Story Week 7: The Empty Man

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John’s parents had divorced when he was six years old. This was hardly unusual. After all, many of John’s schoolmates had divorced parents. The thing that was unusual is how John’s mom and dad treated him. Both of his parents were determined to prove themselves superior to the other, and therefore more deserving of John’s love. They showered him with gifts and toys. If John’s mom bought him a PlayStation, then John’s Dad had to buy him an Xbox. As they each competed for John’s love through material means, neither thought to actually talk to their son or show him any affection. They never taught him how to live in the world or how to develop a connection with another person. 

John grew up spoiled, and he was dissatisfied with everything around him. He always felt that something was missing, but could never quite put a finger on what it was. His life felt directionless and without focus. A friend of John’s father got him a job in investment banking. He was good at the job, but still felt unsatisfied. He didn’t enjoy the pressure and the stress, and he believed that he could find something better. John decided to go into marketing. He was also good at that job, but again felt that he could do better. John went through a continual rotation of jobs, and became more and more irritated when nothing fit right. 

He did the same thing with relationships. He would date a beautiful girl, then dump her when someone prettier came along. He never got to know any of the women in his life as people. He didn’t even realize that it was possible to connect with another person outside of the physical. He continued to feel empty, and he never understood why. Eventually, word got around about John’s fickleness and no one else would give him a job. He couldn’t get a date, because all of the women realized that he would quickly throw them away like used tissue. John was alone, unhappy, and had nothing to do. 

One day, while John was walking down the street and feeling sorry for himself, he was grabbed by a strange man. The man was dirty, smelly, and wearing multiple layers of ragged clothing. John froze in fear. He expected the obviously homeless man to hurt him. Instead, the man gave him a hug. The man told John that he could see the sadness in his eyes and that he hoped he would one day find joy. Rattled, John gave the man a couple of dollars and stumbled home. 

That night John had a series of odd dreams. In his dreams, John seemed to live many different lives. He experienced the life of a rich man who died alone and unloved. He was a woman who grew old surrounded by a loving family. He was a homeless veteran, a doctor, and a little girl battling leukemia. In each of these dream he experienced a different perspective on the world, and felt emotions that he had never known. He saw humanity in all of its wonder and all of its pain. In John’s final dream of the night he relived his own life. However, he saw it as though from one step removed. He watched his parents neglect his emotional needs and realized the insecurities and bitterness that drove them. He observed the way he’d treated the women in his life and stood as witness to their pain. He began to understand the emptiness inside of himself. 

The next day John swore to change. It was a slow and arduous process. He had much to atone for and a great deal to prove. But, he succeeded. John got a job helping people. The work was difficult and exhausting, but he was satisfied and proud of what he accomplished everyday. John met a woman, a social worker. She was nothing like the women he usually dated. She was attractive, but not stunning. Her name was Brenda. She was smart, brave, and deeply compassionate. John grew to respect Brenda, then care for her, then love her with an intensity that was utterly foreign. Brenda had never known the selfish man that John used to be. She only knew the John who cared and who tried. She loved him back, deeply and without reservation. John finally found his happiness, and with it he found clarity. Happiness did not come from the outside, but from within. John had become a man that he could be proud of, and that made all the difference.

Author's Note: The Stonecutter is the story of a simple stonecutter living in Japan. He is happy with his life until he sees how a rich man lives, and he wishes to have that kind of life. A mountain spirit hears his wish and grants it. But, the stonecutter still isn't satisfied. He continues to wish for a different life, and in various iterations becomes the sun, the clouds, and a rock. No matter what he becomes, he sees that there is something else with greater power. He believes that power will lead to greater happiness. Eventually, he wishes to become a stonecutter again and is once again content. I took the general theme of the story, that of a man who was never satisfied, and changed it around. My main character, John, is unhappy and empty, but doesn't understand why. He slowly learns that happiness must come from the inside. Unlike the stonecutter who only finds happiness when he learns to be satisfied with who he already was, John learns that he must become someone worth of respect. He must fill the hole inside of himself and become a whole man. When he manages this, he has the means and the drive to find happiness.


Bibliography: "The Stonecutter," The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Web source.

Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang), Part B

Tanuki Statues (Wikimedia)

- The tanuki is a Japanese raccoon dog. It appears in Japanese folklore/fairy tales as a sort of trickster character. He is mischievous and cunning. He is capable of shapeshifting and likes to play tricks on people. However, he is often depicted as being somewhat gullible and oblivious.
- The story about the punishment of the wicked tanuki tells about a family who is the only life left living in an overheated forest. The tanuki father, the mother fox, and their tanuki son. The father comes up with a plot, requiring his shapeshifting abilities, to help them acquire food. Later, the mother shape shifts, but her husband betrays her and she's killed. The son figures out what happened, and comes up with a plan to get revenge on his father.
- The tanuki in this story is sly, but he's also a cruel backstabber. He brings about his wife's death for pretty much no reason. Later, when his son decides to get revenge, the elder tanuki exposes himself as not particularly intelligent.
- Basically, the tanuki betrays for no reason other than impulse, and then gets himself killed with his own foolishness. He is a trickster character, but not a particularly good one.
- This story could serve as inspiration to any tale that has a character displaying limited morality, who's downfall then comes from his own shortsightedness and stupidity.



Bibliography: "How the Wicked Tanuki was Punished," The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang), Part A

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- The stonecutter is the story of a simple stonemason who is relatively happy with his life until he sees how a rich man lives. Suddenly, he is dissatisfied with everything. He keeps wishing to be something else, and a mountain spirit keeps granting his wishes.
- He grows bored with every new iteration of his life. First, he becomes rich, then he gets a carriage and an entourage. He becomes the sun, then a cloud, then the rock itself. He sees each new thing as somehow more powerful, and he wants that power for himself.
- There are two things that he doesn't realize. The first is that everything can be more powerful in one specific way, but that doesn't necessarily translate to being overall more powerful. The second thing that he doesn't realize is how useless the power is once he's acquired it. What purpose is there to exerting power over other things if you are not satisfied with who you are?
- Eventually, the stonecutter returns to being a stonecutter, and finds a newfound satisfaction in his life.
- There are many possible directions and variations that a story could go using this one as an inspiration. Basically, it is about someone who is never satisfied, because he doesn't know exactly what he is seeking in the first place.



Bibliography: "The Stonecutter," The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Web source.

Story Week 6: Scheherazade and the Sultan

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Listen children and I will tell you the tale of an evil Sultan, his valiant vizier, and the vizier's brave and beautiful daughters.

Once upon a time, in the Persian lands of old, there lived a Sultan who developed an unceasing hatred for all womankind. His wife had shown herself to be faithless, so the Sultan believed that a woman's beauty hid the soul of a viper. He sought to vent his fury and quench his thirst for vengeance on all the women of the land.

Every night the hateful Sultan would marry a different woman. The following morning, the villainous Sultan ordered his long suffering vizier to put that poor woman to death. The vizier was frightened by the power of the Sultan, but he could not follow an order so vile. Every day the vizier would pretend to strangle an innocent woman, then help her to escape the palace.

The compassionate vizier had two daughters, identical twins named Scheherazade and Dinarzade. These daughters who were fair of face, fierce, and fearless helped their father to hide and protect the sinless women. Some of these women escaped the malevolent Sultan carrying a seed that was planted on their wedding night. When the first of these seeds ripened into a bouncing baby boy, the vizier's daughters went to their father with a plan.

The tormented vizier did no like this plan of his daughters' making, but he eventually agreed. Scheherazade was to marry the Sultan, but she was not to die. The divine and daring Scheherazade distracted the Sultan with a series of stories while her sister poisoned his food. Finally, the land was free of the depredations of the wicked Sultan. The Sultan's previously hidden son, a chubby baby who was quick to laugh, was placed on the throne. The courageous vizier and his plucky daughters acted as regents for the cheerful cherub. They raised the boy to rule with kindness, fairness, and grace. The kingdom rejoiced.


Author's Note: In the framework story for Arabian Nights, Scheherazade spends 1,001 nights telling stories to Sultan Schahriar. As in my story, he begins marrying a new woman each night and killing her the next day after having his unfaithful wife killed. Scheherazade is the daughter of the grand vizier, the man who is forced to murder the women each day. Scheherezade convinces her father to marry her to the Sultan. Each night she begins telling her story, which is mostly a series of "nested" stories. She stops each morning, without having finished the story, and the Sultan allows her to live so that she can complete it. Over the course of the 1,001 nights, he falls in love with her and decides to not have her put to death. That story felt like it was too happy of an end for a Sultan that had killed countless women. So, I chose for Scheherazade and her sister to kill him. Also, I didn't want the women to die unnecessarily, so had the vizier and his daughters helping them to escape and hiding them. It was likely that at least one of these saved women would end up being pregnant. I thought that the birth of one of these children would provide a catalyst to the Sultan's comeuppance and an heir to replace him.


Bibliography: "Scheherezade," The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Turkish Fairy Tales, Part B

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- The story about the Imp of the Well begins with a woodcutter whose wife is a particularly controlling stereotype of a domineering wife. The woodcutter goes off into the mountains to cut wood, and is followed by his terrible wife. She falls into a well, and the woodcutter chooses to leave her there. He comes back the next day, feeling guilty, and lowers a rope to rescue her. Instead, an imp climbs the rope and tells the woodcutter that his peaceful existence in the well had been interrupted by a terrible woman.
- The story doesn't provide any details about the imp's existence in the well, how he survived and ate down there, or the events that transpired after the woodcutter's wife falls down there.
- I'd like to tell the story of the well and the imp's introduction to the harridan wife. The well would need to be much larger that it appears, furnished and with access to food. This will have the added bonus of giving the angry woman a comfortable life, instead of a slow death by starvation. After falling into the well, the woman and the imp would have a confrontation, which leads to the imp choosing to climb out on the woodcutter's rope.


Bibliography: Forty-four Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignacz Kunos. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Turkish Fairy Tales, Part A

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- The story about the boy who set out to find Fear stood out to me the most of the various Turkish fairy tales. I liked it because it calls into question the idea that everyone is afraid of the same thing. Fear is in the eye of the beholder, and it can wear many faces.
- The story went through many sections with the boy trying to find fear. However, the section that I felt needed to be expanded was the section about him becoming the shah. Everyone assumes that he will be dead the next day, as whoever becomes shah is always dead on the following day. The boy doesn't die, but the story never explains why he was expected to. Was there some kind of curse that was killing the new shahs? Was someone murdering them out of jealousy or anger? How does the sultana feel about the dead shahs, and does she have anything to do with it?
- I would like to tell a story that focuses on this set of events. I like the idea that the new shahs are getting murdered, possibly by a vizier who wanted to keep power for himself.
- Perhaps the vizier poisons the new shah with something that takes effect when mixed with the adrenaline rush of a fear response, making it look as though they died of fear. When the boy lives, the vizier ingests some. When the bird flies out of the soup, the boy (whose poison has worn off) gets to experience fear, and the evil vizier dies by his own poison.


Bibliography: Forty-four Turkish Fairy Tales by Ignacz Kunos. Web Source.

Week 5 Story Planning: Scheherazade

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- The framework of the Arabian Nights was begun during the Islamic Golden Age, probably during the Abbasid Caliphate. It was written in Middle Persian and incorporated many Arabic myths and folktales. Stories were added to at various times by individuals throughout the Middle East.
- It seems to be told as a historical events, with the framework story probably taking place during the Sassanian Empire. The name of the Sultan in the story, Shahryar means holder of the realm in Middle Persian. The story most likely takes place in Iran.
- The Sassanian Empire was a long-lasting and powerful one. It eventually fell to Muslim conquest. The story could be told as a teaching tool: an example of corruption prior to Islam's dominance. Scheherazade and her father could be early converts, and the story could take place during the rule of Khosrow II. He ruled during the decline of the empire, five years before the Muslim Conquest of Iran. The Sultan would be a Sassanian king who answers to Khosrow II, the Sultan of Sultans.
- The framework of Arabian Nights has the Sultan first discover that his brother's wife is adulterous, then later finds out that his own beloved wife is even more flagrantly promiscuous. This leads to his bitter anger and distrust toward women. I would likely keep that, as it is a good explanation for the Sultan's murderous ways.
- The original story refers to Scheherazade's father as the Grand Vizier, but that title was not commonly used prior to the Ottoman Turks, so I will just call him the Sultan's First Minister.
- The First Minister has two daughters. The oldest, Scheherazade, is particularly brave, and seeks to end the Sultan's reign of terror.
- The main cast of characters should remain the same, and Scheherazade's marriage to the Sultan, along with the stories that she tells to extend her life.
- The background is that the First Minister and his daughters have been secretly saving the lives of the women. Worried that they will be found out, they determine that the Sultan must be killed and one of the children, borne by one of the women, should take his place. Scheherazade's marriage to the Sultan, and the stories that she tells, are delaying tactics while they plan an assassination.


Bibliography: The Arabian Nights' Entertainment by Andrew Lang. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Arabian Nights, Part B

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- There were several sections of the story about Aladdin and his lamp. The one that stood out to me was the final story that showed Aladdin facing off with the brother of the magician who acted as the catalyst for the proceeding events. In an effort to avenge the death of his brother, this new magician shows up and infiltrates Aladdin's palace wearing the disguise of a holy woman.
- In the story, the evil magician tells the princess that, although her palace is beautiful, it is not perfect. The only way to make it perfect is to hang a roc egg. Unbeknownst to the princess, the genie who grants Aladdin's wishes is apparently the servant of a roc, and the request to bring an egg is quite offensive.
- What stood out to me was the princess's shallowness and spoiled greed. Although the story does not present it that way, that is how I took it. The princess lives in a fabulous castle, with gems on the window frames. She's rich and has a handsome husband that loves her. But, she becomes moody and depressed, because there is one single thing that she doesn't have. That's an incredibly spoiled and selfish reaction.
- I would like to write a story that is slightly more contemporary, and takes out the magical elements of the story. The character that represents Aladdin can be a lower class individual that falls for the rich girl, but doesn't necessarily know her well. He manages to become rich and win her hand. However, after the marriage he discovers how selfish and shallow she is.



Bibliography: The Arabian Nights' Entertainment by Andrew Lang. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Arabian Nights, Part A

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- The bones of the Arabian Nights framework story have a bitter, woman hating Sultan,  and a very put upon vizier with two daughters. One of the daughters, Scheherazade, is particularly brave, and is upset with what the Sultan's murderous ways. She vows to help the kingdom and to stop the Sultan from murdering more women by putting herself in harm's way. She accomplishes this by telling stories.
- There are a thousand ways that this story could be retold. I think that I would like to keep the general cast of characters the same, and within the same time frame. However, I dislike that so many women have been murdered. How does the Sultan expect to get an heir if he keeps murdering his wives?
- I think that I would like to show that the vizier and his daughters are smuggling the women out instead of killing them. Several of the women are pregnant, and the city is calling for the Sultan's head, because he keeps murdering their daughters/sisters/loved ones. Scheherazade puts herself in danger both to help keep her father from getting caught for saving the women, and also to try and find a way to get rid of the Sultan so that one of the children of the hidden women can be put in his place, with the vizier acting as regent.



Bibliography: The Arabian Nights' Entertainment by Andrew Lang. Web Source.

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Oedipus and the Sphinx by Gustave Moreau (Wikipedia)

Mythical Creatures:

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Reading Notes: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche, Part B

Amour and Psyche by Michel Philibert Genod (Wikimedia)

- The story of Psyche and the Jar of Beauty bears a lot in common with Pandora's box. In both stories, a woman is entrusted with a vessel that she must not open. Both women, overcome by their curiosity, open the vessel to disastrous results.
- Throughout the Cupid and Psyche saga, Psyche's inability to control her curiosity, and her sheer stupidity remains unchanged. No matter what she has endured, no matter what she should have learned, no matter how much advice and help she is given, she remains an idiot. Although Venus is portrayed as a cruel and capricious antagonist, I found myself sympathizing with her. I wouldn't want that level of stupid messing up my family's gene pool either.
- The story has Psyche traveling through the underworld after receiving advice from the turret of a tower. She has to carry two honey cakes to feed to (an unnamed) Cerberus, and two coins in her mouth to pay passage to Charon. Psyche follows all of the advice to the letter, and makes it out of Tartarus without a hitch. But, not realizing that this was all probably a trick that was designed to test her (already established) weaknesses, she ignores the final bit of advice that the tower provided and opened the box/jar. It was filled with sleep.
- This story can have many variations. All that's needed is a protagonist who has been given something and told not to use or open it, and that protagonist ignoring the order.


Bibliography: "Cupid and Psyche," The Golden Ass by Apuleius, trans. by Tony Kline. Web source.

Reading Notes: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche, Part A

Cupid and Psyche by Bernard Lens (Wikimedia)

- The story of Cupid and Psyche has a lot of common themes: divine punishment, jealousy, and a prohibition (from a husband to a new wife) that is ignored.
- The prohibition part of the story is the aspect that I've always found the most interesting. In many ways it reminds me of the Bluebeard story. In this case, Psyche is not only warned that she's not allowed to look at him, she is also warned that her sisters will attempt to trick her into doing so.
- Why was Psyche so easily duped? She is described as innocent throughout the story, but her actions aren't a result of innocence. They are the result of sheer stupidity.
- Even allowing that the desire to know cannot be overcome, once she had looked, why did she not immediately blow out the lamp. She puttered around, playing with things and attempting to make out with the person that she wants to stay asleep. Once again, sheer stupidity.
- This story could be retold in many ways: Psyche (or a similar character) could resist the urge to look. However, the need to know is understandable. In the Bluebeard story, the groom is a viscous murderer. It's better to have that knowledge than to not. Perhaps the best variation is to acknowledge how vital the need to know is, but have the heroine not be an idiot when getting the information she needs.

Bibliography: "Cupid and Psyche," The Golden Ass by Apuleius, trans. by Tony Kline. Web source.

Feedback Strategies: To Praise or Not to Praise

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I read the articles How to Craft Constructive Feedback and The Difference Between Praise and Feedback. The two articles had a different focus, but both promoted the idea that sometimes it's a good idea to withhold praise, although the contexts were very different.

The article on constructive feedback said that sometimes your feedback isn't necessary. Not everything that someone does, particularly in the realm of art and other creative pursuits, requires outside opinion or interjection. It can be enough to just see it. Perhaps you will like all or some of it, perhaps you will not, but that's not its purpose. Its purpose is to express something from the heart and mind of the creator. In the situations where feedback is desired, it shouldn't constructive, not mean. Simply telling someone that you didn't like something does nothing to help them improve it, and if you're unkind in your criticism, it's unlikely that they'll take your advice anyway.

The article on praise and feedback was interesting in that I wasn't quite sure how I felt about labeling praise as a bad thing. After reading the article, I understood better that it's not so much about withhold praise per se, but about being more involved in the thought processes that children are using, and allowing them to develop their own thoughts and opinions. I do think that our culture tends to overpraise, but I see some value in it when its deserved and focused on the correct thing. I find Carol Dweck's ideas about process praise to be a good middle ground.

Topic Research: Mythical Creatures

Belvedere Sphynx (Wikipedia)

- My first, and perhaps favorite, story idea is to write about a 19th century explorer who is out researching and hunting for various legendary creatures. He is certain that they exist, so he is out looking for proof. He ends up at a temple that is being guarded by a sphinx. The sphinx forces the man to answer several riddles in exchange for its help (and the man's life), and each riddle centers around a different mythical creature, leading into a story about them. Just about any creature could be plugged into the story, but I'm most drawn to the unicorn, phoenix, and griffin.

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- Another story idea that I liked revolved around the day to day goings on at a dragon zoo (not Jurassic Park style, much more boring and prosaic). The framework story might follow a zookeeper and his new trainee. As the somewhat jaded zookeeper teaches the newbie about the different exhibits, he tells stories about their origin and/or temperament. As he passes along this knowledge, he is reminded of how remarkable the dragons really are. I could include a Chinese dragon, a Japanese dragon, and a European dragon (perhaps based on Beowulf).

Loup-garou (Wikimedia)

- My final story idea is about a grizzled, alcoholic, retired werewolf hunter with an eye patch. I don't know why, but the eye patch is important. He is hired to help and protect a young lady who has been cursed, and is being threatened by various supernatural creatures, while she attempts to end the curse First, she tells him the story of the ghost that haunts her and wishes to possess her. There is later a run in with a vampire and a werewolf. I suspect that this story would end in a twist.

Week 3 Story: From the Mouths of Babes

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One fateful night, all of the village's children filed into the grass hut for story time with the wise man. They gathered weekly to listen to legends and tales that were meant to teach them about their history, the world and how to live in it. Last week’s story had been about Noah’s ark, the flood, and the saving of the giant Og. Tonight’s story promised to continue the saga of Noah and Og. “Children, tonight I will tell you about Noah’s journey to reintroduce growing things to the flood ravaged world,” the wise man began. “As you remember, Og had sworn himself into mankind’s service in exchange for food during the flood. Noah commanded that he follow him and help to plant fruits and vegetables throughout the world. At one point in the journey, Noah planted a vine. Noticing Noah’s particular care for this unremarkable plant, Og questioned its purpose. Noah explained to Og that this common looking vine would grow life-giving grapes that could be used to eat, or to drink in the form of wine. Og declared that he would make sacrifices for this vine, and proceeded to sacrifice a sheep, a lion, a pig, and a monkey. For this reason, a little wine might make a man gentle like a sheep. A bit more, and he will display a lion’s bravery. When he begins to drink too much, that same man will act with savagery, like an unmannered pig. If he unwisely continues his consumption, he act as idiotic as a silly monkey. And that, my children, is why wine is both a blessing and a curse.” The wise man asked the children if they understood the story, and if they had any questions. “I have a question,” one of the children announced. “These events occur very soon after the flood, right?” “Yes, that is correct,” the wise man answered. “And only two of each animal were saved from the flood, isn’t that what you told us?” “Yes, that is also true,” the wise man again answered. “Then why on earth is Noah allowing four different animals to be sacrificed for a vine, when there are so few animals, and what’s left is needed for breeding? That’s ridiculous. That is utterly shortsighted. If that had happened, there would be no sheep, or lions, or pigs, or monkeys left. This story is ridiculous.” Surprised by the child’s vehemence, the wise man attempted to explain that the story was a parable. It was not supposed to depict realistic truth, but to illustrate a deeper truth. The precocious child was undeterred by that argument, “Then why present it as fact, when it is really fiction? That negates the entire purpose of it, distracts from the moral point of the story, and transfers the focus from what needs to be learned to whether or not the event actually occurred!” Having no ready argument, the wise man was forced to concede the child’s point. That is why all the children in the village are now taught the lessons they need to learn with honesty, instead of fiction and superstition.


Authors Note: The story "The Giant of the Flood" is a Jewish fairy tale that is a retelling of the flood story that has Noah grudgingly saving a giant. After he built the ark, and loaded it with the regular animals, Noah wanted to save a unicorn. The giant Og, hoping to be saved as well, finds a unicorn and brings it to Noah. Noah ties a rope the unicorn's horn (the animal is far too large to fit on the ark), and intends to feed it while it swims beside the ark. The rains begin, and Og jumps onto the swimming unicorns back. Noah finally agrees to feed Og if he will agree to forever be a servant of mankind. Having no choice, Og agrees. After the waters recede, Noah enlists Og's help to help him plant fruits and flowers throughout the world. After Noah plants the grapevine, Og performs the sacrifice that I reference in my story. Ultimately, Og betrays mankind and is killed by Moses. The story was very long, so in my retelling I focused on the story of the grapevine and Og's sacrifice to it. The child's questions were a general summation of the (not entirely serious) questions that I had while reading the story. I also decided that I wanted the questioning of a etiological story/parable to essentially become a minor etiological story about a separate situation.


Bibliography: "The Giant of the Flood," Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa. Web source.