up. Do they still have the mind of a child and the body of an adult? Or do they develop that quickly mentally as well?

Reading Diary B: Great Plains

Reading Diary B: Great Plains

This is a continuation of my Great Plains reading diary. I enjoyed the first part of this unit and I'm looking forward to the second part. I'm already interested in Why The Possum Plays Dead.

Why The Possum Plays Dead: I thought this was a clever story, explaining why possums play dead. I like stories that try to give an explanation for the way things work. I also liked that the story gave each of the animals personalities. Poor possum didn't get a wife in the end, but he did pick up a helpful survival instinct.

Possum
Source: Wikipedia Commons

Coyote and Snake: It was cool to see two animals who are usually depicted at tricksters go up against one another. In this story the snake triumphs. I like that snakes attack was subtle. I could see myself using this idea for my storytelling post this week. Pitting two clever people against each other is more interesting than a fool against someone clever. My only question is why did coyote get fatter? I assume it was swelling from the snake's venom.

Rabbit and Deer: I liked this series of stories, especially the How The Deer Got His Horns story. I like the concept of animals earning their particular physical features. It also gave a funny explanation why rabbits gnaw on bushes.

Reading Diary A: Great Plains

Reading Diary A: Great Plains

I chose this unit because I live where the Great Plains used to be. I think it's important to know the history of the land you live in. I'm also basing the werewolves in my novel off of Native American culture, so I'm hoping to get some ideas from these stories.

Indians + Tepee
Source: Wikipedia Commons

The Creation: I'm always a sucker for creation stories and this one was no exception. I liked the idea of the sun and moon being the parents of humans. This story also presented a creative take on how humans got to Earth and subsequently how animals (mainly the elk) helped them live here. The Native American people were so in tune with nature that it's no surprise they saw themselves working with animals in the beginning.

Sacred Legend: This is another take on the story of creation. In this story, in the beginning humans were in the water. This story is less about creation and more about how the people learned to survive. It takes the reader from the discovery of fire to the building of tepees. There isn't much personality to this story, but I like how it gave a more clinical view of history. This is essentially their science and how they understand the world. It was fairly simple, but it gave them an origin story.

Reading Plan

Reading Plan

• Week 9 - Great Plains 
• I chose this unit because I want to know more about the Indians that live in my area of the world. 
• Week 10 - Marriage Tales
• I have never heard of marriage tales so I'm interested to see what they're about.
• Week 11 - King Arthur



The Death of King Arthur
Source: Wikipedia Commons

• I'm in an Arthurian Legend class right now, so extra reading about him will probably be helpful. 
• Week 12 - Beowulf
• Most people read this story in high school, but I didn't get the chance. Now I can. 
• Week 13 - Inferno
• I'm interested to see Dante's view of Hell.
• Week 14 - Ashliman
• The story had me hooked at Little Red Riding Hood (there's a wolf!).

Reflections: Looking Forward

I'm looking forward to seeing where my storybook project goes. I think that it'll be fun coming up with ideas for my next two stories. I'm most excited to write the modern day werewolf story. That's the type of story I'd write outside of class.

I'm also excited to continue reading other people's stories. I've looked at a few storybooks and I want to know where they go. I'm also interested to meet more people from the class as I read introductions and storytelling posts.

I'm close to where I want to be on the points chart. I'm a couple of points behind an A, but I plan on doing some extra credit to make up for some of the assignments I've missed. It's hard for me to do every storytelling assignment, because I'm already doing so much writing between my blogging internship and writing my novel.

I'd like to get done with the class early so I can focus on my other classes, but I don't see that happening. Maybe one weekend I can completely dedicate to this class and get ahead. I don't know when that would be though.

"IT'S GO TIME!" is a phrase from one of my favorite shows, Seinfeld. It's from The English Patient episode. I like to shout this at myself before I start a long assignment. With mid-terms this week, I'm sure to be doing this a lot.

Seinfeld: The English Patient - Season 8 - Episode 17
Source: YouTube Screenshot

Reflections: Looking Back

My favorite part of the class is the storybook assignment.

My Storybook
Source: My Computer (x)

I'm also writing my novel right now and it feels very overwhelming and structured, so it's nice to have a break from that. My storybook gives me a way to release a little creativity without too much pressure. It's also nice to hear positive comments about my writing. My writing classes give much harsher critiques so encouraging comments are great.

I do like reading and commenting on people's storybooks each week. I think it gives a pretty good look into some one's life after reading their introduction and one of their stories. So yes, I do feel like I am getting to know people in this class.

One thing that I've struggled with is getting a solid schedule down. I have so much reading and writing to do in my other classes that this one is easy to put off till the last minute. I enjoy it a lot more if I have time to sit down and absorb all the information.

I do most of my work for the class in my bedroom or at the library. I really enjoy not having to get up and go to class every day. Sometimes it's nice just to lay in bed and do a couple of assignments. It is much less stressful than the classroom.

Overall, I've had a great experience with this class so far!

Extra Reading Diary: Japanese Fairy Tales

Extra Reading Diary: Japanese Fairy Tales

The most interesting stories in this unit were about Kintaro or The Golden Boy. I like that he is a character that inspires a long story.

The Adventures of Kintaro, The Golden Boy:

The way that Kintaro is described in the beginning of this story reminded me of Hercules. He is also like Snow White in that he is best friends with the woodland creatures. I like the idea that he can not only talk to animals, but that he is also friends with them. The fact that all of them are about it wrestle each other is hilarious. This story made me interested to see where Kintaro's story was going to end up. 

Kintaro Doll
Source: Wikipedia Commons

Honestly this doll is really creepy, but it gives an idea of how the people of Japan see Kintaro.

The Adventures of Kintaro (cont.):

This story continues the wrestling match between the hare and the monkey. The other animals battle and it's interesting to see how the author describes each other them. Kintaro seems like a character that is almost god-like. He can do anything that he needs to do and it doesn't seem that difficult to him. I wonder if in the rest of the story he faces some great adversity. 

Japan: The Adventures of Kintaro (cont. again):

I like that we get to meet Kintaro's mother in this section of the story. It gives a little more context as to how he lives. In this section of the story, Kintaro is introduced to an outsider. He wants to arm-wrestle Kintaro. I thought that Kintaro would for sure beat him, but it seems that he was evenly matched. 

The Adventures of Kintaro (end):

The story had a satisfying conclusion. I wish that Kintaro had more adventures and his journey was more difficult for him, but I liked learning about him. I honestly kind of forgot that this legend was supposed to be taking place in Japan until they mentioned a samurai. I enjoyed this story in all of its parts. 

Reading Diary B: South African Folktales

Reading Diary B: South African Folktales

The Dance For Water: I liked this story a lot. It reminded me of the tortoise and the hare. My favorite types of characters are tricksters, because they're always so clever. Even though the rabbit in this story was caught, by his wit he was able to free himself and escape death. I also liked the idea of an animal council. It's kind of like the jungle book, where the animals all work together and have a type of governance in place. I think that could make for a good kernel to use to build my story off of.

Rabbit Footprints
Source: Pixabay

I chose this picture because it best illustrated a pivotal point in The Dance for Water story. The rabbit's footprints are what gives him away to the rest of the animals.

 Lion Who Thought Himself Wiser Than His Mother: Lions are one of my favorite animals so I was excited to read a story about them. I think this story gave a great insight into how the people of Southern Africa view lions. I like that part of the moral of the story is to listen to your mother. I also enjoyed the poem at the end of the story. I think incorporating poems and quotes into a story can give it more depth and allow more room for individual readers' interpretations.

Reading Diary A: South African Folktales

Reading Diary A: South African Folktales

I chose this unit because it focuses on the stories of animals. I think it's interesting to project human feelings and actions on animals and see what happens. I'm hoping to see some interesting plots in this unit. I'm also looking forward to reading stories with a trickster in them. The character of the trickster is one of my favorite because they're always one step ahead of the game.

The Tiger, The Ram, and The Jackal: When I saw this title I figured that The Jackal was going to be the great trickster of this story. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was the Ram and his wife that pulled off a clever trick.

Golden Jackal
Source: Wikipedia Commons

I chose this picture because the Jackal was the most interesting character throughout this unit. (The jackal kind of looks like a wolf!)

The Lion, The Jackal, and The Rope: This story reminded me of the scene in Lion King when Scar throws Mufasa into the buffalo stampede. The jackal was a real jerk in this story. I like my tricksters to have some good qualities so I can hate them, but relate to them at the same time. However, I did like how the author used the dialogue between the jackal and his wife. Going from whispering to shouting aloud was a nice touch to convey the Jackal's true intentions.

Famous Last Words: Week 6

This week I reached the third milestone for my novel. I got an 83 on my first milestone and a 96 on the second. (I haven't got the third one back yet) I'm up to a whopping 12,000 words (60 pages). I knew it was going to be hard, but I feel like I'm running out of words to say. Between this class and my internship writing blogs, I have been writing non-stop! The good thing about writing non-stop is that knocking out a 1000 words is nothing now.

I have the entire novel mapped out, but once you delve into each scene it becomes more and more complex. I'm excited about the next scene of my story because my characters are finally exiting their home and encountering the outside world. The most difficult part for me has been finding my characters voices. It's easy to have your characters react just like you would, but that doesn't create interesting and dynamic characters.

I have 4,000 words due every Wednesday and one 6,000 word assignment. I've turned in all of my assignments so far, but I need to spend more time on them so that I'm actually satisfied with their content. I like my story idea, but the deadline has decreased the quality of my work, which frustrates me.

This week I also finally got payed at my new job. I work in the OU library in the ILL department. I work four days a week and it hasn't really occurred to me that I've been earning actual money. It's nice to see that all my hard work actually earns me something. I went out to eat at Pad Thai on Boyd St. to celebrate! They have amazing chicken pad thai.

I'll keep you guys updated on my continued novel progress. Hopefully I'll publish it on Kindle and you guys can buy it! :)

Extra Reading Diary: Folklore Of Laos

Extra Reading Diary: Folklore Of Laos

I chose to read about the Folklore of Laos for my extra reading. I don't know much about Laos, other than that it's a small country in Asia. I picked the photograph below because it relates to my first story and gives a setting to the little-known country.

Luang Prabang Mountain Range
Source: Wikipedia Commons

A Child Of The Woods: There is something soft and innocent about this story that I really enjoyed. I too have felt that it'd be a relief to get away from society and live only with nature. (Honestly though I don't think I'd survive very long) I liked that this story was more rooted in nature than in magic. I think that sometimes magic can lessen the meaning of stories because it explains things away easily. The author of this story did a good job of describing the jungle and made me feel as if I was on the journey with the main character.

The Man In The Moon: My favorite part of this story was the moral: everyone wants what they don't have. I think it's easy to see all the bad things in our life rather than appreciating where we're at and all the blessings we've been given. The main character is constantly complaining of his place. He's not content to be a stone, the sun, or a blacksmith. If one is not content with themselves, they won't be content with anything they do. The ending was a little disappointing, but I understand that it needed to end the way it did to make a point.