Famous Last Words: Gearing up for the Weekend

Your reading for this week.

    I think the reading went well for me this week. I had time do do both sections of the reading and genuinely enjoyed the works that I read. I remember the second part of the reading more than the first, and I can vividly recall the story about the Gruagach Gaire's tragic tale. Reading the stories this week gave me inspiration to write more stories that are sad and sort of scary, which I tried to do in my microfiction for the week. 

Your best writing for this week. 

     I think I did my best writing in my storytelling for the week and in my microfiction. I think I explored elements that are new to my writing in the story about heartbreak and pain, even though the story is based off the reading from two weeks ago. As for the microfiction, I really tried to explore my darker side with something that would spook my readers. I'll be honest, I definitely watched some spooky tik toks (don't judge me) before I wrote those so I could get in the spirit, per se. 

Other people's writing.

    This week I read some really great storybooks! My absolute favorite, probably my favorite that I have read so far in the class, was titled The End (Of the World- It Might be Fine) and was written by Eli. the writing was absolutely stunning and actually made me want to read more, which is a hard thing to accomplish. He wrote the stories such that it felt like we were reading the characters' diary, or were actually present in their head, and it was so good. 

Your other classes.

    For the most part, my other classes are generally fine. I had a fairly large paper due in one of them, and a quiz due in another, but there were no major roadblocks to accomplishing work this week. I am not sure there are any explicit connections to the things we are doing in this class, but I will say that making myself map out all my work for this class has made me do the same for other classes and is a super helpful practice. 

Outside of school.

    To be honest, nothing crazy exciting happened this week outside of school, other than me remaining in quarantine because I was exposed to someone who has covid (I tested negative, but am doing the full 14 day quarantine to be safe). I don't have any exciting news stories, other than the fact that Biden is officially going to be the president, but everyone already knows that. 

Next week.

    This next week I am going to have to really budget my time well because I will be out of town for a Friendsgiving (socially distanced, of course) on the weekend and unable to do a lot of weekend work. I have a schedule written out and as long as I stick to it I will be able to accomplish everything I need to and can have a fun weekend, guilt free!

Growth Mindset: Saying yes and learning from mistakes

Quote 1:

"SAY YES: A strategy that I employed during my freshman year was saying yes to any opportunity I had even a vague interest in doing. It really helped me make friends, learn to be uncomfortable, and realize the things I did and did not like to do. I hope my acronym will inspire others to try new things."

I loved this quote! I have definitely heard of this strategy/way of living life before, but it is never something I actually do. I have a hard time doing things that make me uncomfortable because I easily get self-conscious, but I wonder about all the missed opportunities for a great time I have passed up because I was afraid of being uncomfortable. I feel like that is a common problem to run into over the course of someone's life, but it is something I would like to work to combat. 

This is the image the author used for her acronym in the second quote. I enjoy it.

(Image found here)

Quote 2:

"M.I.S.T.A.K.E.S. I made this acronym because I am often very scared to make a mistake. Whenever a professor asks the class a question, I hesitate to answer because I'm afraid of being wrong. However, I have learned that I learn best from my mistakes and they motivate me to work even harder. Many Imperfections Slowly Transform After Keen Effort."

I completely feel this quote. I live in fear of embarrassing myself in the classroom and in life, especially when I am in situations where I don't feel comfortable with the people I am around. I think there are times when we should be wary, but most of the time, our fear of making mistakes is founded on nothing of substance and only hinders our enjoyment. I would love to get better at allowing myself to make mistakes and not hate myself for them. 

Microfiction: Two Spooky Little Stories

These are somewhat like the woods I'm picturing in the first story.

(Image from Jordan Stimpson)

Got Ya

I ran. I ran as fast as I possibly could, the branches whipping at face, grabbing at my hair. It was almost as though he somehow had control of the branches, commanding them to stop me. Crack. I felt a pain in my chest before the realization hit me. I was on the ground. A scream rose from my lungs as I tried to move my ankle. No. It couldn't be. I closed my eyes and counted to three, willing my ankle to mend itself so I could run. I opened my eyes and the scream burst forth. "Got ya."

Lipstick

I couldn't help but give an exasperated sigh, knowing full well that this lady would never get the right shade of red for my lipstick. Although, I suppose it is hard to make lipstick look vibrant when you're putting it on a corpse.

Author's Note:

Hello! I hope you got a little spooked when reading these stories. I wanted to write something that was inspired by those two sentence horror stories that are circulating the internet, so I chose to engage the more twisted sides of my brain. I think what makes "Got Ya" particularly scary is that we don't know who, or what, is chasing the character, so that leaves the doors wide open for our brains to fill in the blanks with whatever horrible creature we can imagine. For "Lipstick" I tried to create a horrifying little twist. Reading the first sentence could make you think that perhaps she is getting her makeup done for a wedding or special occasion, but when you realize the character is dead, it just sends a shiver down your spine. Enjoy!

Reading Notes: Celtic Fairy Tales, Part B

The Shee an Gannon and the Gruagach Gaire

The Gruache Giare and his thunderous laughter.

(Illustration by John D. Batten)

Observations:

• Although this is written over a hundred years ago, the language is easy to understand and lends itself well to modern audiences.
• There is a decent amount of geographical locations listed in the story. I think we often we neglect to tell our readers where things are taking place, so I will try to be more cognizant of the way I introduce my settings.
• The story is laid out in different pieces. There are different subheading, which aren't something I think to use when writing.
• Even with all the other elements, this is a story where the girl is owned by her father and the suitor has to prove himself worthy to be with her. I tend to shy away from that trope because women aren't something to be won, so I don't love that about the tale. 
• The Gruagach Gaire's story is incredibly tragic and devastating, which is something I have been trying to explore in my own writing. I think the author does a really good job at drawing the reader into the tragedy by making it the reason for the absence of the Gruagach's laughter. I will try to do something similar in my own writing. 
• There is low-key a lot of gore in this story, and gore is something I have never written.
• The ending of the story felt a bit rushed. It ended happily, but it felt like there could have been more detail about the wedding, rather than just saying it lasted 9 days. 

This was a really interesting story. There were a lot of elements that I liked and think that I may try to implement into my future writings, such as the subheadings, different geographical locations, and the tragedy of the Gruagach Gaire's story. I enjoyed the way the story was written, which was with a good mix of narration and dialogue. The author did a good job of laying out all the important details of the characters without droning on forever with detail. I liked this reading a lot and I will definitely be coming back to reference it. 

Bibliography:

Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1892).

The Shee an Gannon and the Gruagach Gaire

Reading Notes: Celtic Fairy Tales, Part A

The field of Boliauns

Observations:

• Obviously written in the late 1800s, so that is reflected in the language used. Makes it a bit hard to understand at times, but is able to be broken down
• Written in third person
• Has a good bit of introductory narration before we get to any dialogue. I think sometimes this works and sometimes it feels boring
• Has a lot of dialogue in the main part of the story, and it is almost solely dialogue for a portion. I like this style of narrative and it is something I try to mimic in my own stories.
• There is a weird leprechaun character that adds a little bit of fright to the story. I have written sad stories but never one that makes readers feel frightened, so I could possibly try to write a story like that at some point.
• Overall, this story was interesting. I liked the dialogue portions and the actual storyline, although I still think there was too much narration.

The sprightly tailor and the beast, trying to distract him.

(Illustration by John D. Batten)

The Sprightly Tailor

Observations:

• This is also written in the late 1800s, and the language ("trews") reflects this. The story is still easily accessible and understandable though.
• I chose this story because it, again, has elements that are frightening to the characters and readers. I found myself rooting for the tailor to stitch more quickly and finish before the creature fully rose from the earth, and this is something I will definitely be trying to mimic in my own writing.
• There is a lot of repeated phrasing, such as "I see that, but I'll sew this!" and slight variations as the monster rises from the ground and tries to distract the tailor from finishing the trews on time. I like this element in writing, and I would like to implement something like that into my own stories.
• There was a lot of narration but I didn't mind it because it still propelled the story forward.
• The ending was satisfying and I felt like I could take a breath after the tailor escaped.
• I really liked this story. I thought it was well written and actually captured my attention. I will definitely be taking several elements of this style of writing and implementing them into my own stories.

Bibliography:

Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1892).
The Field of Boliauns
The Sprightly Tailor

Week 11 Story: Fox and Coyote

*An updated version of this story can be found on my portfolio, which is located here!*

*If you want to be extra immersed in this story, click to hear a Crackling Fireplace with Thunder, Rain and Howling Wind Sounds *

"We have to go." Coyote coughed and wheezed as the smoke rose around the two of them. "Come on, Fox!"

"Just a minute longer, please," Fox begged. His eyes widened as he stared at the flames consuming his once glorious and flourishing plot of land. "I can't just leave it all behind." But he knew that really, there was nothing left to leave behind anymore.

As he gazed into the ever-growing bursts of heat and embers, he saw the world he created flash before his eyes. This was no ordinary land that was now wrought with flames. This was home. This was home that Fox and Coyote built, even if Coyote protested at times. At the beginning of this decade, this land was nothing but but a vast expanse of ocean, black and deep. Fox had seen this and known that he could make it so much better. He had taken his arrow and bore two holes, one for sky and one for land. He had painstakingly taken his paws, each of his now charred and burnt paws, and stretched the land for days on end, lovingly and tenderly pushing it to the north, the south, the east, and the west to create space for Coyote to run free. 

"Fox," Coyote half-yelled to snap Fox out of it. "We have to leave, now!"

He could feel his whiskers start to singe, but he could not part with his beloved creation just yet. He squinted his eyes and searched the wall of flames for any remnants of the home he and Coyote had lived in. He remembered so vividly the day he instructed Coyote to build it out strong logs and pad the floor with plush grasses. How quickly that grass had burned up in the flames that now grew stronger with each passing second. 

Whoosh. Fox snapped his head downward and saw the white flash of a rabbit sprinting by him. He remembered then the way he so carefully and intentionally dreamt up each animal, each soul. He had chosen how many hairs were on little rabbit's head. The color of the shells of each tortoise. A singular tear dropped from Fox's eye then, and he knew the time had come. 

"Are you ready?" "I'll never be ready, but we can go."

As the pair turned from the blaze and started sprinting into the cool night air, Fox looked into the sky. As tears streamed down both of their faces, he looked upward to howl at the moons in anguish. For the first time four moons didn't seem like enough, and he desperately wished he had listened to Coyote when he suggested ten. 

The Silver-Fox

(Wikipedia)

Authors Note:

Well this story turned out way sadder than I had anticipated, but it's where my brain was telling me to go. This myth is based off the creation myth titled How Silver-Fox Created the World, which is from the Atsugewi tribe of the Pacific Northwest. I re-wrote this initially with the twist ending of the burning of the world, but it evolved into the whole dialogue between the characters and re-framed the whole story.

Bibliography:

How Silver-Fox Created the World  from Myths and Legends of the Pacific Northwest, especially of Washington and Oregon, by Katharine Berry Judson (1910).