Storytelling Advice Post

Since becoming a Laura Gibbs elective class veteran by taking both Indian Epics and Mythology/Folklore, I'm writing this storybook advice post to reflect on my time in the classes.  The storybook is a really cool assignment because it's amazing to see how a small idea you had at the beginning of the semester can snowball into your very own narrative.  I decided to break down this post into three main points that should hopefully be helpful to anyone having doubts or trouble about writing a storybook.  (Shameless plug for my Indian Epics and Myth/Folklore storybooks.)  

 

Go where the storybook takes you.  If you're not exactly sure what you're going to write about sit down and just see what you can come up with.  I normally didn't plan out what I was going to write about in my storybook sections.  I had a very basic outline and then I filled in all the details when I started the chapters.  It can be so awesome when your story takes a turn you didn't anticipate.  There's an excitement to it, you never really know what your story's capable of. 

Do NOT procrastinate.  Sometimes it can be tough to brainstorm your writing assignments when the semester gets hectic and midterms/other classes get in the way.  But you shouldn't let this be an excuse to not do your storybook!  You make it so much harder on yourself in the long run if you choose binging a show on Netflix rather than working ahead/finishing up your assignments.  You have plenty of time to watch Netflix when you finish the class early in the semester!!!!!!!!! 

Always read your writing out loud.  It's a storybook so it should be read like how you read storybook's as a kid.  Saying the words out loud really helps to hear the flow of your story.  It's especially helpful during revisions because you can then weed out awkward wording.   Sometimes I even read my stories out loud in a British accent just because I thought they sounded more sophisticated that way haha.  

Well that's all I have, good luck with writing a storybook of your very own!  This is a project that I'll always remember and I know I will read it to help me reminisce on my time in college.  So just try and make something to be proud of!  

 (That's all Folks from WeePOP! online.)

Extra Reading Diary: Welsh Fairy Book (Thomas)

This is a Reading Diary that details my thoughts on the first section of the  Welsh Fairy Tales unit. Story source: The Welsh Fairy Book by W. Jenkyn Thomas with illustrations by Willy Pogány (1908).

• Just from that he could tell that the man was an evil sorcerer??
• This story paints the most amazing image of the knights at the round table.
• I like how sassy this boy is.  He's standing up to the king!
• The boy was Merlin! How cool!
• I actually really love the name, "The Lady of Greenwood."  
• Yeah having horse's ears is a pretty big secret. 
• Wow an elfin cow.  Maybe instead of "when pigs fly" there should "when cows are elves" expression. 
•  "Bala Lake" had a very different tone compared to the other stories.  
• When I saw "Tudur" all I could think of was the Tudors.  
• This story is so vivid. 
• The story with the cockshells reminds me of when Spongebob pays with "bubble money."
• Hmmmmm Helig's Hollow sounds like a very interesting place.  

(Einion and the Lady of Greenwood from the Untextbook.)

Tech Tip: SoundCloud Embedded

Reading Diary B: The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre

This is a Reading Diary that details my thoughts on the second section of the Heptameron unit. Story source: The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre, translated by Walter K. Kelly (1855).

•  I really like the idea from this story that love works wonders.  
• Wow this isn't the ideal brother and brother-in-law family dynamic that you hope for. 
• The brother thinks that isolating his sister will solve the fact that he murdered her husband??
• Well that was a really sad ending. 
• I guess selling animals is the only way to settle this...
• This story with the good-natured man and the terrible wife actually makes me sad. 
• The story ends just as it begins.  
•  The commentary on women in this is very interesting. 
• I guess the commentary on men is just as interesting. 
  

 

(Margaret of Navarre & Margaret Queen from Jouer-Enligne.)

Reading Diary A: The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre

This is a Reading Diary that details my thoughts first section of the Heptameron unit. Story source: The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre, translated by Walter K. Kelly (1855).

• When I picture Francis I all I see is the actor who played him in "The Tudors."  
• Where do all these stories of men being undeterred when pursuing women come from? I have not ever witnessed this in my life.  Three years with her never even talking to him!!
• Wow I did not expect that ending.  I guess in the dating world women are stags and mean are hunters.  
• It's difficult for me to imagine the a priest hiding up in a loft...
• This is a really interesting retelling of Mary!
• I feel like I'm supposed to be familiar with some of these names...but I'm not. 
• I'm not 100% certain what a Cordelier.
• This last story is so ominous.  

(Marguerite, Queen of Navarre from Wikipedia.)

Famous Last Words for Week 12

Could this day be any more dreary?  I ask this question as I sit at a table in Bizzell Library with plenty of homework to complete but no motivation to do any of it.  Outside it's cloudy, windy and cold.  Inside here looking at my assignments and all the stuff I have to do this week it's irritating, annoying and cold.  From a week that started out 70 degress and sunny how did we get here?!  I think these are the signs that winter is actually coming and the prolonged sunniness and summer weather is soon to be over. 

The biggest thing that I accomplished this past week was completing a research paper and my storybook assignment for this class.  Each are both a huge weight off my shoulders and I'm very happy to have both of them done.  But there are still some huge assignments still waiting for me to complete them.  I hope I'll get around to them eventually.... Is there are cure for senioritis? 

On Friday, I drove up to Oklahoma City to celebrate my friend's 22nd birthday.  A lot of people drove in for it so it was extra fun to see people I hadn't seen in awhile.  I'm not ready to turn 22 yet, I think I want to be 21 forever.  Seeing my friend's birthday just made all of it so much more real.  Here's a picture of me and my friend at her birthday celebration. 

(Personal photo of me and friend taken in November 2015.)  

 This next week should be REALLY fun.  I'll be attending the Hunger Games premiere, OU will play TCU and this will be my last football game as a student here and then I'll go home to attend "The Book of Mormon" with my parents.  I can't wait.  But hopefully I'll be able to do some studying as well.  Hopefully...

Essay: The Lost Heroine

This week I read about Britomart, a woman of Arthurian legends.  I was so impressed with her because she seemed like such a modern heroine.  Britomart was a princess who disguised herself as a knight and went on many epic adventures. 

The thing I was most surprised about was how I have NEVER heard of this heroine until this class.  Especially nowadays when there are cries for strong, independent female roles, how did this awesome character become so overlooked?  Guinevere and Morgana are much better known than Britomart but now I can't seem to understand why. 

I can't even think of a character that is more of a feminist.  She held her ground with King Arthur himself, competed in tournaments and rescued villagers.  I know that Morgana was King Arthur's villain but she never suited up as a knight and took on King Arthur herself.  She mainly just used sorcery and trickery to mess with him and had others do her fighting.  Guinevere was always more of a damsel in distress than an actual fully-fledged out character. 

I feel like Britomart had a lot of qualities that are generally reserved for men, especially in Arthurian Legends.  She is a true equal and a qualified knight.  Britomart does set on a quest to meet the man who is supposed to be the love of her life, so it can be argued that she's centered around a man.  But I would argue that this is a very common theme in Arthurian legends as most knights have sought out the women to be there wives.  I really hope someone makes her story into an HBO show or an epic movie.  We need more characters like her in the main stream media!!!

(Britomart 1900 Walter Crane | Oil Painting Reproduction | 1st-Art-Gallery.com from Pinterest.)

Bibliography: This story is part of the Fairie Queen: Britomart unit. Story source: Stories from the Faerie Queene by Mary Macleod, with drawings by A. G. Walker (1916).