Tech Tip #5

This week, when I did my Blog Check-up, I revised my Introduction. I also took the Embed a Pinterest Board Tech Tip!

(Screenshot of my Introduction)

I also took the time to clean up my Blog theme. I changed the background and the fonts on my blog!

Week 8: Famous Last Words

My Reading This Week:

There was no reading for this class, but I read a lot this week!

I had a lot to read in my other classes and in my free time!

In my other classes, I was happy with everything that I read. I feel like I am not rushing as much, and I am reading closely. As a result I a, comprehending the content more, and it's impacting me more!

In European Modernism and Beyond, I read "No Exit" by: Jean-Paul Sartre and "The Myth of Sisyphus" by: Albert Camus. Both of these pieces were very eye opening. It was also my first time hearing the Greek myth of Sisyphus, which is pretty intense to read about! 

I highly recommend reading "No Exit," it has a really interesting story and it isn't very long. Also, take a look at the actual myth of Sisyphus before looking at Camus' "The Myth of Sisyphus".

(Hell is other people by: Duncan C)

The best and most mind-blowing quote, in my opinion from No Exit is, "Hell is other people." (Sartre) If you've ever heard that quote, that's where it's from! I know it's kind of negative sounding, but just think about it. It really made me look at things a little differently.

In Mystery and Suspense, I read And Then There Were None by: Agatha Christie. This was my second time reading it, but it was still a joy to see the Queen of Mystery at her best!

Philosophy not your thing? Then I highly recommend reading And Then There Were None if you enjoy mysteries! It has such great twists and turns.

In my free time I've been reading A Shade of Vampire by: Bella Forrest. I have only started it but I am LOVING IT! 

If you like vampire books, give A Shade of Vampire a try! It's part of a large series of books!

My Best Writing this Week:

I wrote the next 4,000 words of my novel! I am up to 50 pages, and I'm really happy with how it's turning out. It's a Young Adult Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance with vampires! I'll be designing the cover of my book soon, so I'll post that when that's made. That will give you a good idea of what my book is about.

Other People's Writing:
I am learning more and more the importance of reading your work out loud! That's also been my most popular comment that I've given to people this week. It really does make GOOD stories, GREAT, you guys! So, read your stuff out loud!

Week 8: Curation Spaces

1. An under-appreciated Goddess: Eir

(Image from: Pinterest)

Eir is the Norse Goddess of Healing, that not enough people know about.

2. Science VS Norse Mythology

(Image from: Pinterest)

This was an interesting pin from Pinterest that got a lot of re-pins!

And proof that I pin some Mythology that is not Norse...

3. Creative Depiction of the Greek Gods!

(Image from: Pinterest)

I thought these were cute depictions of the Greek Gods.

My Reading Plan

Tentative Weekly Reading Plan:

Native American Reading Unit:

(The Raven by Brenda Clarke)

Week 9:  Alaskan Legends
Week 10: Native American Marriage Tales or Native American Hero Tales

British Reading Unit:

(Alice by Patrick Emerson)

Week 11: Alice in Wonderland
Week 12: Through the Looking Glass

European Reading Unit:

(El Kalevala by SantiH) 

Week 13: Kalevala
Week 14: Decameron or Heptameron

Tentative Weekly Extra Readings:

Week 9: Dante's Inferno Part B
Week 10: Russian Folktales
Week 11: Celtic Fairy Tales
Week 12: More Celtic Fairy Tales
Week 13: Welsh Fairy Book (Thomas)
Week 14: Ovid (Books 5-7) Part B or Ovid (Books 8-10)

Week 8 Reflections: Looking Forward

My goal for the rest of this semester is to absorb as much information as I possibly can. The myths that we read are great resources of ideas for my novels and short stories that I write in and out it this class. Therefore, I want to read these myths closely and carefully, and take good enough notes on my favorite parts so that they can later be used as ideas for my creative writing.

I like the way I write my Reading Diaries because they are easy to go back to and easily find my favorite things from the myths. I also end up writing story ideas in my Reading Diaries, and that is further helpful to me.

I also want to continue writing the best stories that I can. I would love to be able to publish my short stories in an anthology of short stories. So if I edit them well enough now, it will save me the time of doing that later.

Future Lauren:

1. Read Carefully
2. Write Excellent Notes
3. Write Exceptional Stories

And...

(Image from: Growth Mindset Memes)

Week 8 Reflections: Looking Back

(Image from: GrowthMindsetMemes)

Writing:

To be honest, I am really happy with all of the stories that I wrote! If I have to pick favorites, my top three favorite stories that I wrote are:

1. The Vampire Prince's Masquerade
2. Bloodstained Phantom Kisses
3. Matty Was Missing

(But all of my stories feel like my babies, and I love them all, and so I hate to pick favorites!)

I've also been proud of my Curation Spaces and Famous Last Words posts. My favorite Curation Spaces post is from Week 6, and my favorite Famous Last Words post is from Week 5.

My project is going well. I'm happy with how my page looks, and the content of it so far. I'm happy with my preface and my first story, The Vampire Prince. (Who is the brother of the prince in The Vampire Prince's Masquerade!)

 It is exactly what I wanted  my Storybook to look like, and it seems to have received positive reception so far! I wanted it to be a very dark and creepy Storybook. I strive to bring back those fearsome, but sensual vampires akin to the best of the best: Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles!  

(As many of you know, I am writing a novel, and that is exactly what I am trying to do in my novel. My storybook is just another example of my push for vampires that are creepy (but still sexy) and very dangerous monsters!

I was most impressed with Kristin Murto's Storybook. Hers is about mermaids, and I really liked it just because it is a supernatural creature that I don't hear about often. But I also liked it because how personal the introduction was to the main character, and the layout of her project is stunning.

Reading:

My two favorite readings so far are Cupid and Psyche and the story of Pyramus and Thisbe from Ovid's Metamorphosis. I loved all of the lies and anonymity concepts from Cupid and Psyche, and the theme from Pyramus and Thisbe of the wall between them really made a big impression on me as well.

I learned that I sometimes rush the reading, as in I read it too fast and therefore do not comprehend it as fully as I should. But as of lately, I have tried not to do that as much.

Interactions. 

I've taken online classes before, but none of them felt as personal as this one does! I feel like through the blogs I have a better grasp of who each person is in the class. The blogs really bring out the uniqueness of each person. In fact, I feel like I know the people in this class better than the people in classes that I physically go to. This may also be because I am a very shy person, so I am much better at communicating through comments or posts on these blogs than I am in person.

The scheduling for this class is hard. I always try to make this class just a MWF class or a TTH class, but it never works out that way. Unfortunately, my procrastination often gets the best of me and I end up waiting until the night of to complete the work.

Time: 

As I briefly mentioned above, I tried to set this up as a MWF or TTH class, and even set a 1-2 hour time gap set out to work on Mythology in. However, this often gets forgotten due to sleeping in, or focusing too much on the other classes. So, as I said earlier, I end up finishing things last moment. Every now and then I work ahead on something, but I never get the whole scheduling thing down.

Location: 

I work at home most of the time, but on Mondays and Wednesdays my boyfriend and I have a study date at the OU library. He does his homework for his classes, while I do homework for my classes (including Mythology work.) The OU library has several great study areas, and I get a lot done there! We usually get to the library around 8:00 and don't leave until 1 or sometimes 2. (He and I are both quite the night owls!)

Growth Mindset: 

The first Growth Mindset post I didn't even really know or understand what Growth Mindset is, but by this point I understand what Growth Mindset is and I try to use it when I can.

Curation: 

This class has gotten me into curating more than I ever have! I spend most of my time now on Pinterest pinning Norse Gods and Goddesses, Norse Mythology, or General Mythology. Norse Mythology is my favorite, so that takes up most of my time. I've also really enjoyed making the Curation Spaces blog posts and sharing the finds that I took the time to pin or bookmark. This class has gotten me into Pinterest way more than I had before.

Week 1 Storytelling: She Had A Little Faerie Husband

I HAD a little husband,

No bigger than my thumb;

I put him in a pint pot,

And there I bid him drum.

I bought a little horse,

That galloped up and down;

I bridled him, and saddled him,

And sent him out of town.

I gave him some garters

To garter up his hose,

And a little handkerchief

To wipe his pretty nose.

"I had a little husband"

(Traditional nursery rhyme)

~~~

Samantha always had one foot on the ground and another in the clouds. She daydreamed of all things mystical, magical, and extraordinary.

She believed in gnomes, and unicorns, and even leprechauns, but most of all? She believed in faeries!

Every night she poured a bowl full of sweet honey, and smaller one with the amber liquor from one of the bottles from her dad’s special cabinet.

Under each night sky, she placed the bowls in the garden of wild flowers and weeds behind her house, and whispered, “I hope you enjoy! I'd like to meet you some day.”

(Here be Fairies)

She felt foolish and giddy as she tiptoed back into her house.

One dewy morning, she returned to the wild garden, and she bent down to pick up the bowls. The honey and the liquor was gone, as always, but this time replacing the liquor was a small silver ring! It was so small that when she picked it up, it fell into the cracks of her palm.

She smiled to herself, whispered thanks, and taking the ring and the bowls, and skipped back into her house. The ring was far to small to place on her finger, so she strung it into a bit of thread and she tied it around her ring finger.

That night when she brought the bowls, she filled them with just a bit more honey and liquor than usual. She carefully bent down to place the bowls amongst the brush and bramble, but when she did she saw a small faerie boy atop a flower. He wasn’t much larger than her thumb.

“You've accepted my ring!” He cheered.

She cried out, and startled, she spilled the amber liquids all down her hands. Sticky and sweet.

“Oh no! Don't spill it all!” The boy cried out in a voice as small as a bird’s chirp.

He flew on wings translucent and fluttering like a dragon fly, and sat on the liquor bowl’s rim.

She murmured to herself and wondered, I must be dreaming! She pinched her skin, but upon feeling pain, but she couldn't be awake, could she?

She always said she believed in faeries, but she didn't really think they were real, she just liked to think so. But now?

He dipped his tiny hand unto the amber liquor and raised his hand up, like a glass was in it, and proclaimed, “To us!”

“To us?”

“You're wearing my ring,” he explained with a as matter of fact expression. He drank the liquor from his hand, and stepped off of the bowl. He stepped onto her hand, stroking the thread around her finger, with the tiny ring. “You do intend to be my wife, do you not?”

Wife? She wasn't even sure he really was in front of her! His form seemed to be blurring on he edges, as if he could disappear with the blink of her eyes.

“But, I mean, you can't be real, can you?”

“You just have to believe,” he said with a wide grin.

Believe? She closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and when she opened her eyes again his form become whole again.

“Okay,” she said. She decided wanted to please the faerie. After all, she'd been giving the, offerings for years. So, if they were real—well, then why wouldn't she want a faerie husband?

She thought that he really was quite attractive: dark hair, dark eyes, smooth skin, and pointed eyes, but…he was so small!

“How am I to be your wife? You’re so—er, I'm so...tall…”

“It is no matter,” he told her, and he flew up to her lips and kissed her softly.

Suddenly she felt like her bones were rearranging. She cried out, closing her eyes in pain. 

When she opened her eyes, the boy was in front her her, and he was not much taller than she. Amazed, she looked around to see the wild flowers and weeds were as tall as trees.

“Come with me, my betrothed,” he said, and he held out his hand.

She took his hand and asked, “Where are we going?”

“We are off to my town, in the  land of the Fae, of course.” He smiled and with a great flutter of his wings, he lifted off the ground. His hand still held her, and tugged at her.

“But I can't—” She started to say.

“You can!”
She felt a strange sensation on her back, and hand in his, she flew away with him.

She had a little husband, and they lived happily ever in the land of the Fae!

The End (for now!)

Author’s Note: This story is based on the nursery rhyme "I had a little husband.” You can find the rhyme in The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang (1897.)

I'm a Professional Writing major at the University of Oklahoma. I've been making stories since I couldn't even write the alphabet (seriously, my mom would transcribe them for me!) 

Currently, I'm writing a young adult novel, that I will publish! If you didn't already guess, my favorite genre is fantasy! I particularly like fantasy involving supernatural creatures: vampires, demons, shapeshifters, and faeries of course!

When I looked through the aforementioned book of nursery rhymes, my crazy writer's brain immediately tried to turn one of them into a young adult supernatural fantasy! So, when I saw "I had a little husband," I thought: FAERIE! And, well the rest just popped up on the page thanks to my muse (or whatever it is in my crazy writer's brain that comes up with this stuff."

I hope you enjoyed my story as much as I enjoyed writing it!