Storybook Research

After reading some of the comments regarding my first installation to my storybook, it occurred to me that most people are unfamiliar with Silesia. I also took the consideration of others who said that my story started a bit too abruptly. Because of this, I thought it necessary to write an introduction to my original introduction in which I can speak to the reader as the author and perhaps clearly set the scene. I started by first providing a brief overview of Silesia. I found the information by referencing Wikipedia and Britannica. I then addressed the reader as myself to introduce my narrator and to set the scene for the reader, which is only fair because I am asking the reader to be a character in my story. I thought that the best place to put the result of my research and my true introduction was the home page of my site. You can check it out here. Hopefully this will clear up any confusion my readers might have had.

Coat of Arms of Silesia. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: The Culture Heroes and Owl

-two boys go to their grandmother and ask for something to play with
-she tells them to go to their father
-their mother tells their father that they are coming
-he tells them to sit by the fire while he makes them a hoop and poles
-he tells the boys not to role it towards the north
-they end up rolling the hoop toward the north  and into the house of the owl
-the owl tells his wife to boil the boys so he may eat them
-she throws them in the pot where they tell each other stories
-she pokes at them and they jump out
-she then tries to roast them in the fire but they continue to tell each other stories
-when she pokes at them they jump out
-the owl claims they are practicing magic and gives them back their hoop and poles and sends them away
-when they get back home their father scolds them for rolling the hoop to the north

Hoop and Pole game. Source: Flickr

"The Culture Heroes and Owl" from Jicarilla Apache Texts edited by Pliny Earle Goddard (1911).

Reading Notes: The King and the 'Nsiat Bird

-King of Idu was very rich and Adit, the daughter of a 'nsiat bird (weaver bird), was very beautiful

-the king wanted to marry Adit so he talked to her father

-the father said that he would be honored but he knew that his daughter would give birth to twins

-the problem with this was that it was their custom to kill twins and exiled the mother

-despite this, the king still wished to marry Adit so he paid a handsome dowry and held a feast

-at he feast he showed how rich and powerful he was

-in due time, Adit gave birth to twins as her father said

-the king was fond of his kids but could not resist the custom

-the father reminded the king that he had warned him of this and told the king that he and his family would leave and take to the skies with Adit and the twins

-the king, not wanting to kill the twins, agreed to this

-but because the family had lived in the town, they made their homes within the trees in town

this is why you always see weaver birds making their nests around human being's towns

An African weaver bird making its nest. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons

"The King and the 'Nsiat Bird" from Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910).

Reading Notes: Why the Hawk Kills Chickens

-hawks have great eyes and can see anything that moves
-the hawk sees a pretty hen so he descends and perches on a fence
-he asks the hen to marry him
-she agrees and he pays her parents a dowry of a large amount of corn
-she leaves with him
-the next day, a rooster who was in love with the hen sees that she is gone
-the rooster seeks out the hen and crowed his best crow for her
-the hen couldn't resist and the two go back to the parents home
-But, the hawk was soaring high and out of sight from the chickens and saw all of this
-he went to the king who said the chickens should pay back the dowry
-but, be the chickens were poor, they could not
-so the hawk was allowed to kill and eat any of the roosters children as repayment of his dowry
-that is why the hawk eats the chicken, to pay of a dowry

Foghorn Leghorn and Henery Hawk. Source: Pinterest

"Why the Hawk Kills Chickens" from Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910).

Week 8 Progress

My progress thus far is behind where I would like to be. I have been inconsistent in the work I have been putting into this class. However, I know I am fully capable to put in the extra work needed to finish this semester strongly. I have not fully utilized the extra credit offered either, but I intend to do as much as possible for the remainder of the semester.

Image Source: Flickr

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

Thus far, I have enjoyed giving and receiving feedback. By receiving feedback, I can see my own work through someone else's viewpoint. Most of the time, they see something in my story that I may not have seen or thought about. I can then take those constructive comments and build better stories later on. It is also especially delightful to hear when someone else enjoyed reading my story. By giving feedback, I am allowed to read other's stories and the their own styles of storytelling. For me, giving feedback serves close to the same purpose as receiving it. Someone else may have used a different style that I really like or taken a direction that I would not have taken. And by reading their work and giving feedback, I am able to add to my own bag of storytelling techniques.

Week 8 Reading and Writing

After reviewing my blog and my website, I am happy with the work I have done. I feel my notes, giving a general summary of the original story and with little notes to myself on ideas I think are worth noting, are more than adequate to help me in the story-writing process. I also think that the stories I have produced have been well written and interesting reads. I don't mind the simple formatting and plain design of my pages. Instead, I kind of like their plainness. The obvious problem with my sites is the lacking content. I definitely should have more posts and this is entirely my fault. I have neglected a number of assignments meaning that I must work twice as hard to earn the points I want. I am more than willing to do this and fully intend to buckle down and finish strong.

This picture of a climber represents the steep, uphill

 battle I have to face to finish this course

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Comment Wall

You can find my Storybook here