Week 5 Storyplanning: Role Reversal

"I think it would be fun to write a back story to the thief's adventures of stealing from the citizens. I don't know if I'd be able to make him the protagonist of the story. Maybe I could write from the antagonist's point of view." Reading Notes Week 5, Part B

As I read the story I chose for this week, I was trying to brainstorm different topics and ways I could add to the reading at hand. I am trying to really step out of the box with my style on this story so I think I may try to write from the antagonist's point of view. I am used to writing with the protagonist in mind, always with them coming out on top, but instead I want to experiment with giving the bad guy the spot light in the story. To take their point of view, I want to use the thief in the riddle "The Girl and the Thief" as my main character. During the riddle, his riches that he'd stolen were described very briefly, with little to no background as to how he came upon the goods he stole. My goal for my story would be to write a background story with the thief's life leading up to the point where the riddle begins. Some ideas I have to do so are to describe his adventures with stealing from the citizens, why he chooses to be a thief (was he forced into it or does he just enjoy doing it), and I also want to include the king (his nemesis in the riddle) into the background.

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"As the King answering riddles had great qualities of courage and perseverance, I could mirror those in either the thief or king in my story." - Reading Notes Week 5, Part B

I haven't decided on the name of my characters yet. Because I saw some relation between the riddle and the story about Romeo and Juliet, I may name my thief with a variation of the name Romeo. He would have to be slender with long black hair (for some reason, that is what comes to my mind when I think of a thief). I would like to contrast the thief's features with that of the king. Basically taking those features and opposing them. I.e. more broad and brute, blonde hair/ bald. The thief would need darker shaded clothes and a mask/ hood. The king, shiny armor with his face fully revealed.

The motivation for Romero (the thief) is going to be the thrill of the stealing experience. He doesn't steal because he has to or because he wants to be rich, but instead he loves the adrenaline rush that comes from the action. His intent may not be bad, but his action overall is definitely malicious. Torn between wanting to be good and liking to do bad things because of the rush. The king doesn't know his intention and doesn't care. He goes strictly by the law with no gray area between. I will use dialogue only really for their first meeting and one other encounter, but mostly keep the dialogue in the mind of Romero.

Bibliography: Twenty-Two Goblins by Arthur Ryder

Reading Notes: Twenty Two Goblins, Part B

(robin hood  --  Olga Berrios)
Source: Flickr

After reading the riddle, "The Girl and the Thief",  I am tempted to use this story as my base for the story I write in week 6. I thought the story was somewhat similar to that of Romeo and Juliet with a happier ending. I was a little confused as to the answer of the riddle because it seemed to be a subjective answer that the King gave. Maybe I could also change the riddle answer in my story as well. So far, I am thinking of writing about how the thief came to be so disliked by the king in the riddle. I know it says that he stole everything from the citizens, but reading that leaves me wondering why and how he did that? Did he grow up poor and it makes him happy to feel rich by taking from others? Was he thinking that he was similar to Robin Hood except he kind of contradicts what Robin Hood does. It is almost the opposite (the king tries to get the money back from the thief to give to the citizens). I think it would be fun to write a back story to the thief's adventures of stealing from the citizens. I don't know if I'd be able to make him the protagonist of the story. Maybe I could write from the antagonist's point of view. As the King answering riddles had great qualities of courage and perseverance, I could mirror those in either the thief or king in my story. Maybe I could use King Triple-victory and the goblin in the riddle that the goblin told about the thief and the girl. Somehow the thief turns into the goblin in the end and is bound to stay in the sissoo tree telling riddles? So many different options. I will have to do more research and write my story planning for the week about that.

Overall, I liked the layout of the riddles in the story, but felt as though they didn't tie into the plot very well. In the end, the goblin basically tells the king that the riddles were the way he tested him to make sure he was courageous and hard willed. That makes sense, but I would've liked to have seen a little more come of the riddles rather than just answer and move on. The riddles themselves were very enjoyable though. Cleverly written.

Bibliography: Twenty-Two Goblins by Arthur Ryder

Reading Notes: Twenty Two Goblins, Part A

Reading about the story from the description, I can already tell that the style of the writing will greatly interest me. I really enjoy things such as riddles, so a story told with sections that contain different riddles each time seems like a fun read. Just thinking now about how I could add on or use this style in some way for this week's story is difficult though.

(The first riddle  --  tv))
Source: Flickr

I'm a little confused as to why the goblin continues to climb back into the tree each time the King answers correctly? I would think that the King should be rewarded for getting the riddles right, but instead he has to go get the goblin down each time. Maybe there will be a big payoff in the end? If not, I could adjust my story with a different system of rewarding rather than one that seems like punishment. The King's character is brave and unwavering in his task. Each section ends with a simile of the King's bravery to describe how noble he is. The plots of each riddle within the story are set up well. I enjoy the sequence of telling, answering, and how the King describes why he chose the answer he did. My favorite riddle from Part A would have to be "The Three Lovers". It started the reading off on the right note and had great detail. While reading, I wasn't thinking about what the duties each man did represented. The description of fatherly duty, brotherly duty, and a husband's duty were unique and enlightening to the answer. I also liked the "Food, Women, and Cotton" riddle. I was a little intrigued as to how the specialist in women could tell about the great milk someone was raised on, but I guess it's good to be creative in the stories. My idea to make my own story from this reading might be to choose a specific riddle I liked and either elaborate details, change characters, or create a before or after addition to the riddle. Maybe the second reading will give me more clarity as to which story and style to use.

Bibliography: Twenty-Two Goblins by Arthur Ryder

Growth Mindset: Thinking is Part of Doing

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I chose to write about the meme, "Thinking is part of doing." While searching through the growth mindset memes, I finally found this one and it really stuck out to me. To me, it reminds me that before we do something, we should think of the consequences involved with the action. Not that every action will have bad consequences, but for those that do, you don't want to rush into anything without thinking it through. I thought the cat meme was funny too because, at least with my cats, they seem to creep up before they do something mischievous. Especially one of my cats. He sits there thinking about what he is going to do, then does it, and I'm pretty sure he knows he is doing something wrong!

Learning Challenge: Letting Go

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This week's H.E.A.R.T. challenge lead me to the meme of "Letting Go". I really enjoyed this meme because I thought it was so true and something I definitely have had problems with. You don't want to dwell on things in the past, present, or future that you cannot change. My biggest issue with this would have to be letting go of things in the past. Whether it's something with grades or everyday actions, if I do something wrong I tend to let it effect me for awhile afterwards. Not that I shouldn't try to improve from these mistakes by brushing them off completely, but I need to be more able to accept and learn from the mistakes. Letting something I can't change bother me leads to more ineffectiveness than what may have already occurred. Although it wont't be easy, I am going to continue to try and improve in this area. This meme was a great reminder of something I can do to better myself overall.

Tech Tip: Weather Widget

I added a weather application to my blog in the right hand corner! Just incase you needed to know what the weather is like when you're on the computer!

Feedback Focus

Reading Out Loud

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• I did the HEART reading out loud challenge, so I was accustomed to trying this technique before I read The Wax Crocodile story. I had a similar experience with my reading in that I felt as though I was more involved in the story. I was able to hear myself and really comprehend the words within the story, while also imagining the setting in my mind. Doing both of these helps me better understand the plot and pick up on details.

Copy-and-Delete

• There seems to be a correlation between reading time and comprehension for me with the two techniques I've tried so far. Although it did take longer to complete the reading with the copy and delete method, making my self accountable for taking notes in spurts, without looking at the reading directly, improved my reading experience more. I beleive this technique would be very useful if you were to do an in class assignment, in which the professor would ask you questions about the reading right afterwards. Then, as Dr. Gibbs noted, you'd have details/comments on your mind after reading.

Use a Timer

• When first trying this technique, I was definitely guilty of "watching the clock". Not in the sense that I had it in front of me while I read, but it was in the back of my mind. So at first, it was a bit of a distraction. I finally got over the fact that I was being timed, and accepted that I needed to focus for 10-15 minutes. During the first 4 or so minutes I read the story "What the Heart Desires". After that I decided to go back through the story and skim for any details I missed. Once I felt as though I had completely covered the story, I went back through the author's note, and tried to relay all of the information in the story back to the reasoning for it being written. After reading the story and analyzing the author's note with it, I felt like I had a greater understanding for Kathryn's point of view when creating the story. I think it was really interesting to pick a minor character and expand on their origin story to see how they got to where they were.

OVERALL: Given that I was able to read aloud, I would have to rank that technique as the most useful to me. I liked the copy and delete method as well, but when I start getting into a story, I want to keep reading and let the story flow. When I stopped and jotted down summaries, it forced me to refocus myself back into the reading. I believe the timer technique would be useful for me when I feel as though I am not able to pay attention very well. Then I can force myself to sit down for a certain time period to really hone in on the reading.