Brett's Blog

Uksu'hi:   Image The Hunter and The Uksu'hi Wait, so the hunter escapes from the monstrous snake by....slapping him with his own B.O.? That's kind of lame for all of the build-up that this story did. It might be a bit cliche, but I would probably recreate this story as a more traditional "hero tale," with the hunter having to fight and vanquish the Uksu'hi. I would probably still try to keep elements of the source story intact, but for the most part, it would be told from a completely different angle. Bibliography - Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).

Rabbit and Otter: Image How Rabbit Stole Otter's Coat This was a very convoluted scheme that Rabbit concocted to trick Otter. I mean a place that rains fire? That seems....incredibly far-fetched. Is that something that could feasibly happen in the fictional world? Or is every other animal just incredibly gullible? Also, what is this story even trying to say? Did Otter ever get his coat back? Is Rabbit the new Otter? If so, what happens to the original Otter? This story really seems to leave the reader with more questions than answers, and doesn't really make a lot of sense, honestly. If I rewrote this story, I'd probably just retell it in a way that makes a bit more sense, as well as give it a bit more closure with its ending. Bibliography-   Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).

The only things they're hungry for are donuts...and justice: Image Source: Hot Fuzz Detectives Johnson and Hadley swung open the doors to the precinct, shades still on, their uniforms still covered in the dirt and grime from their recent firefight with Pablo Escobar's clone only hours before. They're met with raucous applause from their coworkers, many of whom come forward to shake hands with the superstar detectives. The chief of the precinct steps forward, a manila envelope tucked under his arm. "Detectives," the chief says with a smile. "Good work on that Escobar case. You two can be a pain in my ass, but you're still two of the finest damn cops I've ever seen." "All a part of the job, sir," Johnson replies. "Gotta show the bad guys that they can't run from the law." The chief's smile leaves his face. "You're right, but I'm afraid that part of the job isn't over yet. I've got

Anansi: Image The Fishes This story once again shows Anansi as less of a mischievous trickster and more of a murderous monster. Like he does the same kind of "pranks" as other mythological tricksters, but most of his victims end up dead in horrible ways, and the story just kind of glosses over it. This story has a bit of a familial vengeance angle to it, and I think I can use this in my retelling. I think it would be pretty interesting to re-imagine this story as a western, with Anansi as an outlaw and Mule as the bounty hunter hired by the fish family to bring him to justice for their mother's murder. Bibliography:   Jamaica Anansi Stories  by Martha Warren Beckwith (1924).

Not exactly your friendly neighborhood Spider-man: Image Rabbit and Anansi Uhhhh, so Anansi and Rabbit just murdered Reindeer and a tiger cub and got away with it? Like they pulled some straight up serial killer shit and murdered a tiger cub and sent his remains in a basket to his dad. Then they decapitated a reindeer (which I didn't even know they had in Jamaica) for trying to catch them. This is not the "it's just a prank, bro" style of most trickster stories, this is actually kind of horrifying. I could definitely use the "cop interrogation" story idea that I didn't get to use from a few weeks ago for this story. Bibliography:   Jamaica Anansi Stories by Martha Warren Beckwith (1924).

We're Halfway There!: Image Overall, I think I'm in a pretty good spot in terms of progress both right now and going forward. I've settled into a nice weekly routine that allows me to get my work done on time or even ahead of time. I will admit that I haven't really made use of the extra credit options, though I haven't really needed to up to this point either. If there comes a week where it looks like I wouldn't be able to complete the assignments I needed to, then I would definitely utilize the extra credit to give myself a bit of a cushion. I think I'm doing well at my current pace, and I'm excited to expand my storybook project a bit more going forward. I will also most likely make more microfictions, whether as story labs or extra credit opportunities, as I find them challenging and fun to write.

Constructive Feedback:  Image Overall, I think that the feedback that I've received over the course of this class has been very helpful and encouraging. While it is great to hear when people like my stories, I personally find it most helpful when people question parts of my story and poke for plot holes. While there are many times that I will leave something vague on purpose, either to expand on it in a later story or leave its true nature open to interpretation, it is good to make sure that I'm writing is a cohesive narrative that makes sense with the parameters I've built. Consequently, this is generally the type of feedback that I tend to leave on my classmates' posts as well. I usually try to suggest ways that the story could be clearer in some areas or acknowledge if plot holes exist, as I believe that it helps people to become stronger writers. I try to make it clear that these comments are for the author's benefit. Everyone in the class wants the o

Image from my Jewish Fairy Tale Reading Notes Part B post. I mainly chose it because it looks funny to me and has a lot going on in it. Image I'm really having a fun time in this class, and I'm pretty satisfied with all of the stories that I've created. I think that I'm learning a lot about different cultures and stories that I never knew about, and the reading notes and stories are very effective at making these stories memorable. It's also fun to have the freedom to be able to make whatever kind of story that I want. Looking back on my stories, I'm obviously drawn to the more comedic and ridiculous aspects of the source material that I draw from, and I enjoy that I'm able to highlight that in my assignments. I don't think there is necessarily anything extra I need to do going forward to to get more out of this class, as I feel like I'm currently getting plenty of knowledge and enjoyment out of it. This class has served as an effective av