Week 12 Lab: Writers Write website

For my story lab this week, I looked around the Writers Write website. I thought this website was fun and had some excellent writing advice. Although the whole website was interesting and helpful, the section I enjoyed the most was an article called "The 3 Best Tips For Writing Dialogue." Dialogue can be difficult to craft in a way that sounds realistic and is engaging. I've struggled at times to create quality dialogue in my stories.

The first tip on this article is simply to "read." This is an undervalued component of writing solid dialogue. Seeing both good and bad dialogue in stories can help you as a writer decide what types of dialgoue you want to include in your stories. Imitating good dialogue style is very doable!

The next tip was to "listen." Reading lines to yourself out loud can be a good way to catch lines that don't make sense or sound strange. Ear tests are helpful in determining how realistic dialogue sounds. This is a practical tip that applies to all sorts of dialogue.

The final tip in the article is to "watch." The author says to "Watch the scene play out in your head.
Make the actions of your characters follow their words. In this movie both of the actors are just sitting or standing, delivering these lines."
This advice is really interesting. Generating a movie scene in your mind allows you to visualize what would be happening and fix anything that would be out of place. This can also help you focus on the individual characters and their possible emotions in order to write lines that best reflect your conception (as a writer) of your own characters.

This writing website was great, I definitely have enjoyed the story lab for this week. Hopefully these tips about writing effective dialogue will help me craft compelling lines of dialogue in my stories during the rest of this course!

Ballpoint pen being used to write. 

From author Ildar Sagdejev. Source: Wikimedia

Reading Notes: Celtic Fairy Tales, Part B

NOTES

Bibliography: Stories from the Celtic Fairy Tales (1) unit. Story source: Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1892).

Week 12 notes continued! Still reading the Celtic Fairy Tales unit.

One element that stood out among these tales was effective openers. The story "King O'Toole and His Goose" begins like this: "OCH, I thought all the world, far and near, had heerd o' King O'Toole — well, well, but the darkness of mankind is untellable!
Well, sir, you must know, as you didn't hear it afore, that there was a king, called King O'Toole who was a fine old king in the old ancient times, long ago, and it was he that owned the churches in the early days."

The reader is left with several questions instantly. Why is King O'Toole so dark? Did he did do evil deeds? How did he become so notorious? Why did he own the churches? Does this connect to his bad  reputation? A good opener often serves as an effective launching point to the tensions of a story. Readers are not only drawn in by good writing, but also by questions that might naturally arise from a quality opener.

Another good beginning to a story can be found in the short tale "Beth Gellert." This story begins with descriptions and introductions: "PRINCE LLEWELYN had a favourite greyhound named Gellert that had been given to him by his father-in-law, King John. He was as gentle as a lamb at home, but a lion in the chase." We have (briefly) met three characters in the first sentence: the prince, the king, and the pet. The second sentence then helps us realize how important this greyhound must be, as the author chooses to describe the pet before the human characters. The description of "gentle as a lamb at home, but a lion in the chase" creates powerful images in the minds of readers. It suggests that the dog is likable and sweet around the family, but quite capable of being fierce in the hunt. In a short opener, establishing a character like this can set the tone for the rest of the story.

I had a lot of fun reading the Celtic Fairy Tales unit! The authors did a great job with openers, and I hope to incorporate some of their style into my own tales.

This beautiful depiction of a greyhound

is from artist Alfred Dedreux, a French

painter who lived in the 19th century.

Source: Wikimedia

Reading Notes: Celtic Fairy Tales, Part A

NOTES

Bibliography: Stories from the Celtic Fairy Tales (1) unit. Story source: Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1892).

Week 12 notes! This week I am reading Celtic Fairy Tales.

One story I enjoyed was the "Field of Boliauns." In this tale, a man named Tom discovers a leprechaun. The little creature has with him a special kind of beer, which I thought was funny. Tom demands that the leprechaun show him to his gold. The leprechaun tricks Tom, and Tom leaves with no new riches. I enjoyed the pacing of this story and the lighthearted tone used by the author. It certainly made the tale fun to read. Lighthearted stories with magical elements make up some of the best folklore. I want to include more of this style of tone in my own writing going forward. 

Another interesting story in this unit was "The Shepherd of Myddvai." In this tale, a shepherd becomes enamored with a maiden from the sea. After passing a series of tests, she agrees to become his wife. However, she has a stipulation: she will leave him after three "blows" (which end up amounting to anything from light shoulder taps to rough touches). This eventually comes to pass, and the beautiful maiden returns to the lake. I found this tale interesting because of the strange agreement that the story is centered around. The man agreed to this deal, obviously not understanding what would constitute a "blow," simply because of his love for the maiden. She can be read as a cruel character with questionable motives. The tale was engaging, but left me with more questions than answers. Sometimes stories like this are very worthwhile though, as they challenge readers to make their own interpretations. Also, the aspect of trickery seems to be a recurring theme in some of these Celtic folktales and fairytales.

I enjoyed the first part of this unit and am excite to apply what I've seen to my own stories!

Ornamental Celtic knot design from a Wikimedia user: Source