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.