Week #6 Story Lab

Writers Write 

Notebook and Pen
Source: Google Image

350 Character Traits-A Fabulous Resource For Writers

I was really grateful to find this list of adjectives I can use to describe characters. Since my main character is discussed explicitly in the Mahabharata and is a main character in-explicitly in the Ramayana, I will be including several characters in my storybook. Being able to describe them with different words will help me and the audience separate each character in their mind. I mentioned in my reading notes for this week for the Mahabharata that I am finding it extremely difficult to keep straight all of the characters because there are so many and there names are all very similar. I mentioned how I plan on including a type of scrapbook or yearbook in my storybook (possibly at the front) in order to be a resource for my readers to access whilst reading my stories in order to remember who is who. What I also liked from this article was the section about protagonists and antagonist. The author makes a good point in saying that no one is all good and no one is all bad. I am definitely seeing this in the two Indian epics as sometimes I like a character and then sometimes I don't. This is definitely something I am going to have to remember as I tend to over-glorify my female characters and tear down my male ones. Having this list bookmarked is going to really help describe a character, and it gives the audience a better chance at relating to the character!

Joy Williams' 8 Essential Attributes Of The Short Story

I began reading this article because many of the stories in my storybook will be short stories. I found her eight things very helpful, and they really showed how short stories and novels differ. For instance, she mentions there is certain coldness to short stories not found in novels. This makes sense. In a novel, the author is trying to befriend the reader and take them on a long and pleasant journey. For a short story, the author only has so much time to make their point so there is no need for unnecessary banter. I will definitely remember these pointers when working up my own stories, and hopefully, i'll be able to capture the readers' attention. 

Breaking Down Writer's Block

I was looking around the website and decided to browse the creative writing section since I do not think I am a very creative person. I chose this post because it really helped me understand exactly what writer's block is and how to overcome it and allow the creativity to flow. First, I really like how the author described the two different kinds of writer's block: too many ideas and too little. Second, I really enjoyed the psychological aspect of the post. As you know, I am a psychology major and find it fascinating how many things can be attributed back to the psyche. In the post, the author explains how many psychological factors can cause/influence writer's block such as anxiety, perfectionism, and depression. I think it is helpful to realize sometimes have no ideas can be caused by something other than one's lack of creativity. Lastly, I especially liked the info-graphic included at the end that listed several ways to get "unstuck." My personal favorite was the freewriting idea. I am not very good at organizing my ideas and creating a story, but I am very good at brain dumping or putting all of my ideas on paper in an illogical or disorganized manner. This is a great idea because it will allow me to physically see all of my thoughts and have a better chance at being able to compile them into categories which will eventually lead to themes and a story. This is why I enjoy the blogging so much because there are little to no restraints on what I can write about, and I am allowed to ramble on because this blog is my own. I might try this this weekend as I am anticipating some blockage when I come up with my first story for my storybook.