Week 12 Story: The Two Brothers

There was once a pair of brothers, the Elder and the Younger. The Younger was always the favorite of their parents; he was always given preferential treatment compared to his older brother. This was much to the jealousy of the Elder, and one day, he sought to exact revenge for all the years of unfair punishment.

The family lived in a rather isolated house in the countryside with a huge wheat field as their backyard. They lived off the wildlife surrounding their home, using whatever resources they could gather. The Elder, who was excellent at hunting and trapping animals, went out into the field and caught a snake. He then returned to the home and let the snake loose when the parents weren't looking. His parents finally noticed the loose reptile and exclaimed, but before the Elder could do anything, the Younger ran over and grabbed the snake by the tail. The snake swung around, trying to bite the Younger, but he didn't flinch as he ran outside and threw it back into the field. As the snake slithered away, the Elder tried to convince his parents that his younger brother had brought the creature in, but it was to no avail as they showered the Younger with thanks.

This trend continued for some time, and the Elder grew angrier and angrier with every passing day. However, he decided he would not try and set the Younger up again; he would simply wait until his brother slipped up so that he can pounce on the opportunity. Days passed until one night, where the Younger became ill. Because of this sickness, the Younger missed his morning chores. The Elder seized the opportunity and brought the issue up to his parents. In this family, being sick was not typically an excuse, at least not when it came to the Elder; every member of the family has to put in their equal share of the work. Yet, the parents largely ignored his complaints, instead making sure that the Younger was recovering well and had everything he needed. When the Elder insisted that his brother should be punished for his mistake, his parents scolded him for being so heartless. The Elder was sent outside to take care of the Younger's tasks as punishment, and he continued to live in the shadow of his brother.

Speaking of favorites, which brother is my mom's favorite? You decide...

Story source: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).

Author's Note: I meant to write this story during Week 11, but I figured I'd post it this week simply because I enjoyed writing it so much. This story was inspired originally by "The Jealous Uncle", a tale about an uncle who killed his first two nephews within a few years of their birth before being stumped on several occasions by the third one, who had been disguised by his family as a girl for the years prior. I chose to change the perspective a little to tell the story of two siblings. I think that some people could relate to either being the favorite child or having a sibling who is, and it allowed me to get more creative with my storytelling instead of slightly altering the original story. I chose to avoid dialogue in this story because I wanted to tell the story in a sort of ironic fashion. While the writing provides a rather basic portrayal of the facts of this story, the tale itself features decisions made by the characters based almost solely off of emotion.

Week 9 Story: The Man, The Horse, and The Longhorn

It was a quiet day along the Red River. The sun shined down on the clay-colored water and evergreen trees that stretched for miles.
A Longhorn was trudging down the coast of the river, his dusty orange fur bouncing up and down as it trotted along. He had been looking for food for hours, but all the bugs and animals were hiding in trees and bushes to avoid the sun bearing down on them. All of a sudden, on the other side of the coast, he heard some bushes moving.
Out of the shrubbery came out a Man on top of a Horse. The Man looked quite normal and dressed the part as well.
"Finally, some fresh meat!" the Longhorn thought. "The coastline ends on both sides, and they'll have no choice but to cross! This guy doesn't stand a chance."
"Hey!" he shouted. For the first time, he caught a glimpse of the man. Behind his clean-shaven look, the Longhorn saw a glimpse of confidence in his eyes. But that didn't matter now.
"You're in my territory now," said the Longhorn. "I'm guessing you're trying to cross?"
"Don't worry," said the Man. "We'll be out of your way in a second."
Suddenly, the Horse darted to the right. The Longhorn tried to trap him, but the Horse was simply too fast to stop. The Man and the Horse easily made their way past the Longhorn, and there was no way he would catch up to them. He looked sadly as they trotted off into the horizon.
Another day passed, and the Longhorn grew hungrier with every minute. Suddenly, he saw the Man and the Horse heading back towards him. He knew what to do this time, and he was ready for any sudden moves.
"You really have the nerve to come back here after yesterday?" he said. "There's no way I'm letting you past me this time."
The Man chuckled, as if he already knew what would happen.
"We'll see about that."
The Horse jumped to the right, but this time the Longhorn was prepared. He ran over and tried driving his sharp horns in the horse's side. But when the Longhorn bumped into the Horse, he bounced off and kept going. The Longhorn was rattled and watched as the Man and the Horse went back the way they came.

Story source: South African Folk-Tales by James Honey (1910).

Author's Note

I based my story off of "The Lion, The Jackal, and The Man". However, with OU's win over Texas last weekend, I wanted to have a little fun with this story and base it off the Sooners' big win. I changed the characters and the story, but I wanted to keep the part where the antagonist loses in the end because of his arrogance. I also kept the capitalization of the characters because I think that's a good way of giving these animals a more human personality.

The Longhorn staring sadly as the Man and Horse escape him time after time.

Week 6 Story Lab: Writing Smarter, Not Faster

Because of time constraints caused by other commitments, I chose to do a story lab for this week's assignment. I decided to watch some of the TEDEd videos on creative writing and style because, when it comes to my journalism work and even classwork, I struggle at times to find creative twists to throw in my writing. I was actually really enthusiastic for this assignment because I'm very open when it comes to criticism or improvement in that regard.
I related to the video on creative constraints a lot because I think that idea in particular is very unique. The concept that the constraints motivate people to find unique solutions to issues is one that I had not thought of before, but that made sense to me. I think that idea also relates to diversity; not diversity of physical appearance, but diversity of thinking. Everyone has a different perspective on aspects of our world, but everyone has something to bring to the table.
I also really enjoyed watching the video on writing descriptively. I learned a lot about putting yourself in the perspective of your audience and asking yourself whether the audience is feeling what you want them to feel. That's definitely something I can apply to my journalistic work because the job revolves around telling stories. Especially in sports where the news isn't as serious, it's crucial for the reporter to be able to pull the viewer's strings.
I think that as a whole, this assignment gave me some really interesting perspective on how I can improve my writing, That aspect is critical for the field I want to enter after graduation, and it's something I'm striving to work on everyday. While there's no perfect way to write, I think there's some qualities that good writers hone in and emphasize in their writing, which helps them convey their message clearer as a result.

I don't have time to write my story this week because I'm in Grapevine for a
College Football Playoff mock selection. Look out for my story next week!

Week 2: Pygmalion's Struggle

The great king Pygmalion had achieved more than enough in his lifetime. Yet, there was always something missing in the king's life. The only thing he was missing, and the only thing that he wanted, was love. The thrill he got from his adventures was nothing compared to his desire for a companion.

Using his supreme sculpting skills, Pygmalion sought out to create the ideal woman. He isolated himself in his castle and began to create his masterpiece. Yet, after weeks of work, the final result was nowhere near his expectations for the perfect woman. So, he started over.

The king constantly looked for ways to improve his creation. He looked to perfect every single detail of the sculpture in the hopes that it would turn out better than the last. Yet, after more weeks of work, the sculpture was still not good enough.

Over and over, the king labored through every detail of his canvas, desperately trying to achieve his goal. However, months passed to no avail, and the king felt more alone each and everyday.

A year after his project began, he had made no progress. He sat alone, surrounded by a dozen unfinished sculptures with no end in sight.

"Why??" Pygmalion pleaded to the gods. "Why must you torture me like this? Why will you not allow me to find the one thing I have been looking for my entire life?"

Suddenly, a bright light emerged before him, forcing Pygmalion to turn away. When the light dimmed and the king looked back, the Queen Venus had appeared before him in a flowing, bright red dress. He stood in awe for a minute, but his dumbfounded glare returned to one of anger.

"So now you've arrived to save the day?" Pygmalion said sarcastically. "After I've pleaded for help for months? Why will you not help me in my pursuit of the woman of my dreams?"

Venus chuckled. "You have not learned a thing about love, have you?"

"What do you mean?" asked Pygmalion, taken aback by the goddess' response.

"Love is not about finding the perfect woman because there is no such thing. Love is about finding the perfect woman for you."

Author's Note

When I was writing this story, I wanted to throw a little twist in the story from the anthology website. As a result, I thought about what it would be like if Pygmalion struggled to create the perfect woman from the original story. I enjoyed writing from that perspective and exploring Pygmalion's struggle in his fight for love. I also wanted to incorporate elements from other stories that I read in the anthology. For example, I ended the story with my attempt at a moral, resembling those at the end of Aesop's Fables. This not only allowed me to end the story with a sort of ethical lesson, but also left the audience with a little cliffhanger so that they can imagine how the story might have ended themselves.

Bibliography.  "Pygmalion" from Metamorphoses by Ovid, translated by Tony Kline (2000). Web source.

A sculpture based on Jean Léon Gérôme depicting Pygmalion and his love, Galatea.