Myth-Folklore Blog

 Story Lab TEDEd Videos: Style Notes: The Power of Creative Constraints apply across professions play a special role as drivers for discovery  an essential part of experimental design constraint arent the boundary of creativity but the foundation of it How to Write Descriptively the point of fiction is to cast a spell  engages the senses fiction plays with our different senses and the ability to make abstract and complex associations words can be used to evoke a particular quality of sound important to avoid cliches because they cannot evoke the quality you need in a story use well-chosen words to engage sound, sight, taste, touch, smell, and movement How to Write Descriptively  (Source: Writers Edit )

                                                                                                    Kalevala Author: Elias Lonnrot Part B: Joukahainen's Revenge Then the youth Joukahainen paused then was ready and one shoot and one restrained him He shouted "I will shoot my arrows heedless" Then he spanned his crossbow and took an arrow from his quiver He took the strongest of his arrows He was then ready to shoot at V He spoke the words that follow "Do thou strike Birchwood arrow.. strike thou in the back.." Quickly after he shot the first among his arrow high above his head it went. He shot in reckless fashion his second arrow and it was far too low Then he shot again a third time and in th...

  Kalevala Author: Elias Lonnrot Part A: Joukahainen and Vainamoinen V was old and steadfast and in Kalevalas lands he sang his songs and proved his wisdom He sang everyday words of ancient wisdom, songs that other children would sing it The songs of V carried throughout and in the south rumors were spread and reached Pohjola J was the meager youth of Lapland when visiting the village he would hear songs about another minstrel and that he was better Better songs than he could compass and better than his father taught him J heard these rumors with great displeasure and was filled with envy that Vs songs were greater He sought out his mother for knowledge and a journey where he can contend with V " I will set myself against him and defy him to a contest" Said J Then he went steadfast, eventually, the runner dashed together as they road against each other Their progress was arrested  V asked who are you and what is your lineage and that J dries recklessly without reflection J an...

The End of Art          Art had just won his fierce battle against the mighty Mordred, however, he would not leave this battle unscathed. Mordred had managed to injure Art with a slash to the gut just before getting slain. Art had been bleeding profusely and was being tended to by his sire Tomas. Art had told his sire that his final wish would be to return his sword from which it had came in the sea. Tomas agreed and promised to uphold Art’s dying wish. When Tomas received the sword he examined it and saw the many jewels embedded around the sheath. Tomas asked Art, “Are you sure you want to rid of this sword, it would be better off in someone else’s possession?”. Art replied, “Yes, I have thought long and hard about this and want my sword returned to sea as I part ways with this earth.” Tomas left to the other side of the forest where the sea was and decided to hide the sword in a bush instead of getting rid of it. He returned to Art and told him he had got rid ...

   King Arthur Author: Andrew Lang Part B: King Arthur The End of Arthur Kind Arthur had won his battle against Mordred but had wounded on the battlefield and attended to by Sir Bedivere The king told sir his time was fast and to take his sword and throw it into the water and come back and tell him what he's seen Sir replied he shall do it however when he saw the sword and all its jewels he told himself that if I trow this rich sword nothing good will come of it so he hid it When he returned the King asked what he had seen Sir replied he saw nothing but the wind and the waves and the King replied that he must not be dealing with him truthfully The king ordered him to go back do his command and to throw it in Sir went again but his heart failed him when returned he told of the same thing King Arthur cried out your traitor and if you do not fulfill my bidding I will slay you Sir was shamed for disobeying the king as he went to throw the sword an arm came out of the water and cau...

 King Arthur Author: Andrew Lang Part A: King Arthur The Sword Excalibur King Arthur had fought a hard battle and would have lost if Merlin did not cast a spell on the knight He also brought the King to a hermit that healed his wounds in three days Arthur and Merlin left the hermit and rode together when Arthur said "I have no sword" Merlin told him to be patient They came to a large lake and Arthur beheld in an arm rising out of the water holding up a sword Merlin said that is the sword I spoke of and that is the lady of the lake coming to give you the sword When she got close Arthur saluted her and whether the sword is his She replied the sword is yours and if you give me what I ask you and he said he would She told him it was Excalibur and that her gift she will ask in time King Arthur and Merlin went to obtain the sword and when they left Merlin saw the King admiring the sword and asked which is better the scabbard or the sword Arthur replied he liked the sword  Merlin to...

Cronos the Hero     Cronos was traveling for many days until he had reached a barren country of rock with not a single living person in sight. In this dead region, he saw a man eating fire and Cronos wanted to see what was up about him. Cronos approached the man and asked what he was doing here and the man replied that his name was Gentry the Flame and that he was the strongest person ever and could do as he pleased. Cronos of course replied that he was the stronger warrior and that no one could destroy him. Gentry laughed and spit a fireball onto Cronos burning some of his armor in the process. Cronos immediately drew his sword and removed his garment before it could burn his skin. Cronos at first couldn't think of a way to close the distance between him and Gentry who could obviously do a lot of damage at range. Eventually Cronos thought to throw his sward with enough force at Gentry to kill him. He did exactly that and was able to obtain Gentry's fire ability. Cronos now ha...

   Beowulf Author: Stafford Riggs      Part B: Battle with the Dragon It was dark when they got close to the spot then they saw a space among the trees At one side was a burial mound and at the entrance, you could see the dragons hot breath Beowulf drew his earls and gave a great speech Gripping his shield he advanced to meet the dragon Beowulf cried out "come out foil field... pit your strength with me which is the greatest known in all this cold Northland!" There was a deathlike stillness in the night and finally, the dragon rushed from its lair It was ten ells in length with six-inch claws and a head so large that Beowulf marveled for a second The heat from its flame was so hot Beowulf held up is shield The battle was swift as lightning the forest was filled with clamoring from their battle  The heat was so bad Beowulf has to resort to cunning to wear his enemy out and avoid burning to death Trees fail from the earth from a flick of his tail Beowulf soug...

 Beowulf Author: Stafford Riggs     Part A: Beowulf's Resolve A wanderer was singing Beowulf sat No one paid attention to his rapid breathing  He leaned forward on the table with his eyes fixed on the minstrel The thoughts running through his head were confused but one was sure and that was to slay the monster Grendel He saw himself face to face with Grendel and suddenly and wild cry came from him He shouted that he was the son of Ecgtheow and of Hygelacs sister and that he will go to the land of the Danes and serve their king He shouted he will slay Grendel Those that heard him thought his cries were humorous to want to battle someone like Grendel The audience didn't know whether to approve or laugh and the youthful Beowulf with his eyes lit on fire Hygd the queen stood up among the turmoil and stepped to Beowulf and offed him a cup and smiled at him with pride Hygelac commanded silence among the guests and turned to Beowulf in a loud voice and told him it was time...

Tales of the North American Indians Author: Stith Thompson      Part B: The Jealous Uncle (end) The story picks with the Uncle giving the boy something.. he had the boy get into a box and had it lowered into the sea He drifted in the sea for a long time until he heard a noise He heard voices arguing over who saw the box first They picked up the box and began to carry but feeling how heavy it was they untied it Opening the box he was surprised to see two pretty best friends He found himself in eagle land  The girls were the daughters of the village chief, they led them to thier father each claiming him The chief gave the boy to the older girl and with her, he lived happily but he often remembered his times with old people and the cruelty of his uncle. His wife noticed his depression and wanted to cheer him so she went to her father He advised him to put on the eagle's skin and soar high until he could see his village and bring his parents back He could see all other p...

    Tales of the North American Indians Authors: Stith Thompson     Part A: The Jealous Uncle There was a village with a man named the unnatural uncle and when his nephews became a few years old h would kill them After a second boy had gone his wife went to the mother of the boys and said let's hide the next kid and make them believe it is a girl Another nephew was born and the Unnatural Uncle sent his wife to finds to the sex of the chi;d She reported the child a girl and the Uncle said to let her live They tended to the boy and dressed him like a girl and as he ew older he imitated their ways and attitudes Unnatural UIncle often wondered about his boyish looks and one day not knowing the uncle was watching exposed his body Unnatural Uncle when he got home told his wife how she fooled him and asked to see his nephew The boy was frightened but told his parents not to worry as he would come back safe He asked of his previous brother's playthings before leaving and fou...

  Africa: Makoma (cont.) Author: Andrew Lang Reading Notes - Makoma contd: This is a continuation of the story of Makoma Makoma traveled for many days until he reached a barren country of rock and not a single living grew upon it Amidst this dead region, he found a man-eating fire and Makoma demanded to know what the man was doing The man replied he was eating fire and his name,e was Chi-idea-moto the flame spirit and I can destroy what I want Makoma responded that he is greater and that he cannot destroy him The fire eater laughed and split a flame at Makoma tarnishing the ground but Makoma dodged before it could hit him Makoma flung his hammer at him striking him helpless and Makoma placed him in the sack Woro-now with others he's conquered  He now had the added power to produce fire along with the abilities of the others he's defeated Makoma had found a spot in a meadow where he wanted to live the next day he released his giants to get poles to build a kraal He only let Chi...

 Week 10 Lab     For this week story lab I decided to browse the writers write page and here are two articles I found that I really liked: Cheat Sheets For Writing Body Language   This article discussed body language which is when people react to situations with expressions, and these expressions can be perceived and interpreted by others. The authors discussed how to use it in writing, specifically, how using body language is a great way to show and not tell when we write. They discuss that when completing your character's biography describes how they move and talk. Two of their top five tips when using body language was using it to add depth to the dialogue. Another tip I liked was to use body language to show how your character's emotions affect his or her actions. 155 Words To Describe An Author's Tone In this article, they discuss tone and describe it as an author's use of words and writing style to convey his or her attitude towards a topic.  They discuss ...