Myths and Folklore Blog

Bibliography:  "The Bullfrog Lover" from Myths of the Cherokee  by James Mooney. Source . Notes how rude of them, frog mouth guy sounds nice like, you don't have to kiss him this one needs a happy ending let Kanuna and the nice girl marry maybe they could elope frogs are cute, why would you be mean to them? (Image Information: Bullfrog from Wikimedia Commons ) -A.

  Bibliography: "The Deer and the Rabbit" from Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney. Source . Notes Oh wow, a deer with no antlers and sharp teeth, how weir-  (Image Information: Chinese Water Deer by Nick Goodrum on Flickr ) Oh... Oh deer -A.

Once upon a time – before stories were called fairytales – they were called spider tales, after the spider Anansi. Anansi was very clever and had won the right to call stories that after outsmarting the chief of the gods. However, the news of this attracted the attention of another trickster, named Puck, and this is where our story begins. Puck is a fairy of the woods and of summertime, and he thinks stories should be named for him, and not Anansi.  So, he travels across the sea to Anansi’s house, and asks him if the stories can be named after the fair folk instead. Anansi considers this request then says, “I had to complete three tasks to get the stories named after me. It is only fair that you do the same.” Puck agrees to this happily. It sounds like a game, and all fairies are fond of games. “First,” Anansi says, “you must bring me a gourd full of live honeybees. Second, you must bring me a tiger. For the third and last task, you must outsmart me, Anansi.” For the firs...

Bibliography: "The Ungrateful Man" from West African Folktales  by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair. Story Source .  Notes This was an enjoyable story, but I wish the leopard could have contributed more. The rat gave him wealth and the serpent gave him antidote, but the leopard only gave him meat for a few weeks. Still better than the man, but still. Also did the man have to die for the antidote? It doesn't say it needs blood straight from his aorta, why jump to decapitation before you have proof? It feels out of order. Other than that I don't think I'll change much. Maybe I'll read the other versions for inspiration (Image Information: Leopard Rat Snake; Wikimedia Commons .) Hehe, get it? A leopard rat snake, like the three animals combined. -A.

Bibliography: "How We Got the Name "Spider Tales"" from West African Folktales  by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair. Story Source . Notes: This one already has a way I can think of to retell it You see, "spider tales" are not a thing here But fairy tales are And there happens to be a semi-well known fairy trickster who would work as a stand-in for Anansi Robin Goodfellow - Puck  The animals could be kept the same I think, though maybe the tiger might have to be changed to better fit the sort of western Europe setting fairies are usually associated with. (Image Information: Robin Goodfellow Trading Card, by rosefirerising on Flickr .)

I am happy with my progress so far I think. As for what I am proud of so far, I would say for now it is the audio for my storybook project. I have never done anything like that before, but I think with enough practice I could get really good at it. Granted there's only so much I can do with a cheap headphone mic and a campus apartment with thin walls, but hey, it's a start. As for weekly routine, I have less of a routine and more of a "do as much as you can whenever there is time." At this point I pretty much just stop doing assignments for classes to eat, shower, and sleep (though lately that last one has been suffering). I think the assignments for this class I've enjoyed the most have been the stories and story labs. It is a lot of fun trying out new storytelling techniques and learning more about writing them each week. Plus I enjoy the creative freedom of taking a story and putting at least one twist on it. I haven't really had time to work on the extra c...

I'm not sure how I would rate the feedback I have gotten so far. I wish I had more of it to compare with. I think I would give it a 7/10 (yes I mostly chose the number 7 because it is a significant number). I wish more of my feedback had suggestions, but I have been enjoying people telling me what they like about my stories. It tells me what my strong points are in storytelling, and by contrast it tells me which parts are not as strong.  As for my own feedback, it is difficult to rate it without someone telling me if it's useful, so I suppose I'll just rate it 7/10 as well. I think I'm helpful, but there's always room for improvement. My feedback style stems from the fact that I play D&D. Specifically that I am the DM, so it is my job to guide the narrative in our cooperative storytelling. I give feedback like I am DM-ing, I take the stories people have, and I make suggestions based on where I feel there is potential. It is less to improve, and more to expand on...