Shea's Myth-Folk Blog

In the videos from TedEd about style, the speakers explore  creative writing and style  found in famous authors' writings and in mythology. One of the videos I found most interesting is the videos about what makes something " Kafkaeqsque ." I have heard of Kafka, and think I have even read some of his work, but did not know about his unique style. Kafka focuses on the convoluted absurdity of modern bureaucracy. He calls attention to the unnecessary complexness of administration, but also calls attention to how this can potentially be changed in the future. His style became so unique and recognizable that it was named after him. I also really enjoyed the video " How to Write Descriptively ." This video talks about how to make each word count and how to add layers to make writing more description. Through this video, I learned to focus on each of the different senses I want to invoke in my writing. I should choose certain words depending on if I want to focus

In the story, " The Voice of Death ," a man only wants to be wealthy; it is all he can think about. One day, his wish comes true. He does not want to lose his wealth and possessions by dying, so he sets out to find a place without death. He went from country to country, asking if people died there. When he heard that they did, he moved on to the next country. He reaches a place where the people say they do not even know the meaning of the word death. The man asks if there are several people there since nobody dies. The people say no, because every so often they can hear a voice calling and someone goes to find it only to never return. They say the person can both hear the voice and see who is calling. The man thinks whoever follows the voice is stupid. He returns home to get his possessions and family to bring them to the land where nobody dies. He tells his family to not follow the voice if they ever hear it once they have settled into their new home.  Several years go by,

In the story " How the Dragon was Tricked ," a man has two sons who do not get along very well. The younger son is more handsome and the older brother is jealous. When they walk through the woods together, the older son ties his younger brother to a tree hoping he will starve to death. A humpbacked shepherd passes by and asks why he is tied up. The son replies that his back was crooked, but now is straight after being tied up. The shepherd says he wishes to be tied up so his back will be straight too. The shepherd unties the young men and the son ties the shepherd to a tree and leaves. The young man takes the sheep of the shepherd and convinces a horse boy and a driver of oxen to come with him and join his adventures.  The king hears of his tricks and has his guards kidnap the young man to see if he is as clever as he has heard. The king says he still spare the young man's life if he can bring him the flying horse that belongs to the dragon. The son goes to the stable a

There once was a little boy who lived with his mother and father. The little boy was celebrating his birthday, and his mother asked him what type of cake he wanted. The little boy said he wanted a cake shaped like a leopard. The mother put the cake in to bake and told the little boy, "Your father and I are going to the market. Keep an eye on the oven while we are gone." The mother and father left, and the little boy sat in the kitchen staring at the oven. He got very bored, and decided to go outside to play. When the little boy got tired, he went inside and found the oven door wide open! He went to the front door, only to see the leopard cake running away! The little boy chased after the cake, but got very tired and had to sit down. The leopard cake kept running and kept running, until it came across two mice. The mice asked, "Where are you going, leopard cake?" The leopard cake responded, "I just outran a little boy. Since I am a leopard, I am faster than

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

In the "Riddles" section of the Nursery Rhymes, there are several short riddles. At the end of each, the answer to the riddle is revealed. Many are written in "AABB" or "AABBCC" rhyme scheme. One riddle I liked was THIRTY white horses upon a red hill, Now they tramp, now they champ, now they stand still. The answer to this riddle is "teeth and gums," in which the horses are the teeth and the hill is the gums. While I think it would be fun and interesting to write riddles like the ones found in this unit, I think it would be difficult to reach the word count required for the writing assignments for this course. To reach the required minimum word count, I would have to write several riddles, probably at least ten. These riddles tend to be shorter, usually between two and twelve lines. It would also be difficult to keep to the rhyme scheme. Teeth by Kjerstin Michaela Story source:  The Nursery Rhyme Book  edited by Andrew Lang and illustr

I love the idea for this! I've had a "happy wall" in every room I've lived in during college that's filled with images that make me happy, so I really like the idea of having a visual reminder of the things that make me happy. My plan for this challenge is to write one thing that made me happy that day on a post-it note. I have a small wall between my windows right above my desk and I will stick them here so I have them in plain sight! post-it by Alexandra_Koch

One of the areas of my life where I can definitely apply growth mindset is learning Italian! Although I have taken Italian classes for the past couple years, I am not currently enrolled in a class focused on learning the language. I took Italian 1-4 over the past two years, but right now the only "Italian" class I am enrolled in is Italian Literature and Culture, which is taught in English and does not focus on the Italian language. I am studying abroad next semester and will be taking Italian Conversation and Italian Composition, so I am trying to keep with with learning Italian on my own so I will be prepared. I have bought some books to practice, but have found it difficult to keep a consistent study habit. The upside is that I actually enjoy practicing Italian, especially when it's on my own and not for a grade. Having a growth mindset helps me remember that even though I may not have the best study habits at the moment, this is no reason to just give up. I just have

I chose to use Canva to make a quote graphic. I thought using this site would give me the most options when customizing how my graphic will work. I used a quote I found recently, and actually included it on a "favorites sheet" I recently had to fill out! Made in Canva

In the story "Miemun and Khojisteh," a prince had several riches, but no children. He constantly prayed for children, and eventually he had a son, whom the prince named Miemun (which means auspicious). The prince had his son married to a radiant woman named Khojisteh (which means prosperous). The husband and wife were inseparable and completely in love. Miemun went to visit the market one day and saw a parrot-seller. He asks what the price is and the vendor replies that the bird costs "the sum of a thousand huns." Miemun says whoever pays that much for a "handful of feathers, and a cat's morsel, must be an ignorant blockhead." The parrot thinks Miemun will have misfortune if he does not purchase the bird, so the parrot tells Miemun that the bird is wise and knowledgeable and advises the man to buy all the spikenard to sell to the arriving caravans. Miemun pays the thousand huns and goes to buy the spikenard. He sells it to the caravans a few days late

On the website Advise to Writers, I looked at rules and tips from writers. One article I really liked is " 22 Rules of Storytelling from Pixar ." The first rule is "you admire a character for trying more than for their successes." I thought this is something helpful to use in my future writing. Rather than just focusing on the outcome of my character's attempts, I think it would be fun to look more on the characterization of my character through their actions. I also liked the seventh tip, which is "come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get your working up front." I think one of the hardest parts of writing for this class for me has been to come up with the ending. By focusing on that first before I write the rest of the story, I will save myself from having to try to figure out an ending based on what I've written. Rather, I will be writing a story for an ending I have already decided. Another tip

In the story, "Johnny-Cake," a mother and father live with their young son. The mother puts a Johnny-cake in the oven to bake and tells her son to watch it while she and his father hoe potatoes. The little boy, however, does not watch the oven and hears a noise before seeing the oven door pop open. The Johnny-cake jumps out of the oven and rolls out of the house, down the stairs, and into the street. The little boy tries chasing after the Johnny-cake and his parents hear him yelling and join in the chase too. They all run out of breath and have to sit down. The Johnny-cake keeps running and finds two well-diggers. They ask him where he is going and he replies that he has outrun an old man, an old woman, and a young boy, and can outrun them too. They take on the challenge, but cannot keep up and have to sit down. The Johnny-cake finds to ditch-diggers and the exact same thing happens. He then comes upon a bear who asks him where he is going, and he says he has outrun an old ma

In the story "Mouse and Mouser," a mouse and cat have a conversation while the cat is spinning. The mouse asks the cat what she is doing, and she replies that she is spinning breeches. The mouse tells her that he hopes she wears them a long time, and she says that she will wear them and tear them. The mouse says he was cleaning his room and the cat replies that he is cleaner. The mouse says he found a sixpence and the cat says that he is now richer. The mouse says he want to the market and bought a pudding, then put it in the window to cool. The cat starts snarling, and the mouse timidly says a cat came and ate the pudding. The cat pounces on the mouse, saying she will eat him, and she does. This story is written as a back and forth conversation. Each comment is written as a repeating sentence, such as " I was sweeping my room, my lady, my lady,  I was sweeping my room, my lady." I think it would be difficult to write my entire story in the style, but it may be i

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 noticed it trying