Story Lab: What is Myth?

For today, I will be doing a story lab. I watched the "What is Myth Video series." I will be focusing on the video What is Myth? Crash Course World Mythology #1 by Mike Rugnetta. Though these videos may be for the mythology course, I found the information provided, to be useful. Mr. Rugnetta explains the origin of the word "myth," which comes from the Greeks meaning story. There are many misconceptions that come from the word myth. People typically believe that the word myth means fake, or untrue. However, this is not always the case. A myth is a story, but it is a special kind of story. Mr. Rugnetta breaks down myths into two main points, significance, and staying power. Myths can be a way of explaining how the world originated, or how certain aspects of the world can be understood. Thus, myths have explaining power. Myths also have staying power. This means that they have been around for many centuries or even millennia. Ultimately, it is not our place to decided whether a myth is true or false.     

Myths: Sketchport

Story Lab: What makes a hero?

For today, I chose the story lab option because I have five stories. Today, I focused on the Ted-Ed video What makes a hero? by Matthew Winkler. I really enjoyed this video! Mr. Winkler discusses and analyzes the similarities between heroes in different stories. He calls it "The Hero Journey Myth." This idea is that all hero stories follow a similar path, which is a circle. He compares The Hunger Games and Harry Potter. Mr. Winkler states that the stories begin by 1. A call to adventure, 2. Assistance, 3. Departure, 4. Trials, 5. An approach, 6. Crisis, 7. Treasure, 8. The result, 9. Return, 10. New life, 11. A resolution, and 12. The new Status quo. Mr. Winkler states that a lot of great hero stories follow this circular path. Stories that contain this element are very relatable. We can use these stories as examples for real-life situations. For example, we all must one day be called to action, go on a journey and leave our comfort zone to ultimately reach our goals. As Joseph Campbell once said, "The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek." 

A Cave: flickr 

Story Lab: Ted Talk Grammar

For week six, I have completed the Story Lab instead of the Story writing. Out of the eight videos that I watch, I found two really interesting and helpful. I believe these videos will help me in my future writing.

The first video that I watched was When to use apostrophes by Laura McClure. She goes on to explain that there are really two main times to use apostrophes. Apostrophes need to be used to mark possession. In this case, the apostrophes will belong to the noun. If the noun is singular, then the apostrophe "s" will be located between the noun and "s." However, if the noun is plural, then the "s" will need to be placed after the "s." 

The second video that I watched was When to use semicolons by Emma Bryce. I particularly liked this video because I struggle with semicolons. It was mentioned in the video that semicolons are stronger than commas, but they are less final than a period. Therefore, semicolons can be used to clarify ideas that are infested commas. It was also mentioned that in general, semicolons can be used in two cases. For one, they can be used when things are being listed in a paper. Semicolons can also be used to break up sentences and make connections. For example, two independent sentences or clauses that relate can be fused together by adding a semicolon. This will ultimately allow for a better sentence flow in writing.

I enjoyed the Story Lab this week! However, I also look forward to using these techniques in my creative writing. I am excited to see what story I can produce next week. 

Grammar: Pixabay

Story Lab: Ted Talks

For today, I pursued the Story Lab route. The two videos that I watched, were The danger of a single story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Imaginary friends and real-world consequences by OU's own Jennifer Barnes. I really enjoyed watching these videos, especially the one by one of OU's own professors. Her talked stimulated me to think about the potential downfalls of forming fictional relationships.

In the talk Imaginary friends and real-world consequences, Professor Barnes talks about how people develop relationships with fictional characters that they see on TV, read in a newspaper, or in books like Harry Potter. She even went on to state that as an overall society, we have spent just as much, or even more time reading about these people compared to the time since the dawn of man. This blew my mind! She went on to express that we form these types of fake relationships because in some ways they can help boost our self-esteem and confidence. Another stat that she presented also bothered me. When comparing the grief felt by people losing one of their favorite fictional friends to a distant acquaintance; people were more grieved by the loss of a fictional character! Therefore, this made me wonder about the potential consequences of becoming too close to something that isn't even real.   

In the talk, The danger of a single story Chimamanda talks about stories in her life of how she has been affected by "single stories." She goes on to explain that as individuals when we do not read all the stories that are present, we can become somewhat narrow-minded in our views. For example, she told a story of how she gave a talk at a university where a student mentioned to her his apologies of how "all the men in Africa are abusive and he knew this from reading one story." She responded by saying "she has read the book American Psycho, and she was sorry that all middle-aged white men in America are killers." We as people must not downplay anyone, culture, or society as one thing. If we do, that is what they will become in the eyes of the youth.

Be Creative: Wikipedia