Storybook Plan

I decided to do a storybook! While it might be a tad more work in the end, I think I'll have more fun doing a storybook rather than a portfolio.

My theme will be reincarnation. The reader will cycle through three lives as different animals featured in the Ramayana.

I had thought to make it an interactive story where the reader can choose which order in which to reincarnate, but that maybe a little too complicated to make all of the possible outcomes flow together.

I found this article on HowStuffWorks.com that I think will be a useful crash course on the religion my stories will be based on.

The stories will likely be written in second person. This is an uncommon method, but I think the perspective will fit with the storytelling well.

I had previously identified three possible stories to get inspiration from in my Topic Research post, and I think Kumbhakarna from part D this week could also be a good resource!

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

Topic Brainstorm

I started out in the Project Ideas Index. The Weapons of the Gods suggestion was the first to catch my eye. My mind immediately went to a weapons store walk through, which had apparently already been done. I'm sure I would have no problem making making my project unique though, so it's still a possibility.

The next suggested topic that inspired an idea was the Loving Couples one. I think it would be neat to research the couples in these epics and make a spoof dating profile site. Maybe joint facebook or instagram accounts? I'm not 100% sure what I would do, but I think some fun could be had with that topic.

Of course I couldn't see the word "Food" listed and not check it out. Unfortunately, only one of the two listed projects linked was still up, but the Indian Scrapbook project looked to really well done (and made me hungry!) Using my project as an excuse to eat indian food would not be a terrible idea. Maybe I could attempt to recreate dishes specifically mentioned in the stories a la Binging with Babish.

Finally, I think focusing on reincarnation could be a good back up if one of these other three don't work out. It's such a broad topic with so many possible applications in fiction writing that it's a solid choice for any style of writing.

There was a project I remembered seeing when I took Myth and Folklore that was a Choose Your Own Adventure design. I think that would be a fun idea to explore too! Here it is

Via Flickr