Story Lab Week 10

Notes over Chapter 2: Telling a Story in Empoword.

This chapter focuses of techniques in writing.

 The first technique it mentions is the plot, it is important to have a plot because it is the basis of your story. The plot encompasses many other techniques because it is so broad.

The second technique is scope. The scope is the boundaries of the plot. The scope defines the outline of the story. The scope answers the questions When, Where, Who, and What but not Why. It is important for the story that the scope be defined and not too long. If you don’t focus in and cut things from your story the readers will get lost. It is hard to find a balance between enough detail but not to lengthy.

The third technique is sequence and pacing. In this chapter they describe this with Freytag’s pyramid. This is a pyramid that consists of most of the story building up to the climax and ending quickly after the climax. This occurs in 5 steps: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

The fourth technique is point of view. This is the way in which you tell and write your story. The way in which you tell your story and which point of view you use shapes the readers perspective on the plot.

Lastly, they mention finding a medium. Stories can be told though all sorts of medium, it doesn’t have to be a written story on a piece of paper in a book. Stories are told everyday through books, movies, TV, social media, in the newspaper/journal, having a conversation, plays, blogs, etc. Anything can become a story, your life is a story and it is your job to tell the readers what you want them to know about you and your journey.           

                                            (Book: Image from Wikimedia Commons)

Extra Credit Reading The Monkey Bridge

The Monkey Bridge by Noor Inayat
I really enjoyed reading this story. The writing of it was beautiful and very easy to read, it flowed like a story should. I like the idea of this story better then the last two, especially if it is being targeted for children. In this story a worried king tells his followers to not let the beautiful fruit from their tree fall into the water of the river. If a piece falls it will travel down the mountain and into the village with the humans. The humans will then want to find the tree and steal all of the fruit. Not only did this exact thing happen but when the humans found the tree and saw the monkeys living in it, they waited around until daylight to kill all of them. They wanted to kill the monkeys for meat and then take the beautiful ripe fruit with them. The king of the monkeys saw the fear of his followers and new action had to be taken. All the other trees were to far to get to so all of the monkeys were stuck. The king leaped as far as he could and made it to another tree where he tied a rope to his foot. He then jumped back across to the tree with his followers but the rope was a little short. The king had to stretch his body to make the rope long enough and his followers ran across his back, onto the rope, and into the forest. The strength of his back gave out and eventually broke after the last monkey crossed safely. The human king at the bottom of the tree saw the generosity of the monkey king and treated him as kindly before he died. The monkey king with his last couple breaths explained to the human king that he was willing to die for his followers and that he should learn from him. He also explained he should lead by love, as if all of the followers were his children. I think this story teaches a lot about what being a leader is about, some notes others can take from this story. 

                                 (Golden Gate Bridge: Image from Wikimedia Commons)

Reading Notes Crab and Crane

The Crab and the Crane by Ellen C. Babbit

               This story, I also think, is meant to be a children’s book. Although, I don’t think it is a very nice read for children and I do not agree with its message. In the story there is a pond with very little water because of lack of rain and over consumption from other animals. In that pond lived many fish that were beginning to struggle because there was no water in their pond. The crane showed compassion to the fish, or at least that’s what they thought, and offered to take the fish to a new pond that had lots of water. At first the fish were hesitant because they thought the fish would just eat them all but the crane took one of the fishes to check out the new pond and when they came back the fish told the others that the pond was great and full of water. So, all the fish trusted the crane to take them to the pond one by one but instead he took them to a different place and ate them one by one. Eventually all the fish were gone and the crane became hungry again. He saw a crab by the pond where the fish once lived and he decided to play his game again. He told the crab there was a pond in a different place he could take him to with more water and food. The crab agreed to go and check it out, but the only way the crab could travel was to hold onto the cranes neck very tightly with is sharp claw. The crane took the crab to the place where he ate the fish instead of the pond where he promised. The crane said he was going to eat the crab and leave his shell with the fish bones but the crab still had a hold of his neck. The crab then killed the crane to avoid being eaten. I think this lesson teaches kids that even though you are smart and ask the right questions you still can trust people which I don’t think this should be taught to the young, no matter how true it is. I also don’t think that teaching the lesson that you should kill the problem instead of fixing it should be taught to the young.       

                                              (Crab: Image from Wikimedia Commons)

Reading Notes The Ox

                                                             (Ox:Wikimedia Commons)

THE OX WHO WON THE FORFEIT by Ellen C. Babbit

The story of the ox that pulled the 100 carts was interesting. It seems that it was written as a children’s story because it teaches the fundamental act of treating someone nicely.  It was very easy to read with not very difficult wording or sentence structure. In the story an owner owns an ox that he enjoys telling all of the other people in town about. The owner loves his ox but mostly for his strength and never seems stop talking about it. He is always very kind to his ox and feeds him well so he can remain strong. One day while in town he began to gloat about the strength of his ox and bet that his ox could pull 100 carts. The gentlemen accepted the bet because they thought the ox could never pull 100 carts. The owner brought his ox out the next day to prove to the others how truly strong his ox was, and to collect his money. They tied the ox to the first cart with 99 following and the owner began to whip and yell at the ox. To the owners surprise the ox did not move even though he knew the ox could and the owner lost the bet. Once they were home the owner was very upset and asked the ox why he did not pull the carts. The ox responded by saying he did not like the way his owner was speaking to him and that he did not like being whipped. The owner apologized and said it would never happen again and the ox trusted him and forgave him. The next day the ox went to town and pulled the 100 carts to win the bet for his owner. I think this story is told in this way to teach kids its not okay to bully someone to get what you want. And if you need something to ask for it and not force it.      

Famous Last Words: Survive the last month

                                                   (Graduation: Wikimedia Commons)

This week was a bit more hectic then other weeks. I had a large project due in another class and I only had time to do one of the readings this week. Although the reading I did do I enjoyed. I like reading the stories about the epic we just finished by other authors. It makes the idea that the epic resonates with everyone a bit differently so real. Surprisingly I think my best writing this week came from one of the extra credit assignments. It was the HEART extra credit assignment, I wrote about being successful and what that means. Success means a lot of things to different people and its not about how society defines it, it is about how you define it for yourself. My other classes are getting pretty difficult and are moving very quickly. I just got into my number one choice of graduate schools, The University of Michigan, so focusing on school is getting harder and harder. I have one exam the week we get back from spring break and two the following week so life is very stressful right now. Although I am very excited to graduate, I picked up my cap and gown this past week and it made everything a bit more real. I am a bit scared to move to another new place where I have no family or friends just like I did 4 years ago. However, I know that if I can do it once I can do it again. Also, what is keeping my mind at ease is that moving to Oklahoma brought me so many memories and lessons and I know moving to Michigan will do the same. I just better remember to pack some warm jackets. For next week I hope to do well on exams, get ahead in this class, and get some sleep!   

Learning Challenge "Success"

                                            (Dictionary: Image from Wikimedia Commons)

This week I read an article titled The 9 Principles That People Who Feel Successful Say They Live By by Bill Connolly.

This article talks about redefining what success means since the word and society are constantly changing. I agree with the author when he says that success is a abstract concept that means different things to different people. Since the author and most of society today does not accept what success used to mean they completely redefined it. However, since success means different things to different people I decided to explain why the old way can still be used today!

The dictionary defines success as “the attainment of wealth, position, honors or the like.” The author states that like the old version of success this is also societies norm today. The author says that this is a bad thing but what if it was not? Its all about how you interpret the words, sometimes not everything is meant to be taken literal.

Wealth is being assumed to mean money, therefore if you have money you are successful. However wealth does not have to mean money. One can be wealthy of friends, family, food, or more importantly you can be wealthy of time. Time is something most of us with we had more of so why cant a persons wealth be measured by the time they have to do the things they want to do.

Next is position, this is assuming that a person must have a high position in their career to be successful. However why cant position be defined as mother, father, brother, sister, friend, volunteer, etc. A position is a spot in which you put yourself in that can make you happy, it does not have to mean to be in a spot to earn the most about of money. It can also mean a position to earn the most wealth like the examples above.

Last is honors or rewards, this is also assumed to mean a person who receives praise from a superior. Why does it need to mean something negative. To be honored is a positive thing. Someone can be honored to buy you lunch, someone can be honored to be called a grandmother. Someone could be honored to wake up every morning. Honors and rewards dont have to be pieces of paper with your name on it or a sum of money.

Like I said earlier I agree with the statement that success is an abstract idea and difficult to define. However I do not agree with the idea of having to through out the whole idea of success because based of the first read of the definition it sounds like it is all about money and greed. Not all of us in society are searching for money or power, most of us want the same things. Success is but a word and everyone can interpret it for themselves. So I challenge people to not redefine the word and its dictionary meaning but to find out what success means for you. Dont get all hung up on the words and what society thinks.         

Growth Mindset with my Mom

                                                 (Growth Mindset: Image from Pinterest)


This week I shared the Growth Mindset concept with my mother who is an elementary teacher in Southern California. After I had finished sharing what the concept was and a few of my thoughts about it she responded. She had already known about the concept for a while now, but her and the other teachers in the area did not call it that specifically. She said she had learned about it at a teaching conference she went to a while back and since then her and the other teachers at the school have tried to implement it as much as they can. She said the teachers continue to push the students and at the own level. Each student receives classwork based on what level they are at so they are always being challenged. 

Tech Tip Canvas Mobile App

Prior to this tech tip I already had the canvas app downloaded! I will start by saying I use this app on a daily basis, it is really handy and easy to use. I found it very easy to download as well. I just downloaded it from the app store like any other app and then logged into it with my 4x4. I use it often to check a grade that was posted that I cant wait to see if I don’t have my laptop with me. I also check due dates with it as well. When I am in a hurry or forgot to do an assignment on the app like a quiz, I can also use it for that! The only thing I wished it did was tell me the class average but it will only show the grade you got.

                                            (iPhone: Image from Wikimedia Commons)

Week 9 Extra Credit Reading

Exile in The Five Tall Sons of Pandu by Richard Wilson
Gandharva - is a name used for distinct heavenly beings in Hinduism
Chitrasena - taught music and dance to Arjuna. He was a Gandharva king.
Jayadratha - was the king of Sindhu Kingdom. He was married to Dushala. He was killed by Arjuna with the help of Krishna.
Virata - was the king of Matsya Kingdom with its Virata Kingdom, in whose court the Pandavas spent a year in concealment during their exile. He was killed during a Kauravas attack in the Kurukshetra War along with his sons
The Pandavas have been exiled from their kingdom and are residing in the Matsya Kingdom. Duryodhana pays them a visit and all he does is mock them and ridicule them, however, this is not surprising. However, when Duryodhana tries to leave the kingdom he runs into trouble with the gandharva. He then needs help from the Pandavas, pretty ironic. It amazes me that family would treat each other like the way Duryodhana treats his nephews and vice versa. I feel like this could be a life lesson not only for the characters but also for those reading the story. Although for the circumstances of the characters in the story they chose to ignore this life lesson and continue on with the family hate. Duryodhana then takes the hate a step further and involves other people. He takes with him Karna and Drona to steal Virata’s cattle. This not only continues to prove how awful Duryodhana is but how he uses his leadership and persuasiveness to convince others to do harm. The Pandavas then retaliate, especially Arjuna, and convinces a chariot-driver to take him to where they keep their weapons. He then disguises himself as a corpse in order to surprise the attack Duryodhana, Karna, and Drona. Based on past stories and foreshowing this battle does not seem like it will end well.

                               (Pandavas go to Battle: Image from Wikimedia Commons)

Week 9 Story

Karna has just become king but the question of where he came from was resonating with him. He thought how could I be king if I did not know where I came from or what my background was. Who could I guide a whole kingdom when I am so lost? He also thought that who ever gave him up would have to be proud of him when they find out he became a king and would finally accept him. So, Karna set out to find where he came from and to have the answers in his head answered.

Karna began his journey by talking to the people who raised him. “Mom, Dad where did I guys find me, who did you get me from?” His parents responded “We don’t know who we got you from all we were told was that you were born in the south of the country in a city called Madurai and they were not able to keep you because they were not ready to have a baby”. Karna did not know what to do next so he headed to the south of the country to the town of Madurai.

When he arrived in Madurai, he asked everyone if they knew him or new of a baby that was given away the year he was born. Most people told him they did not know or just ignored him. Other people gave him advise on where to go where he might find more information. He spent days and days searching through the town to find more information about his history. Karna gave up hope and decided he would go home but before he left, he needed food and to rest before the long journey. He stopped into a bakery to buy some bread to fill his stomach. When he came in he heard a older women scream and drop a bowl he was holding. He asked the old women if she was ok and if he could help her clean the mess from the bowl.

She responded “Is your name Karna?”

“Yes, do I know you” asked Karna

“No, you do not know me but I know you, your parents were my neighbors when you were born and when they gave you away.” Claimed the old women.

“You knew my mother and father? Can you tell me who they are?” asked Karna

“I never knew their names they only lived next to me for a short while, they moved the day after you were adopted, they said they wanted to be closer to you even if that meant they could not talk to you.” Said the old women.

“Thank you for talking with me and for the bread but I must be going.” Said Karna.

Karna set out for home and he thought a lot about what the old women had told him. He was confused and angry that his parents had moved to be closer to him but never told him who they were. The anger began to consume him and he had to stop and rest to calm himself. He thought to himself should I be king, am I worthy? By the time he returned to the palace he knew what he had to do. He knew he must be king because he knew he would be a good king. He thought to himself, I do not want to waste time on people who lie and hide the truth from me. I will not let my history determine my future, I will make my own future.

Authors note: I continued the story of Karna and Arjuna by Sister Nivedita. The story ends with Karna becoming king but I wanted to show he was not perfect and he struggled just like everyone else. I took some aspects of the original story like him not knowing his history and that his mother was close to him he just did not know. This story gives more information on how he dealt with the fact he did not know his parents and that he might not ever know.      

                              (Animation of Adoption: Image from Wikimedia Commons)   

Reading Notes Mahabharata

Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists: Mahabharata by Sister Nivedita

     The story begins in a very intense scene that had been building up many stories before this one. Karna and Arjuna are in the midst of a duel. The two cousins are butting heads and are fighting over the crown for the kingdom of Agna. Arjuna is known for his strength and power, especially when using a bow and is thought to be the ideal image of a solider and a fighter. All of this changes when Karna duels him and matches Arjunas every skill that they perform. Once Karna wins the duel he is presented as king of Agna instead of Arjuna. When asked where Karna comes from, he cannot respond because he does not know his background or history. Little does he know that his actually mother that abandoned him at birth was standing right next to him. I have never seen such a large family feud in a storybook until this one. Not only do a few of the cousins dislike each other but all of them hate each other. I wonder if this is a common theme in this literature, families feuding, or if this is what makes the story different. I also wonder if there was anything that could have been done to reunite the family before the feud was taken so far. It is interesting to me that Karna does not know who his mother is and that she has not told him yet even though she is proud of him for becoming king. The style of writing in this book is different from the stories I read in the previous weeks. It is more descriptive and detailed about the characters and how the scene is set.

                                (Arjuna attacks Karna: Image from Wikimedia Commons)

Week 8 Progress

1. I am happy with the progress I have made because it is just that PROGRESS! I can see a definite improvement in my writing from my previous stories. I really enjoy my project because it is something that I would use if I ran across it when trying to travel. My writing is still not great and it is difficult for me to come up with ideas to write about but I am improving. 

2. I continually tell myself that I have to start the week off early but I do not, this is something I need to work on. I also need to work on doing some extra credit ahead of time that way I can get ahead. Other then that I think the quality of my assignments is good and I am proud of them!

                                                         (Quote: Image from Flickr)

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

1. The feedback that is left for me it almost always helpful for minor changes and to give me ideas about how I could have changed things. I find it useful to read the comments left for me even if its just on my intro because putting a face behind a username helps when reading critiques. For the most part I try to implement the comments and feedback into my story and projects when applicable.

2. I do not enjoy leaving the comments as much as I enjoy receiving them. I have a hard time leaving critique because I am not a great writer and I often do not know what to write. It is easier for me to write questions I have or something more about there story I would want to see. I think the quality of my feedback is improving.

3. I think my blog tells a lot about me and represents me accurately. It is not the prettiest or fanciest blog out of the class but I also thing that represents me. I am a science major and am used to writing short concise things with little color but that's me! I also believe I get a good understanding of who my classmates are through their blogs.

                                                                      (Cheezburger) 

Week 8 Reading and Writing

Getting started in this class took a little practice and time. At first, I was confused and hesitant on some of the assignments and it showed in my writing. My first few stories I was not used to writing so they are a bit choppy and awkward but as the weeks went on, I figured out a good strategy to writing them. I like the reading notes, I think they really help when I go back to write the story. I think my writing can still improve but it is definitely getting better. I am really enjoying writing my project because it is something unique to me that I was able to have complete freedom over. I think my week 7 story is my greatest accomplishment because I feel I finally understood how to write them and I had a clear vision on what to write (I also thought it was funny). My favorite reading in this class has been the Ramayana because I liked the characters best especially Sita.

                                      (Under Review: Image from Wikimedia Commons)

Week 7, Story: Monty Python

PDE Mahabharata: Riddles at the Lake by Donald A. Mackenzie

The Pandava brothers have been transformed into a new era, The Middle Ages. They are confused and wish to return home to their friends and loved ones. They are unsure about how they got there and how they will get home, but they are determined to find a way. They hear news of a Holy Grail that is hidden somewhere in England that will grant wishes to the person who possesses it. They had been warned though that this Holy Grail was difficult to find and that they would have to pass a series of tests to be able to capture it. The Pandava brothers agreed that they were up for the challenge, they would do anything to be able to get home. The brothers set out on their journey across the country in pursuit of this Holy Grail asking anyone who knew anything about it. They ran into a villager who was traveling through the country selling his goods that he had made.

“I have heard of this Holy Grail before and I might be able to help you brothers, but I am very poor and am trying to sell my things for money.” Says the villager.

“If we buy something from you, will you tell us where to find this Grail?” Asks Sahadeva.

“Yes, I will tell you where to go if you buy something from my collection.”

Arjuna gives 5 pounds to the villager and is handed a book about birds particularly swallows.
The villager then tells him about the Bridge of Death that they must cross to get to the Grail. The bridge is hidden within the mountains and is guarded by a bridge keeper.
“The bridge keeper will ask you all three questions, and if you answer them correctly you will pass safely.” Says the villager. After that the brothers began their long journey through the mountain range to seek out this bridge. It took many long days and cold nights. While the brothers took turns collecting food and setting up shelter Yudhishthira read the book they were given by the villager out of boredom and he thought it may keep his brain sharp and the long nights. One day 3 weeks into there journey through the mountains they could see in the distance a bridge will a keeper at the front and they rushed toward it.

The brothers stopped before they reached the front of the bridge.

“Who will go first?” Asked Yudhishthira “I will!” responded Nakula. However Nakula was unable to answer the three questions and vanished. Next was Sahadeva but he could not answer the questions and he too vanished. Arjuna then went but he too could not answer the questions and vanished. Yudhishthira was the last to approach the bridge keeper, the first question he was asked was “What is your name?” He answered it correctly. The next question was “What is your quest?” He answered it correctly. The third and final question was “What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?” And because he read the book the villager sold to him he responded with “What do you mean African or European Swallow?” The bridge keeper did not know how to respond and he too vanished. Yudhishthira was able to cross the bridge and find the Holy Grail. He demanded the Grail to take him and his brother who had vanished back to there home in India to reunite with their loved ones. The Grail did has he wished and they suddenly appeared home. 

Authors note: This story was adapted from the Riddles at the Lake and put in the the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In Monty Python and the Holy Grail a group of soldiers are looking for a holy grail. To find it they must cross a bridge guarded by a bridge keeper. The bridge keeper asks them 3 questions to pass the bridge and only two of them are able to cross. Two of the soldiers were thrown over the bridge for not passing the test.

                                     (The Holy Grail: Image from Wikimedia Commons)