Week 14 Lab: Writer's Write

The first article I read was titled "What is a Paraprosdokian?". In this article, I learned that a paraprosdokian is a type of sentence that ends in an unexpected way. Typically, a paraprosdokian is used for comedic effect. I learned that while I've made use of paraprosdokians in my humor, it would be interesting to try to learn to use them in my sentences.

Source: Amanda Patterson. "What is A Paraprosdokian?". Writers Write. https://writerswrite.co.za/what-is-a-paraprosdokian/

The second article I read was titled "3 Super Sidekicks & What They do for Your Story". This article focused on how a sidekick is essential to the plot of many good stories, and it also says when to leave sidekicks out. The article focuses on three sidekicks: Doctor Watson (Sherlock Holmes), Samwise (Lord of the Rings), and Obelix (Asterix). The article explains that a sidekick should not be used unless it furthers the plot, but, even then, special attention must be paid when writing a sidekick. The sidekick should help the protagonist or bring out more of the protagonist that would not be visible without someone close with him.
The author makes note that Doctor Watson was particularly effective as a sidekick because his character was so well-developed. Further, Watson also told the story of Sherlock Holmes, giving more insight into Sherlock Holmes as a character without giving away all of Sherlock's secrets.
Samwise was so good as a sidekick because he was so supportive of Frodo throughout the entire series. Without Samwise, Frodo would not have been able to finish his quest. However, J.R.R. Tolkien did an excellent job of not making Samwise into the main character. Samwise also added comedic relief and keep the books relatable to readers.
Obelix was a great sidekick because he was necessary to the comic and was like "the other half" to Asterix. Obelix was strong and sometimes dumb. This caused Obelix to unwittingly mess up Asterix's plans, creating comedy.

Source: Christopher L. Dean. "3 Super Sidekicks & What They Do For Your Story". Writers Write. https://writerswrite.co.za/3-super-sidekicks-what-they-do-for-your-story/

The next article I read was "The 3 Best Tips For Writing Dialogue". Anyone who has read my stories this semester knows I struggle with dialogue. In real life, I'm a simply-spoken person. I prefer to keep my vocabulary simple and understandable, and I do not go on-and-on about anything (unless it is civil engineering related; don't even get me started on concrete...). However, this has sadly leaked into my writing style in a manner such that dialogue stories I write are too straightforward and don't build much plot.
The article stated that the three tips for better dialogue are read, listen, and watch. This article can be summarized rather quickly. First, does your dialogue match the tone your story is trying to set? Don't use wording that wouldn't actually be used in that scenario. Second, it is very important that the character acts like they speak. If a character is speaking something sad, it is useful to show that the character is sad through descriptive wording. The final piece of advice is to never write with an accent. Readers do not want that.

Source: Christopher L. Dean. "The 3 Best Tips For Writing Dialogue". Writers Write. https://writerswrite.co.za/the-3-best-tips-for-writing-dialogue/

An image of dialogue from Public Domain Vectors

Reading Notes: Epified: Mahabharata, Part B

Kunti was adopted by a king. Durwasa visited the king and Durwasa was known for giving out curses. Kunti served Durwasa and Durwasa became delighted with Kunti and he gave her a way to summon any god she wanted to summon. Kunti then summoned Suryadev, the sun god. However, the mantra also had the sun god bring her a child who was born with golden earrings and armor. Kunti had to send her son down the river because she was unmarried.
One day while hunting, Pandu shot an arrow at a hermit who was making love with his wife. The hermit placed a curse on Pandu that he would die as soon as he had a son. Kunti told Pandu about her gift from Durwasa. Pandu told Kunti to have sons with the gods, unaware that she already had a son.
Yama, god of truth and death, was first god Kunti summoned. That child was Yudhishthira. Then she summoned Vayu, the wind god. This child was Bhima. Then she summoned Indra and had Arjuna. Then, Kunti said that she would not have any sons but Kunti summoned twin gods to come for Madri and had Nakul and Sehdev. Kunti returned from the forest and found Pandu dead because he tried to make love with Madri. Madri threw herself into the fire with Pandu and died as well.
Ghandari gave birth to a lump of flesh instead of a child. Dhritarashtra gave cut the lump into 100 pieces and put them into oil. The oldest son was Duryodhana.
Duryodhana was jealous of Bhima and challenged Bhima to a wrestling match but was brutally beaten by Bhima. Shakuni, Ghandarvi's brother, led Duryodhana to believe that the Pandavas were pretenders for the thrown. Duryodhana poisoned the food of the Pandavas and they fell asleep. Duryodhana tied the hands and feet of Bhima and pushed him into the river.
Snakes found Bhima but Bhima was able to fight off the serpents. Bhima met Vasuki, the king of the snakes and Vasuki gifted Bhima a magical potion that gave him the strength of 1,000 elephants.
While playing with a ball, Bhima accidentally threw the ball into the well. A poor Brahmin, Drona, helped get the ball out by throwing reeds with perfect aim so the boys introduced Drona to Bhishma.
Nakul and Sehdev became great with a sword. Bhima became great with a mace. Arjuna became a perfect warrior and could handle all weapons perfectly but decided to focus on archery. Arjuna and Drona's son, Ashwatthama, were taught to use the devastras, weapons that could control the weather.
Ekalavya had made a dog be quiet by filling its mouth with arrows without harming the dog. Drona had taught Ekalavya according to Ekalavya. However, Drona had not taught him. Drona had turned him down long ago. Drona made Ekalavya cut off his thumb to prove his worth.

Bhima and his mace. Image from Wikimedia

Source:
"Epified: Mahabharata, Part B" Epified. YouTube. Found online here

Reading Notes: The Mahabharata, Epified, Part A

Bharata dictated the Mahabharata to Ganesha the first time it was ever told. The war was also known as the Karmic Revolution.
King Shantanu who ruled over Hastinapur fell in love with the river goddess, Ganga. He promised that he'd never question her. Queen Ganga drowned baby after baby and Shantanu didn't question her. Eventually, he did question her after the eighth child. Ganga told Shantanu explained the truth and left with the one remaining child.
Shantanu met his long lost son Devavrat while he was shooting arrows at the river. Shantanu brought back Devavrat as the prince. Shantanu tried to marry Satyavati but her fisherman father said no. Devavrat went to talk with the fisherman about letting Shantanu marry his daughter. Devavrat vowed to never marry and became known as Bhishma (he with the terrible curse).  Shantanu recognized the sacrifice and gave Bhishma a boon to be able to choose his own death.
Vitchitraveerya, Bhishma's half brother, became king of Hastinapur but he was not in good health. Bhishma then went to another kingdom (Kashi) and stole their three princesses to marry Vitchitraveerya so that he would have an heir. The princesses were named Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika.
The eldest princess pleaded to go back to the man she loved. Bhishma reluctantly agreed but then sent the princess to go beg to marry with Bhishma. Bhishma said no though because he promised his father that he would not marry. Amba was very upset. No one would marry Amba because no one wanted to challenge Bhishma for her. Amba wanted to be the reason for Bhishma's death.
Vichitraveerya soon died and had no king or prince despite having two queens. Queen Satyavati ordered Bhishma to have kids. Bhishma would not comply. Soon, Satyavati told Bhishma of another son that she never told him about named Vyasa. Vyasa came when Satyavati asked for him to come. However, Vyasa was not attractive and the two queens were not happy.
Because Vyasa was not attractive, his son with Ambika was doomed to be blind. The other son with Ambalika was doomed to be pale. But the next time a servant was sent that loved Vyasa and they had a son too. Ambika's son was Dhritarashtra who was blind. Ambalika gave birth to Pandu who was pale and weak but a great archer. The servant gave birth to Vidura who grew to be wise. Bhishma was the teacher for each of the children. There was always rivalry between Dhritarashtra and Pandu.
Dhritarashtra became King of Hastinapur. Pandu became director of the army. Vidura helped Pandu and Pandu was seen as king. Dhritarashtra became married to Gandhari who blinded herself so that she could match Dhritarashtra. Pandu married Kunti and Madri.

Image of Bhishma taking the oath. Image from Wikimedia

Source:
"Epified: Mahabharata, Part A". Epified. YouTube. Found online here