Week 14 Lab: Advice to Writers

 Advice to Writers

    One of the reasons that I was initially drawn to this class was that I wanted to get more into writing. Now that I have passed most of the way though this class, I definitely want to continue on my writing journey! As such, I was interested when I saw that "advice to writers" was an option for a story lab, I was intrigued. I feel like I have made some strides in writing in this class, but there is always more to learn!

    The first piece of advice that resonated with me was that creative writing needs solitude. I definitely agree with this - some of my best writing has been done in the wee hours of the morning once everyone else has gone to bed and the world is quiet. Something that I might add on to that is that I think that creative writing (and honestly, creativity in general) needs time. Not only because of the obvious - making art takes time - but also that it takes time to get into the right head-space for being creative. Making art is somewhat like meditation - you can't just dim the lights and think that immediately everything is going to just happen. It takes work and concentration (and repetition) to get your brain where it needs to be. 

    The next piece of advice that I liked was the insistence on persistence (hehe - see what I did there?). I think this is hugely important. You cant just think that you are going to make some sort of masterpiece on your first round. If you look at the best composers, artists, writers, etc of the world, most of them have an immensely huge body of work. Out of these, only a few are considered the "hits". The only way to produce "good" art is to start of by just producing art! 

(The value of real advice. Source: 1077TheJewel)

Week 12 Lab: Crash Course Mythology

What is Myth:

    Wow. I had no idea that the definition of a myth would be so complicated. I guess I could have baseline told you before that there is some difference between a myth and a folk tale, I had never really thought about quantifying that difference. I think that the definition of myth is like that of "art". I think that staying power and humanistic significance are both important aspects to it. I would also add that I think beauty plays a role in both definitions. For "myth" this might present as "is it a good story- did I like listening to it". This aspect might have more to do with the storyteller than the story though. 

Theories of Myth:

    I think that a really interesting theory of myth is that of using it to explain the things that we don't understand. Isn't that the point of most stories? Fables use myths to explain morals that children might not understand yet in terms that they can (haha) come to terms with. I think that one of the big differences in myth and religion is- do we understand these things now. Thor and the legends that surround him are thought of much more in a mythological sense in current society. We now know how thunder and lightning work, so his stance as a religious figure is no loner quite so pertinent. However, we still don't know what happens after we die, so most of the tales that surround that particular issue remain in the realm of religion. 

The Hero's Journey and the Monomyth:

I really liked being able to look at this list of "heroism". I think that it will be a really helpful thing not only to keep in mind when I am reading other stories, but also when I am producing them myself. I like especially that the typical story of a myth includes the re-integration into society. I have been on a couple of really long trips in my life, and have found that "culture shock" is weirdly often worse when coming back than it is when starting a new adventure. You do not expect yourself to have changed so much on a journey, so it is often really disconcerting when your relationship with what is supposed to be a familiar setting is so different. 

(The newest book on my reading list. Source: Wikimedia)

Week 6 Lab- Storybook Research

Bhima and Hidimba: 

Sources: Ristin, Wikipedia

Notes: When looking more into the character of Bhima, I thought it might be fun to delve more into his relationship with both Hidimba and his son Ghatotkacha. While some version of the story present him as being ambivalent towards marrying Hidimba, most versions agree that he loved his son. Given Bhima's ultimate decicsion to leave both Hidimba and Ghatotkacha to be with his brothers, this could be an interesting place to write a story. Given that my storybook takes place entirely during the time of the Virata Parva, some time will have passed since he left Ghatotkacha. Perhaps the story could present itself as a series of letters between Bhima and Ghatotkacha in which Bhima explains his decision to leave. 

(Ghatotkacha. Source: Wikimedia)

Draupadi, Krishna, and the grain of rice:

Sources: Devdutt, Pulao Recipe

Although the story of Draupadi, Krishna, and the grain of rice does not initially involve Bhima, it certainly seems like something that he would be very interested in... A single grain of rice and you feel stuffed- Bhima would eat a whole bowl full of such grains! I think the story could center around him going on a search for the field that would produce such grains (not knowing that it was Krishna who imbued the grain with its satiating powers). Draupadi, of course, would be reluctant to tell Bhima, as Krishna initially enchanted the grain so as to allow Draupadi to save face. Krishna might eventually take pity on Bhima and create a small field for him to harvest. This story could be accompanied with a recipe for rice. Though that might not be very exiting in and of itself, it certainly seems like people (perhaps in the Mahabharata itself) would have opinions about the proper way to cook rice. I certainly make and eat enough rice so that I would like to know if I have been doing something horribly wrong all of these years! It could also be accompanied by a recipe for pulao, a rice-based dish mentioned in the Mahabharata. 

Week 4 Lab

 Jennifer Barnes Ted Talk:

    In writing the past two stories, I have honestly been a bit shocked by just how difficult it has been to produce something that I am moderately happy with. This, truthfully, is just a sign of my own hubris in thinking that writing stories would come naturally.... Therefore, I was really exited to see the Story Lab as an option for this week! 

    I thought that Dr. Barnes brought up a couple of good points- and some that I have been thinking about a lot over the course of the past month or so. Fictional works hold huge power over their audiences, so I think it is irresponsible act as though this were not the case. I think this is what draws me to stories that have morals. Although I think that this comes with its own problems (imposing one set of morals on situation in which those might not apply), I think that at least thinking about the morality of a story is important. 

(Morality- Perhaps Not Quite This Simple.... Source: Pixabay)

Chimamanda Adichie Ted Talk:

    I thought that Chimamanda Adichie brought up a phenomenally important point- that of properly representing people in works of literature. One question that I had, however, was just how I (fundamentally, a white, privileged person) should best go about this. She spoke about writing about her own narrative, but if I were to do the same, wouldn't I just be contributing more to the problem. At its heart, I understand that there is mostly a need for more authors of a diverse background. IN my own writing, however, would it be reasonable/OK to try to represent more diverse voices even though I cannot speak from personal experience. I imagine that any attempt would involve A LOT of thorough research. Perhaps it is not my responsibility to write diverse voices in my own stories, but to do everything in my power to make sure that other authors who are able to represent voices different from my own get the chance to be heard. Is it possible to do both?