Story Lab: TvTropes

For this week's story lab I chose to explore the TVtropes website. The writer described a trope as, 'a storytelling device or convention, a shortcut for describing situations the storyteller can reasonably assume the audience will recognize.' Comedy and Horror are my favorite genres, so i wanted to look at the tropes found in those stories. Coincidentally, there was a link that included both comedy and horror. The writers pointed out that movies/stories will use comedy in a scary entertainment to break the nervousness with a laugh. I have noticed this in a lot of books I have read. You have to keep the dominant genre more prominent or you risk ruining a scene or the entire story. If you kill of a character in a comedy, then you have to make it a humorous death or it won't make sense with the theme of your show/story. It was interesting to see how writers include tropes in their story and I bet this website could come in handy if you have writer's block!

Image Information: Comedic Horror, Web Source: Max Pixel
Story Lab Web Source: TvTropes

Story Lab, Week 12

I have always been interested in learning at least two more languages. I think this is an important skill for traveling, which I plan on doing a lot of once I get established in my career. Using grammar and syntax to see where languages originated and split instead of words that sound similar is an interesting approach. I thought the concept of borrowing words from other cultures being caused by borrowing the things that the word is describing was very intriguing. I think looking at the history of a word and how it has changed overtime can really surprise you.

I use to be pretty good at grammar in high school English, but I think I have forgotten some of the rules. Semicolons can break sentences up, but also form connections. Basically, semicolons should be used to connect two related clauses or when listing things. I think watching the Ted-Ed video will be helpful while writing out stories now, especially during lengthy paragraphs!

Image Information: The Importance of Grammar, Web Source: Flickr
Web Source: Ted Talk

Story Lab: EmpoWord

Showing how historians, chemists and musical composers use story telling in their work makes the reading more relate-able to a wide audience. I find myself wondering what happens to the 'flat characters' as described by the author in a lot of stories or even movies that I watch. I want to work on having a few more dynamic characters in my stories moving forward. I could achieve this by having more plot twists occur in my writing. Breaking the plot into scope, sequence and pacing makes it much easier to explain how to create a more interesting story line. I thought it was interesting when the author critiqued the typical five step story plot guide. They said you could start at an action scene and then introduce characters and set the story line. I usually go for the first person point of view when writing a story, but  with my storybook project I have been using 3rd person omniscient. Choosing a word choice during dialogue for two characters is really important. The way they speak to each other can say a lot about their relationship. The most important idea I got from reading this chapter is that the first idea for writing that pops into your head is not the story you have to write about. It is okay to brainstorm until you find something you love. I really think reading this advice will benefit my stories in the weeks to come.

Bibliography: EmpoWord Chapter2: Telling a Story, Web Source: EmpoWord

Image Information: Writing Brainstorm, Web Source: flickr

Story Lab: Crash Course Myth Videos

I really enjoy watching crash course videos to understand biological concepts, so I am really excited to see the crash course on mythology! I liked that he pointed out that mythology can be interpreted in many ways. People can feel a certain way or imagine the setting while reading a story completely differently than someone else reading the same tale. I am happy to know that swallowing eight spiders a year is not correct. A lot of people think that if something is considered 'mythology' it is not true at all. As pointed out in the video, the myth can have an element of truth even though some parts of the story are obviously fictional. It is important to realize that not all myths have a super natural element. I have heard the Persephone story before, but I did not know the pomegranates were the reason she had to stay half the year with her mom and the other half with her dreadful husband. 

It is interesting that mythology was created two separate times in the east and west. Being that both creations were in two different areas, that could explain some of the differences in style we see. When the guy in the video said that myth is not symbolic, but more of a guidance of man, I really thought about that. I thought this metaphor  was really creative because Most of the stories that come to mind when I think of mythology involve magic or  morphological elements, but they all contain some sort of lesson in them. I found Campbell's ideas over everyone sharing common patterns in mythology was interesting and I want to look for these patterns in hero stories as the semester goes on.  I think after watching this series I am going to appreciate the characters and stories being told even more.
 
Image Information: Pomegranates, Web Source: Pixabay
Web Source: Crash Course Myth