Topic Research: A Split Decision

Deciding to do a storybook vs a portfolio project is shaping up to be a tough call. On one hand, I have a bunch of half-formed story book ideas swirling in my head that would all be a load of fun to try. On the other hand, I know a portfolio will be an easier option given how hectic my schedule already is. I thought taking only 13 hours would be easy, but I'm already dying.

If I were to do the story book option, I think I would want to tell a story of one soul being reincarnated as a bunch of the different animals that appear in the readings. The Animal Characters of Ramayana page has a list of some of the more notable animals present in the story, and individual animals are also listed. Horses and Elephants have their own entries on the Readings and Resources page.

While I absolutely love the idea of creating a choose your own adventure style story, that would require a significant amount of forethought and planning that I'm not sure I'll have the bandwidth for. However, a predetermined storyline with the same premise is not out of the question.

Alternatively, I could do a portfolio that would allow me to use pre-written pieces without needing to worry about making them flow together.

So far, the stories I have read that could be of use to this particular project are:

• Dasharatha's Sons (from the horse's perspective)
• Thataka (from the jungle animal's perspective)
• Any story from Jatakas

Via Wikimedia Commons