Ancient Greek Classics

 One day there were a chicken who had three little chicks.  They lived happily on a farm just outside of the nearest city.  One day these chickens started hanging out with a new friend--Mr. Anansi.  The chickens would go on walks with Anansi and talk all day.  But they would mostly eat dinner with Anansi.  Every day the chicken would take her chick to Anansi's in the evening, and Anansi would prepare a meal for them.  More often than not, Anansi would make a soup.  The chicken thought it was very kind of Anansi to go out of his way to help her feed her family.  But more and more often chicken would leave dinner at Anansi's feeling sickly. One day, the chicken started to feel ill.  Not knowing what do do, the chicks went to their friend Anansi for help.  Sure enough, Anansi offered his help right away.  Anansi offered to let the chicken stay with him for next week so she could get some rest and heal.  The chicks, having no reason to think otherwise, thought that this was a swell

 I was so grateful to continue reading these Jamaican tales.  I love hearing new fairy tales from different cultures--it is really neat to see how people from other places told children's stories.  Some of the characters in these stories have been pretty fun, particularly Anansi.  One of the stories I really enjoyed today was "Anansi in Monkey Country." It was cool to see him in a new setting with a new character.  It also seems to me like the narrator may differ from story to story.  It is awesome that all of these classic stories are all compiled in one place.  This story also seemed off because Anansi was in trouble when normally he is the trickster that puts others into predicaments.  It seems like his reputation must have preceded him, for the Monkey seemed intent on boiling and killing him.  I was surprised how so dark some of these stories can seem, but then I remember that a lot of other old fairy tales are actually based on some darker stories.  I found this one

 Mr. Anansi is very clever! Reading through these stories, I don't think he is someone I would like to associate with.  I feel like he always has ulterior motives--how could you trust someone like that?! That being said, he is a very fun character to read about.  Tiger's Breakfast was an interesting tale in which I feel Anansi probably didn't expect what would happen.  I like the dynamic of Anansi--he is fun to have around and would probably make most people uneasy from his reputation.  Tiger's Bone Hole was a story where we see things work out for Anansi.  After getting himself in a hole, Anansi is able to eventually take advantage of his hidden position along with his cohorts.  After getting hit with bones, Anansi is able to holler along with the others in order to shock Tiger.  In the end, this would work out for Anansi as the Tiger would flee his own home in fear and the leftover meat would be free for Anansi's taking.  I enjoyed reading the story "Eating T

 Overall, I love the reading and writing assignments.  I like the readings especially because we were able to pick out the readings that interested us most in the week 2 reading overview assignment.  So far, I have been very happy with my selection! I knew I wanted to write about heroes or adventurers so I sort of picked out readings with that in mind.  I have also appreciated the feedback that I have gotten.  Laura recommended that I check out Sinbad's adventures as I had left it off of my reading overview, and luckily I ended up deciding to read about Sinbad for extra credit.  As it turned out, I think those stories have been my favorite up until this point in the semester.  They reminded me of the Odyssey! So I thought that was really neat :) The Sinbad stories also inspired me to write a story about a sailor--and I have really enjoyed working on this story.  In fact, it's the current story in my project.  So yes--I love the readings and the writing has been going well.  I l

 Yes I am definitely happy with my progress so far.  I think it's pretty neat to watch the blog expand as the weeks fly by! I think I am most proud of my stories this semester.  I have tried to branch out a bit, but it's safe to say I like writing the same kinds of stories.  I think that's why I have enjoyed the adventure readings so much, like Sinbad.  I like getting new sources of inspiration, and I really appreciate that I was able to pick out which readings I wanted to do in the reading overview assignment.  I've also transitioned into thinking more about a long story.  For instance, having multiple stories that are all apart of a bigger story.  I have always appreciated that aspect of storybooks.  As for my routine, I have mostly been doing the assignments around when I work. I like the extra credit options a lot; it definitely makes the deadlines seem less stressful.  Moving forward, I want to continue to improve my writing.  I like using writing stories as an out

 Overall I like the feedback that I have been getting throughout my stories.  They have been really positive and it's nice seeing a new perspective.  They are also really positive, and I really like that.  It is nice to see a lot of positivity on the blogs! I wish other comments threads and discussions were as positive as the comments that I have seen and received! It's cool to read comments about my story from a complete outside view.  For instance, if I need to explain something better or give more background information on a certain topic that can be pointed out! I also have enjoyed the comments that have pointed out suggestions or something that I could do different.  These kinds of comments help me to grow as a writer and think differently about my material.  I have enjoyed reading stories and giving feedback! It's neat to see all the ideas that people have come up with.  I love the projects, especially the storybooks.  I think it's fascinating to see all of the th

And so I continued on my journey.  I wasn't sure where I was going, but I had a feeling that I was headed the right direction.  After another long day of travel, I came upon a welcome surprise: an inn! An old inn, but an inn nonetheless on top of the hill.  I hadn't seen a building in weeks, let alone a person.  Some roads are less traveled than others, and I was starting to feel that perhaps this road was not a common one.  I must admit, at times I felt as though there was an unnatural energy to the place.  There would be no one for miles, and all of the sudden I would hear laughter or shouting.  The convenient thing about traveling alone was that, in those unnatural times, there was no one present to confirm the voices.  "Maybe it's all in my head," I would think aloud.  At times, it seemed easier to convince myself that I was crazy instead of actually acknowledging that those were REAL sounds.  I could deny the supernatural happenings no longer after staying at

 One story that I really liked was Retribution.  In the end, things turned out about how I expected.  I thought it was really neat how the story was told, though.  We see things unfold throughout the years through the eyes of Ma.  That being said, I found this story particularly interesting because Ma, besides witnessing accidents take place years apart, isn't necessarily the main character.  We instead get to see interactions between three different characters (though two different people, as one of them is reborn) as Ma sees it.  I like this concept; even a simple story could be special depending on how it's told.  This story broadened my perspective on storytelling in a way.  I hope to incorporate this style of story-telling at some point down the road! The Night on the Battlefield was another story that I thoroughly enjoyed.  I can't imagine what I would be thinking if I peeked into the next room and saw man getting taken apart.  Especially if I already had a feeling th

 I remember when I was doing the reading overview assignment, fairy tales from different countries and cultures sounded fascinating.  Even though I have decided to focus more on ancient heroes, I am super pumped to see some fairy tales through a whole new lens.  The Cave of Beasts story was one of my favorites.  I really liked the title; even before I started reading the story my imagination was filled with the terrific possibilities.  I have been thinking more about the last story I was writing, and how I finished it off.  It would be interesting to write in a cave of beasts segment for my young hero as he strives to be a Sailor.  That being said, the fairy tale itself wasn't what I expected.  I didn't really think that there would be a happy ending.  Even when the father came back, I'm surprised all was forgiven and everything worked out so smoothly.  It's nice to see the classic fairy tale ending in these brand new stories :) The Panther was a cool twist on the story

You can find this story on my website here ! And so I left my home island and set sail for a life of adventure. While most that were onboard the ship with myself were hoping to achieve certain ambitions or find hidden treasures, my ultimate goal was to find my father.  While I knew it wouldn't be an easy task, I knew that this was my first step in meeting my dad.  But I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited about becoming a Sailor as well.  Where I come from, there is a difference between being a sailor and being a Sailor.  To become a Sailor you have to pass a strenuous month long exam.  The exam has multiple stages, with each stage weeding out more and more people.  While hundreds or thousands may start in the first stage of the exam, it was common for no more than 10-20 people pass the Sailor exam each year that it happened.  After becoming a Sailor, you were given VIP access to many different things and had access to practically everywhere in the world.  While many use

 I love the first person perspective of these tales! It takes me right back to the Odyssey.  Similar to Odysseus, Sindbad has a rough start from the get-go.  I can't imagine mistaking a whale for an island...it must have been huge! Regardless, that would be terrifying.  Worse than that would be having to drift all night holding on to a piece of wood.  Lucky for Sindbad, it seems like someone is watching out for him and he drifted to an inhabited island.  Sindbad's adventures remind me a bit of a show that I am watching right now called HunterxHunter. In the show, hunters are pretty much treasure-finders or adventure seekers who go on epic quests and stuff like that.  Sindbad reminds me of this; he casually mentions how he is exploring king's islands and the sort.  Sindbad's story is different from Odysseus' in that Sindbad DOES make it home, and he willingly wants to go back out there.  I can't tell if Sindbad is lucky or unlucky.  After getting left behind by h

 After getting reintroduced to this topic this week (I was first interested when doing the reading overview assignment) I can see why I picked out this story! It's even more interesting by the fact that I have never heard of these goblin stories before.  It seems like a concept I would use though--goblins taking over human bodies.  The riddle dynamic to the stories is even more intriguing.  The stories are pretty interesting to hear--fantastic stories of princesses and magic.  But the whole goal of the stories is to dupe the king.  It would be fun to have a hero have to go through trials of riddles.  I realize that most of my stories involve physical altercations or demonstrate the physical capabilities of my main characters.  Maybe it would be more challenging and take more creativity to write a story such as this, including a goblin type riddle.  I haven't really tried to to that before.  But these stories and challenges remind me a little bit of Odysseus.  It seems like most