Story Lab: TVTropes

This week, I looked through the TVTrope website. I specifically looked through Fairy Tale tropes, as a thought they could be beneficial to this class. I thought the "Once Upon a Time" trope was interesting to read about; I learned that it dates back to 1380 and has been in almost every fairy tale since. I also read about "Happily Ever After." Because this phrase is so classic, it can be considered a discredited trope and is now often subject to parody. People like this ending because they simply like a happy ending.
One trope I thought would be interesting to use is the "Rule of Three." This is a pattern of telling a story three time, each time with some differences. In the third time, a twist is often incorporated. Alternatively, there is also the "Rule of Seven." This trope is most often evident through the use of a group of seven characters, such as the seven dwarfs, seven days of the week, or seven celestial bodies. This would be easy to incorporate into one of my stories. Each member of a group of seven could represent something different.
"The Impossible Task" was interesting to read about. This is a theme used in many myths and fairy tales in which a person gives someone else a task they do not think they will be able to accomplish, usually trying to get rid of them or have a reason to not keep their end of the deal. The task can come in the form of a riddle or a very difficult quest. They can be broken into three types: feats that should be too hard but the hero is able to undertake, feats that sound physically impossible but the hero is able to overcome as a riddle, or a Chekhov's Gun magic spell solves the problem.

Castle from Pixabay

Comments

Reading Notes: Nursery Rhymes, Part B

In the "Jingles" section of the Nursery Rhymes unit, there are several well-known tales. The first is "Hey Diddle Diddle." HEY! diddle, diddle, The cat and the fiddle, The cow jumped over the moon; The little dog laugh'd To see the sport, While the dish ran after the spoon. The next is "Tweedledum and Tweedledee." TWEEDLE-DUM and Tweedle-dee Resolved to have a battle For Tweedle-dum said Tweedle-dee Had spoiled his nice new rattle. Just then flew by a monstrous crow As big as a tar-barrel, Which frightened both the heroes so They quite forgot their quarrel. Another is "Rub-a-dub-dub." RUB a dub dub, Three men in a tub: And who do you think they be? The butcher, the baker, The candlestick-maker; Turn 'em out, knaves all three! As I said in the other reading post about the Nursery Rhymes unit, I think it would be difficult to write my own jingles inspired by these. They are all fairly short and follow a similar rhyme scheme. Th...

Week 11 Story: How Flower Stole Sunlight

Long ago, when only plants lived on earth, Redwoods were the only ones who had sunlight. All the other plants wanted sunlight too, but Redwoods were taller than everyone else. They stole the sunlight before it could reached any of the other plants. The other plants lived in darkness and fear but Redwoods refused to share sunlight with anyone else. The other plants decided to hold a council to discuss the growing worry they had about living in darkness. Meanwhile, Redwoods held their own council in the light. They set up guards to protect themselves from having other plants try to come take sunlight from them. But Flower had taken root near where the Redwoods were having their meeting before the guards set up. While the Redwoods had their meeting, a small bit of sunlight crept towards Flower. Flower hid a little bit of sunlight in its petals and slowly started moving back towards the other plants' meeting. Before Flower could escape, however, the Redwoods no...

Reading Notes: Adam and Eve, Part B

The stories "They Die a First Time" and "Suicide and the Salvation" take place after Adam and Eve have eaten the fruit in the garden and have been punished by God. Both stories are written from a third person perspective. In my story, I could write from one the character's perspectives. In the stories, it is difficult to understand what Adam and Eve are thinking when it comes to their actions; telling a story from their perspective would be give some insight into why they do what they do. Telling the story from God's perspective would also be interesting. Like the reader, God watches Adam and Eve, but telling the story from his point of view might make the audience feel closer to the story. There are many recurring themes throughout these two stories. The first that stood out to me was death. There are several instances in which Adam and Eve die, come close to dying, look like they are dying, or think they are dying. The fear of dying is also very preva...

Shea's Myth-Folk Blog

Search This Blog