Caleb's Myth-Folklore Assignments

    Deadly Cleansing       I didn't think it would be that bad. Nobody explained it to me. As the fumes filled my mask, I felt the tears well up. The burning sensation filled my mouth. My nose dripped in solidarity. I felt the tears fall. I couldn't let any of the others see my pain. What would they think of me? How could they count on me to help them if they saw me this way? Then, the pain went away and I was left feeling refreshed and born anew. The stench of my past mistakes were washed away. Damn, these mints are strong. Surprise! I cried at work today. (Photo by LMAP ) Author's Notes     I think the hundred word story is a really good medium for a joke. Honestly, it might be a little long. So, I wanted to use it to get a chuckle from myself. I told a story about me eating some really strong mints while wearing my mask at work. I wanted to frame it like someone in the trenches of war being gassed and then you get the reveal of it being about m...

  (Illustration by H.J. Ford)      Well, he didn't die. I guess that makes sense if he's the one telling the story. At least he eventually learned his lesson and lost the urge for adventure. For these notes I focused on Sindbad's final voyage. Plot     Sindbad gets called in by the Caliph and told that he needs to deliver some gifts to the king he met from his last voyage. Sindbad tries to refuse but can't. He travels to the Serendib without any hiccups. The king keeps him there for a bit, but he eventually sends him back home. Sindbad travels for four days without issue. On the fifth day, his ship is attacked by pirates. He is captured and sold off as a slave.     His slave master charges him with killing elephants with a bow and arrow for their ivory. Sindbad is successful. Each day he climbs into a tree and kills and buries an elephant as they pass by. One day, the elephants don't pass by. They surround Sindbad's tree and uproot it. Sindbad is ...

(Illustration by H.J. Ford) Sindbad, the sailor who just doesn't learn to quit. I mean come on man. I haven't read part B yet but there is no way you make it out of this alive, buddy. Hang it up, Sindbad. Anyway, I focused on Sindbad's second voyage for these notes. Plot     Sindbad decides life is dull and he wants to go out and be a merchant again. He heads out and ends up on an uninhabited island. While his companions gather fruit and flowers, Sindbad chills in some shade and falls asleep. His shipmates forget about him and leave him stranded there. Realizing they're not coming back for him, he gets to work on trying to get home.     He climbs a big tree and spots a dazzling white object in the distance. He goes to it and finds it is a giant Roc's egg. The bird descends down onto its egg to keep it warm. Sindbad hides and ties himself to the bird's leg. In the morning, the bird flies off into the sky, high above the clouds. The bird dives down into a ravine a...

Runaway Tales (Photo by Gavin Clarke , 2009)       Story      Once upon a time, there was a real seedy New York dive bar. In this bar sat a scrawny little man. He couldn't have weighed more than 140 pounds. His arms were like toothpicks and his glasses were most definitely tortoise shell. Needless to say, he looked a bit out of place. Naturally, when a guy looks that out of place, he gathers some attention. A couple of real tough looking dudes gathered around the man as he drank his drink. These guys were big. They easily topped 200 to 250 pounds and it was all muscle. They crack their knuckles and ask the gentleman what he thinks he's doing here. So, the gentleman with the tortoise shell glasses addressed the big men in leather jackets and offered to tell them a story. They were curious as to what made this kid think he could hang here. Being the ever understanding men that they were, they sat down for a listen. "Alright yous guys. Here it goes," said the ...

      In the second part of this week's reading, I read the story of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp. It was a much different tale from the Disney version. Although, it did still make me want to watch the original Disney Aladdin.  (Illustration by H.J. Ford, 1898) Plot     This was a long story. So, I'm going to try to summarize the major plot points very briefly.      Aladdin is a lazy son of a poor tailor. He's so lazy that his father dies from the grief of it. One day, while Aladdin is playing outside, a magician approaches him and says he is his uncle. Aladdin runs home and tells his mom and the magician woos the family. He takes Aladdin under his wing. Eventually, he takes Aladdin to this spot between two mountains. He throws some magic powder on a fire and a door appears from the earth. He gives Aladdin a ring. Aladdin is made to open it and descend down to retrieve the lamp for the magician. He picks some special fruit along the way. Wh...

The Merchant and the Genie        The Merchant and the Genie ( Illustrated by H.J. Ford, 1898 )      Wow! Turns out Christopher Nolan is an amateur. I really liked reading the story within the story within th story. I kept anticipating the  Inception "drop" in each tale that would kick back to the one before it. It definitely helped hold my interest. My only wish is that there was a bit more information about  Scheherazade and the sultan as the stories were being told. The reality of her stalling with the stories gets a bit lost. That may just be because of the way I'm reading them as separate stories.      My favorite one of  Scheherazade's tales was the very first, the genie and the four men. I'm choosing to tie all of the men's stories and Scheherazade's into one story for my writing assignment. This is for the sake of simplicity, although I'm sure that's not the right word, when rewriting.  Plot    ...

      I have settled on doing a storybook about a god that creates the world from nothing through writing on a magical typewriter. The god will have an assistant or a team of assistants that help his writing and advise him. The amount of assistants and their input is not entirely determined yet. The story will end up dictating that. The god will create the world as he writes its history.  For example, "'And then a mighty wave crashed onto land and a single fish was left on the shore,' wrote the god. So, a mighty wave crashed onto the land and a single fish was left on the shore."     I want the experience of the story to be that of rewriting and experiencing the creative process. A god he may be, this god is not perfect. He is going to need to rewrite. He may not like yesterday's draft. His assistant may notice a glaring continuity error. Whatever the case may be, there will be rewrites and brainstorming sessions abound. For both my characters and myse...

 Comment Wall for Writing the World Your feedback is appreciated! Writing the World Using a Typewriter ( Max Pixel )

      A magnifying glass for reading tiny stories ( Wikimedia Commons )      Well, that was certainly interesting. I don't know how I feel about it quite yet. On one hand, it is really fascinating to have an entire story crammed into such a small space. On the other, I want to know more! I just want to read some of these stories as fully fleshed out things. My imagination is fun and all, but I want more from some of these authors.     Also, this has made me even more conscious of my word count. (Even if it doesn't seem like it here.) I am studying film and television production here at OU with a focus on screenwriting. One of the biggest lessons to learn in screenwriting is the importance of brevity. There is no room for purple prose on a script page because every word is meant to translate to something on screen. You don't write, "He ran as fast as he could out of the door, smacking his shoulder on the frame of the doorway on the w...

    The section of the Iliad that most stood out to me today was The Slaying of Hector. Contrary to my favorite part of part A, this section is full of action and suspense. Who is going to survive? How will they manage to kill their opponent? Which god will intervene next? It was great fun to read. Plot      The plot for this sections is fairly simple. The Greeks are winning the battle thanks to Achilles reentering the field. The Trojans are retreating into the city. The Greeks would have won the battle at this time if it were not for some divine intervention on Apollo's part. In order to give the Trojans time to escape, Apollo instills great courage into Agenor and gives him a spear. Agenor stands his ground at the gate and spears Achilles when he approaches but the spear just bounces off Achilles' armor. Achilles charges Agenor. Apollo lifts Agenor to safety and then takes his form. Apollo, now Agenor, leads Achilles on a chase long enough to get the Trojans t...

      I read section A of The Iliad for the first reading assignment this week. The portion of this first half of The Iliad that stood out to me was The Quarrel. I like the smaller scope of this section. Rather than use a large battle with action and fight sequences, this section of the story tells its tale in two simple locations primarily through dialogue. It is a tense and dramatic scene of a subordinate rising up against and abandoning his commander. It sets up the coming battle so well and really makes you hate Agamemnon.      Plot     The Greeks take the city of Chryse and divide the spoils among themselves. Agamemnon was given a girl named Chryseis, the daughter of the priest of Apollo for the city. Because, you know, women are objects that you can just take and give to each other. Anyways, the priest comes to Agamemnon with a bunch of gold to buy his daughter back. Agamemnon, ever the dick that he is, tells the priest to go away and don't ...

      I have decided that for my storybook I will go with my first idea, to create a comical creation myth. I liked the recommendation of writing a story in which the creator has to constantly correct their mistakes or completely restart. I can't get the image out of my head of a Zeus-like figure hunched over a typewriter furiously typing away and then ripping the page out to begin anew. I hope to convey that image in my story. The instrument of creation ( Pixabay )     One story I may rewrite or take inspiration from is the Popul Vuh . I like the constant dissatisfaction with their creation that the gods in this story have. The contents are a little rough for me. I doubt I'll write a tale in which every other being turns on and rips apart the first men. However, it serves as a good reference for why my creator(s) may be dissatisfied with their creations and what would be enough to cause a reset for them. Is man not beholden to the gods enough? Are they too smar...

 The first article I read was How to Provide Great Feedback When You’re Not In Charge . This article was a nice refresher on a practice that I already try very hard to use whenever I am asked to give someone advice. The major idea of the article was to phrase your criticisms and feedback in a way that invites growth instead of making the person feel insulted or lesser than. The best way to do this may be to give feedback on what they did well when commenting on what needs work.       I try to implement this strategy when I am giving feedback by using the compliment sandwich. Open up the review by complimenting the person's work and efforts on it. Then, offer up a piece of specific criticism in a specific and helpful way. Finally, close with another bit of praise about them or their work. If there is a lot of feedback, it can be helpful to alternate intermittently between praise and criticism. Giving feedback in this way not only softens the blow of criticism and...

A Sculpture of a man-like Golem ( Wikimedia Commons )     Once upon a time, there was a rabbi who lived all alone. He had nobody to help with the chores at home or tasks at the synagogue. He couldn't employ any of the townspeople because they all feared him.. They believed his experiments with chemistry was evil. They saw fire and strange shadows in his window at night and believed he was working with demons. They called him a wizard. Now, the Rabbi was no wizard. However, fed up with not having any help, he decided to take matters into his own hands. "If it's a wizard they want, it's a wizard they'll get," said the rabbi.  The rabbi built a large mechanical woman out of wood and metal. It had springs and hinges so that it could move. "Now I must power this creature." The rabbi wrote the Sacred Name of God on a slip of paper and placed it into the mechanical woman's mouth. His creation sprung to life and the rabbi put it to work to do chores.    ...

A Sculpture of a man-like Golem ( Wikimedia Commons )     The story that stuck out the most to me in section B of Jewish fairy tales was The Rabbi's Bogey-Man . Alternatively, you could use the name I will forever use in my head Jewish Frakenstein . I love the story of Frankenstein. The ideas of what humanity is and the questions of morality that Mary Shelly proposes in that story are great. Those same questions are asked in this short fairy tale.     The basic plot of The Rabbi's Bogey-Man  is as follows. A local rabbi is too smart for his own good. The other townspeople are afraid of him because he practices chemistry and they see it as him practicing witchcraft. The rabbi can't find any help because everyone is afraid of him. "Fine then. If it's a magician they want, it's a magician they'll get." he says. The rabbi then builds a woman and brings her to life with the secret name of God. It's great to start with but the rabbi quickly learns that i...

                    ( Etching by Hendrik Hondius )      My favorite story from Part A of the Jewish Fairy Tales was The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog . I love that of all the things that someone could have taken the time to explain they chose to explain why cats and dogs don't like each other. It was endearing and fun to read.      The basic plot of the story is pretty simple. The cat and the dog start out as friends. They're having a grand old time and everything is great. Then, winter comes around and suddenly food and warmth starts to get scarce. The cat decides that they would be better off if they separated because they could each hunt for their own food instead of sharing. The dog initially goes against this idea but gives in. The cat decides that it will go live in Adam's house and hunt mice. The cat then makes the dog swear to never cross paths with it again. The dog agrees and they separate. ...

Perseus by Benvenuto Cellini, Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence, Italy ( JoJan Wikimedia )            The first possibility I considered for my storybook is doing creation myths. I've always liked creation myths because they are typically straight to the point and a bit silly. How did the moon come to be? This guy got mad and threw a rock up there and now it's the moon. I don't know if that actually is a story anywhere but it sure does sound like one, right? Obviously, creation myths have a bit more depth and importance than a two line story. However, they're typically easy to boil down and understand for almost anyone. That's the point. They're stories that help explain why the world is the way it is to people. I think that's fun. I'd like to tell my creation myth using a very broad scope. I want to tell the story of how everything came to be. I'd like to do it in a comedic fashion as well. I think no matter what I choose for my topic, I will write it in a...

      The first article I read was  Make Good Art: Neil Gaiman’s Advice on the Creative Life . I also watched the video of the speech that was included in that article. I will start off by expressing my admiration for Neil Gaiman. He is a fantastic author and an extremely funny man. His commencement speech in this article highlighted both of those things. I think the advice that Gaiman gave is extremely important. It is especially important to somebody like me who wants to make a career in freelance writing. While the film industry and book industry are different, I'm sure a lot of the basic principles remain the same. This is the first time I've seen this speech, but I've been told most of his points before by other teachers and peers. The part that always sticks out the most to me is not the famously quoted phrase "Make good art." For me, it is the sentiment to just do what it is you want and if you don't know how, pretend you do. When I first decided I want...

Beauty and the Basilisk Basilisk  by Friedrich Johann Justin Bertuch (1747-1822).           Once upon a time, a mother and her three daughters lived in a small hamlet on the outskirts of a once glorious kingdom. Of course, this kingdom no longer exists because it's the 21st century. It's probably a nest of freeways and a couple McDonald's now. I don't know. That's not important. What is important is the fact that while this kingdom existed, a mother and her three daughters lived there in a small hamlet on the outskirts.          One day, a market rolled into a nearby village. You know the type. It's not quite big enough to be a full blown town but still big enough to justify a seasonal market. Anyways, before heading off to this market, the mother asked her three daughters if they would like her to bring them back anything. The first two daughters each rattled off a laundry list of items that they absolutely needed. These ...