Reading Notes: Celtic Tales (Part A)

I found it interesting to discover that most of these tales, if not all, typically ended with a happy ending. If any characters didn't fare well in these stories it was due to the fact that they weren't great people. In the Celtic tales it seemed like the good people were always rewarded for their kindness and sense of adventure.

Connla and the Fairy Maiden

• at first only Connla could see the Fairy Maiden who walked up to the group
• only Connla could hear the Fairy Maiden at first 
• would be a get character attribute to have in a story
• creates an air of mystery and makes people uncomfortable when they believe something to be there but can't see it
• the Fairy Maiden talks of a land where there is no death, no aging, everyone is always happy
• should Connla go, he won't age either and he will receive a fairy crown 
• Connla's father, Conn, brings by a druid to say some enchantments to dispel the Fairy Maiden 
• before vanishing due to the spells, she threw Connla an apple from which he survived on for a whole month
• the apple always grew back, keeping whole no matter what
• Connla eventually leaves with the Fairy Maiden to go to the Plains of Pleasure in a crystal canoe that everyone was able to see cross the water

The Shepherd of Myddvai

• a shepherd spotted maidens arising from the lake near which he was tending to his flock
• eventually he is able to marry one of them but she says if he strikes her 3 times she will leave
• when they married she brought many farm animals with her as a gift
• the man ends up hitting her 3 times and she leaves him
• even though one of the cows she brought had been slaughtered, when she called for it it got up and began walking to her cured of any wounds
• interesting magic to apply to a story

Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree

• a king had a wife named Silver-Tree and a daughter named Gold-Tree
• similar to the "magic mirror" from Shrek, the queen finds a trout in a well that tells her who the most beautiful queen in the world is
• she learns that her daughter is the most beautiful and that infuriates Silver-Tree
• Silver-Tree tries to kill her daughter a few different ways
• by trying to get her husband to kill her to "cure" her own illness
• poisoning her daughter (successfully)
• poison drink 
• Golden-Tree dies from the poison her mother pricked her finger with but another girl comes by her resting place and picks the poisonous item out of her finger and she awakens
• the same girl who removed the poison also gets Silver-Tree to drink the poisonous drink she was going to give to her daughter
• Silver-Tree dies in the end and Golden-Tree, her husband and his other wife live happily ever after

Silver-Tree waits for Gold-Tree to poke her finger through the key-hole so she can prick her with the poison.

Bibliography

Celtic Fairy Tales Unit found here

Image Information: Silver-Tree waiting to poison her daughter -- found on wikimedia.

Story Lab: Writer's Advice

This week I decided to take a look at the writing website to find some storytelling tips! I was able to find a few promising articles that I feel provided some great information that I can use to better my writing. I'm looking forward to implementing these tips in next week's story.

45 Ways to Avoid Using the Word 'Very'

• Essentially this post consisted of a large image that had very helpful examples of how to replace using the word 'very' 
• included a few quotes by popular authors that gave me an idea of what kind of opinion a great writer has of the word 'very'
• "Susbstitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very,' your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be." - Mark Twain
• another author claimed that 'very' was the most useless word in our language and that it only weakens your writing (Florence King)

Mark Twain deep in thought.

Cheat Sheets for Writing Body Language

• this article lists the top 5 rules you need to follow when using body language
• one of my favorite arguments the article makes is when it says that over 50% of human communication is nonverbal
• this emphasis how important including details of a characters body language is to your story and to the reader who is trying to understand your writing
• the article also said that body language needs to be used to show your reader something instead of just narrating everything to them
• it gives the reader a break from reading paragraph after paragraph
• the article also has several examples on how to describe the different emotions a character may experience through body language

Must-Have Scenes That Reveal Character

• There are 3 key character scenes you need to have when writing
• the Monogram scene
• give your character 3 or so qualities
• now write a scene that shows him performing actions that demonstrate he has those character qualities
• Momentum scene
• when your character makes a decision to do something, they always progress towards acting on that decision
• make sure to include the buildup to acting on that decision
• how did your character arrive to the point to be able to conquer their goal?
• Glimpse
• make sure to let the reader know that the character has at least a little humanity or imperfection
• too much of an invincible charisma can put off readers

Bibliography

Must-Have Scenes That Reveal Character - found here

Cheat Sheets For Writing Body Language - found here

Ways to Avoid Using the Word 'Very' - found here

Image Information: Mark Twain pondering. Found on wikipedia

Reading Notes: Alice in Wonderland (Part B)

In the second half of the Alice in Wonderland reading she encounters the Mad Hatter at a Tea Party along with the March Hare and a dormouse. Their iconic conversation ensues and reading it now at a later point in my life it actually starts to make more sense. There is a lot of word play and selective hearing going on during the conversation which makes it very hard to follow.

A Mad Tea-Party

• Alice finds the trio sitting at a large table with plenty of room for several more people but when she approaches they notice her and yell out that there is no more room
• Alice sits anyways 
• The March Hare asks Alice to have some wine, she remarks that she doesn't see any wine.
• The Hare then tells her that there isn't any and Alice claims that it wasn't kind of him to offer something he didn't have
• The Hare retorts that it wasn't nice of her to sit down without being invited
• May want to write a story including this kind of humor from the Hare
• this group is very particular on wording things exactly as people's thoughts are intended
• if you use a "saying" it is taken literally
• the Hatter says something that would lead us to believe that time in Wonderland remains the same although days and years pass through
• it is always "tea time" for them
• the speak of Time as if it is a living being, a male in fact
• Mad Hatter says that depending on your relationship with Time, he will speed up or slow down time to help you if you are on good terms
• once the Mad Hatter sang for the Queen and she didn't like it and mentioned that he was murdering time so now Time doesn't care for the Mad Hatter and makes sure it is always 6 o'clock for him

Depiction of Alice when she learns Time is a "He".

The Queen's Croquet-Ground

• Alice uses a flamingo to hit the croquet ball which is actually a hedgehog forming a ball
• the game is incredibly hard as the flamingo and hedgehog don't get along with each other, much less everyone else's
• Alice finally gets a chance to talk to the White Rabbit but never even asks what he was doing in her world in the first place
• The cat appears to her while she plays the game but only allows its head to be visible
• the King dislikes that cat and asks for it to be executed which causes some confusion since it has no body at the present moment already
• We find out the Duchess is in prison for boxing the Queen's ears
• she seems to be the only character who physically assaults the Queen and isn't too afraid of her

Alice's Evidence

• Alice sits through a lengthy, absurd court hearing about who stole the Queen's tarts
• Finally she has enough and confronts the King and Queen claiming they are "just cards" at which point they all fly up in the air and swarm here
• she wakes up soon after to find herself next to her sister on the bank just like at the beginning
• it was all a dream

Bibliography

Alice in Wonderland Unit here

Mad Tea-Party here

Croquet-Ground here

Alice's Evidence here

Image Information: Alice at the Tea Party found on flikr

Reading Notes: Alice in Wonderland (Part A)

This week's reading will be of the original Alice in Wonderland story. The first section covers Alice spotting the rabbit, chasing it down the hole, and entering Wonderland.

Down the Rabbit-Hole

• Alice was reading with her sister on the bank of a lake or river and is bored because the book her sister was reading had no pictures
• Alice is young and simple
• It was a hot day, and it made her "sleepy and stupid"
• She spots a white rabbit with pink eyes who mentions how late he is and pulls a stop-watch out of his waistcoat-pocket
• Alice immediately gets up to chase the rabbit and jumps down the hole
• I wonder what her sister is thinking at this time
• Alice falls down the hole for an extremely long time
• the hole is lined with shelves full of books and jars, some with labels some without
• Alice begins talking to herself quite a bit and exhibits her creativity and imagination with some of the thoughts she has
• As she gets closer to the bottom of the hole, she gets the feeling that she is starting to doze off and get sleepy
• She lands at the bottom of the hole just in time to see the rabbit hurrying down a long passage and she chases him only to lose him around the corner
• Alice is in a hallway lined with many doors
• She finds a table with a key, and a bottle labeled "drink me" sitting on it which she drinks to become smaller
• Alice eventually goes through the door and enters Wonderland and meets the caterpillar smoking hookah

Advice From a Caterpillar

• the caterpillar peppers Alice with existential questions
• Alice can't answer the questions and becomes frustrated and angry
• Alice claims she can't remember things so the caterpillar asks her to recite a rhyme she should know
• Alice is having memory loss
• Eventually the caterpillar tells her to eat the mushroom to grow bigger again
• one side makes her smaller the other bigger
• Alice eats some of the mushroom and her neck grows so long she is mistaken for a snake by birds

Pig and Pepper

• Alice meets the Duchess and the Cheshire cat
• she takes care of a baby which turns into a pig
• perhaps all the snorting the baby does due to the pepper causes it to make pig noises and therefore turns into a pig

Bibliography

Alice in Wonderland Unit here

Image Information: The grin of the cheshire cat Alice encounters at the house of the Duchess. Found on flickr

Week 11 Story: Koyo Enters the Spirit Realm

"I'm sure this is the direction the woman pointed towards earlier", thought Koyo as he hiked through seemingly untouched portions of the woods. He had been traveling for several hours at this point and the woman mentioned she remembered the village being about 5-6 hours away, so he should be getting close.

It had only been a couple short months since Koyo had begun his quest to confront and eliminate evil beings across the land. His last successful venture consisted of him decapitating a snake chief who had been stealing all of the good pieces of meat from other members of the village leaving them with scraps to survive on for the Winter. Once he defeated the greedy chieftain he was able to distribute the meat among the poorest of the village to ensure their survival and well-being. After going from village to village performing the same actions, Koyo became a tribal legend. For many he was considered the equivalent of a native Robin Hood. Currently he was on his way to what he believed would be his final mission. He had heard rumors of a village suffering from the tyranny of a cannibal chieftain. The stories say that the chief was somewhat of a giant and consumed a member of the village each week as compensation for his protection. Should any of the villagers try to escape he would capture them, chop them up, and stew them for dinner.

The sun began to set, the wind began to pick up, and the trees of the forest began to cast tall, ominous shadows across the ground. Koyo smelled something peculiar as he walked along. Every time the breeze kicked up, he caught the scent of a sour, putrid odor coming from the direction he was walking. As he got closer he was able to distinguish a soft glow in the distance: campfires. At this point the sun had completely disappeared from the horizon and the glow of the moon began to shine through the clouds.

"I will go down to the village tomorrow when it is light", Koyo thought to himself. He found a small clearing a kilometer or so outside of the village and made camp for the night. He lit no fire that night for he did not know what kind of attitudes the villagers may have towards outsiders. "Perhaps they might all be cannibals", he pondered. Koyo went to sleep against a tree, waiting to venture into the village once the sun has been up awhile.

Rays of sunlight pierced through the brush of the forest waking Koyo. He began his trek towards the village once again but noticed a smaller puff of smoke rising above the trees not far from him. He was in no hurry to reach the village and decided he could spare some time to discover what caused the smoke. The smoke billowing up became thicker the closer he got until finally he glimpsed a homely lodge sitting in the woods. He crept up to the door, knocked, and awaited a response.

"Come in Koyo, I've been waiting for you for some time."

Hesitantly, Koyo entered the lodge and saw an elderly woman working at a table grinding some herbs together.

"Who are you, and why were you expecting me?" he asked.

"I'm called Grandmother, and once I heard of your triumph over the Snake chieftain I knew you would be on your way here. I know what goes on in the village and I assumed, correctly, that you would be interested in intervening. Before you head in to the village, you must know that the chief is protected by a curse cast upon him by the spirit of these woods. You won't be able to defeat him until you destroy the spirit."

"Grandmother, I have no way of reaching the realm of spirits and besides that I have no intention of visiting my ancestors prematurely. I have heard the stories of those who visit the Ghost Camp and never return."

"You must take these herbs I've been preparing, Koyo, and make tea out of them. I've included in here a mixture of Pine, Cedar, and Sage which, once consumed, will allow you to reach the spiritual plane. Remember, you must take only 4 sips of the tea for should you drink any more you will remain a spirit forever. By taking only 4 sips you will obtain 4 hours of time to locate and destroy the spirit."

Koyo took the herbs and sat near the fire in Grandmother's lodge. He set them in the pot and watched as it began to boil. The smell aroma was pleasant and warm, then suddenly he felt a chill race down his spine as his eyelids grew heavier and the light of the fire began to fade from his vision.

Koyo awoke suddenly and sprang to his feet. As he glanced around he noticed everything was a haze. The walls of the lodge moved out of his way like smoke, and the bright fire he remembered before closing his eyes now emitted only a soft glow. Though he had never been here before, he knew he had crossed over into the spirit world.

To be continued...


Author's Note
This story was strongly influenced by the stories of Kut-O-Yis as well as the Camp of the Ghosts from the Blackfoot Unit. I changed the name of Kut-O-Yis to something that sounded similar but wasn't as complicated to type out haha. I liked how his character helped the poor people of the community by taking away from those that were being greedy. I also really liked the spiritual aspects of the ghost camp story I had read from part A so I thought I'd try to combine the two.

Bibliography
The Camp of the Ghosts here
Stories of Kut-O-Yis begins here

Image Information
Sunset in the woods. Found here (pxhere)
Inside Grandmother's Lodge. Found here (flickr)

Reading Notes: Blackfoot Stories (Part B)

The second half of the Blackfoot Stories share the same general style as the first half. Both sets of stories attempt to convey a message or explain history and nature. The second set of stories explains the reason why certain forest animals obtained their unique physical characteristics. It is likely that the reason only the peculiar animals had stories was because they were different among most other things in nature which would beg the question of "why?'. So, the stories were used to explain unusual phenomena that the natives came into contact with during the course of their life in nature.

The Smart Woman Chief

• this story talks about the beginning of the creation of humans
• the story states that women were created before men and were created poorly so that was why they were weaker than men
• it is interesting that this native story of creation recalls women being created before man and on top of that they were more clever
• this is a stark contrast to the biblical version of creation
• the chief of the women turns Old Man into a pine tree for his bad behavior
• interesting that the woman chief has witch-like powers

Kut-O-Yis Stories

• Kut-O-Yis is compared to the Jack the Giant Killer of European stories. He kills evil monsters and people in order to help others
• I feel like he better resembles a Hercules or maybe even a Robin Hood style character. He always meets with the poor people to find out what their troubles are then tries to fix them
• He usually takes from or kills those who are greedy and have more and then gives the loot to those in need of it
• Kut-O-Yis was born of the blood clot of a buffalo as it was being stewed in a hot pot
• the number four seems to have some special significance in the Blackfoot tribe, I should look it up to find out more information
• Kut-O-Yis, after helping his parents get rid of an evil son-in-law, goes from town to town liberating the most poor from the greed of the town chiefs
• In each town he helps the starving elderly folk by killing the chief that hordes all of the good meat
• first town he kills bears
• second town he kills snakes
• third he kills a demigod-like entity known as the Wind Sucker
• when he killed an animal, he always left one female to be able to continue breeding for the species
• fourth he kills a man-eater who was chief of a village
• he allows himself to be devoured four times and comes back to life each time before eventually killing the man
• Kut-O-Yis as a character seeks out justice for those who have been done wrong but at the same time he is, to some extent, merciful to those he punishes

Kut-O-Yis faces the man-eater of the fourth village.

Bibliography

The Blackfoot Unit

Image Information: The Cannibal found on wikipedia.

Reading Notes: Blackfoot Stories (Part A)

For this week I read stories originating from the Blackfoot Indian tribe. The stories I read often served the purpose of describing an aspect of nature. They would explain the relationship between different seasons, why some animals migrate each year, and how to pray to the gods of the different weather entities.

The Wolf Man

• A man has two bad wives that never help at home or pull their weight around the house
• They become upset that he moved their family away from the village so they plot to kill their husband
• They place his regular sitting spot over a concealed pit fall which he ends up falling into and becomes badly injured
• he used a buffalo skull as a seat
• The wives leave him to die and return to the village and pretend to be sad
• A pack of wolves came, and one of them helped the man out of the pit and took him back to their elder wolf who healed him
• The man becomes a brother to the wolves and when he was cured by the old blind wolf, he received a wolf head and hands
• In return for their help, the man lived with the wolf pack and tripped the snares of the locals before the wolves would get trapped so they could roam freely and get their meat
• the villagers seem to automatically know it is the man-wolf tripping the snares so it may be interesting to write an about an event that makes the existence of the man-wolf known to them
• Eventually the villagers capture the man-wolf and bring him into the light of the lodge where they recognize him
• they suggest that he punishes the wives who treated him poorly but he leaves their judgement up to them

Examples of some common signs of the Plains Indians.

The Camp of the Ghosts

• A man's wife passes away and he can't live without her so he tries to go to the spirit lodge to bring her back
• The old woman goes to the ghost camp to try to bring back with her the spirits of the some of the man's relatives so that he could be guided by them to the camp
• if the man were to open his eyes at any point during the trip he would die and never come back
• he had to lie to the spirits saying that his grandmother requested he come so that he would gain entrance to the ghost camp
• The chief ghost burnt sweet pine to mask the scent of living human which allowed other ghosts to get close to the man
• The man had to stay in the ghost camp for four days before he would be able to see his wife and begin to take her back
• At the end of the 3rd night, the ghosts gave the man the Worm Pipe and his wife's spirit
• The man had to keep his eyes shut for all four days of the journey back to the village and once he got there they had to sit in a sweat lodge outside of the village
• had they not done this the man would die and his wife would disappear
• The old woman took back her medicines and the man became human again
• would be interesting to write about what kind of medicines the man took that allowed him to enter the spiritual plane

Bibliography

Blackfoot Indian Unit

Image information: Signs of the Plains Indians found on wikipedia