Reading Notes: Public Domain Mahabharata, Part A

Just from reading the beginning of this story, I am interested in the idea of a mortal/immortal character. Either the mortal has powers of an immortal or an immortal lacks powers and is more of a mortal entity. Either way, I think that it has the ability to be an interesting story. It is always fun to write a story that has the ability to be as creative as the writer desires.

my idea of a connection with Beauty and the Beast

I think that it is really interesting that this story has talked a lot about the odor of Satyavati. It seems like a really important part. I could write a story with this same idea, but instead of having an odor, she can have another thing wrong with her that another character must over come. It sort of reminds me faintly of Beauty and the Beast. The Beast is a hideous monster that needs someone to love him. Belle over comes his appearance and loves him. In the Mahabharata, the King doesn’t overcome her scent but rather changes it. Writing a story with the same idea would be fun and I would have a lot of creative freedom to choose what is best for the characters.

From reading the first section of the Mahabharata, I have noticed the importance of children. The majority of chapters has to do with the birth of a child, or remembering which child belongs to who. I could write a story that deals with children from different people that are all some how interconnected to create a story that has an impact like the Mahabharata. This would be pretty complex, but a modern twist would add a lot to a story like this.

what Satyavati smells like 

I could see myself writing a story from the perspective of Satyavati. Especially the part where she is left behind due to her fishy odor. I could write the story from her point of view and show how everyone’s actions around her affect her in ways that people might not think.

Bibliography:

Public Domain Mahabharata written by Mackenzie, Nivedita, Macfie, online source

Feedback Focus

After trying all three techniques, I would rank them in the following order: reading out loud, using a timer, copy-and-delete. This is a list from highest to lowest. I like the reading out loud and using a timer almost the exact same, but I was not a big fan of the copy-and-delete option. 

The copy-and-paste option was helpful because I could take a brief pause and digest what was happening and write my own opinions down before continuing. Doing this allowed me to fully invest in the story. A down side of this technique is that it takes much longer to do. By copying and pasting a few paragraphs at a time then writing my own thought will add minutes to reading a single story each week. I could not see myself using this technique in the future. 

Image expressing Why Dog and Cat are Enemies

After reading “Why Dog and Cat are Enemies” out loud, I noticed I was able to express the words the way that the author most likely intended. I enjoyed reading it out loud! I was truly able to understand everything that was going on and not have any parts skipped over. If I mixed up some words, I could go back and read it slower to make sure I fully understand the situation. In the past, I have used this method before. I think that reading stories out loud will help with leaving comments in the future. 

Using the timer technique was helpful because I was to focus straight for ten minutes, and in these ten minutes I must fully commit. This was a little more difficult than I thought it would be. I had to be creative with my left over time. I read the story a second time and then visited the original story the author used. This is a good technique for leaving comments.

Week 4 Storytelling: The Ringtone

My name is Sarah Smith and I have not found love. I have always been the person that would help my friends meet people, but I have not been in a serious relationship yet. I know that my time will come. This was especially true on the first of February.

It was just an ordinary day at school. Nothing different. There was a crisp breeze as I walked outside to get to my locker after fifth period, and that is when it happened. My life changed.

I was getting my books and I overheard two boys talking. They were discussing the assignment for Physics when all of a sudden my heart stopped. A phone went off and I couldn’t believe what

I heard. It was a ringtone to the tune of my favorite band. It followed by the boy being distraught that  his friend had bailed and that he now had an extra ticket to the band's concert. I immediately closed my locker to only find the boys walking away, but one of them turned around and it was my friend Chris.

Tickets to the concert 

Chris and I had known each other for years. Our mom are great friends so we naturally became play date buddies when we were little. I quickly went up to Chris after school and asked who his friend was. I knew that I had to meet him.

“His name is Drew. He is new this semester. He is pretty chill” Chris mumbled.

And with this information, my heart began to sing.

“I need to meet him Chris. My life almost depends on it. Will you please do this for me?”

Chris looked at me with his sharp blue eyes and said “Anything for you”.

I went home to prepare for my life changing, earth shattering meeting with Drew. Chris gave me some details about Drew. He says that he is funny and has a great taste in music. If Chris was giving this information about Drew, then I knew that I could trust it. Chris is incredibly trustworthy.

The new morning quickly arrived and it was time to ready. I put on my cutest dress and wore makeup that showed off my sparkling hazel eyes. I had a great feeling about today.

I looked down the hallway and my heart stopped. I saw Drew and Chris standing by my locker. I quickly fixed my hair and began to walk. I thought to myself “do not trip”! This was it.

“Hey Sarah, have you met my friend Drew?” Chris promptly stated as he tried his best to not make it obvious about what was going on.

I would say that we began to hit it off. Chris began to back out so it would be just the two of us, but then something happened. A phone began to ring. Not just any phone, but the phone that began this entire journey. All three of us stopped and looked at each other. I was waiting for Drew to answer the phone, but to my surprise it was Chris’s phone ringing. It was playing my favorite song from yesterday.

My world began to spin. Everything I thought that was happening because of Drew’s phone and music choice was not happening. It was all Chris. It was always him.

Chris and I locked eyes, and I said “it was you”.

Our faces began to flush and I knew that the feeling was mutual.

Suddenly the extra ticket for the concert appeared and Chris said “want to go?”.

Author’s note:

I had a fun time writing this silly teenage love story. I wanted to write a story that was based off of Rama and Sita’s relationship, but have a twist. In The Divine Archer, Rama falls in love with Sita with just the sound of her bangles. In my story, it is the ring tone. If I were to write this modern story just like The Divine Archer, then Drew and Sarah would have ended up together. I wanted it to not end that way, so that is why Chris and Sarah end up together.

Bibliography:

The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould, online source