Week 10 Lab: The Black Family

For my next storybook story, I will be writing about Walburga and her sons, Regulus and Sirius. I will be using an astra as my object.

Harry Potter stuff:

• Article about the Black house
• Article about Walburga Black
• Article about 12 Grimmauld Place

Object stuff:

• I'm thinking of using the Brahmastra
• "Would destroy entire hosts at once and could also counter most other astras. In the epic Mahabharata, it is said that the weapon manifests with the single head of Lord Brahma as, its tip."
• OR the Nagapasha (can't find a good resource for this but it's mentioned here and here)
• "Upon impact, this weapon would bind the target in coils of living venomous snakes. In the Ramayana, it was used against Rama and Lakshmana by Indrajit." 
• could be good because Walburga might want something related to Slytherin 

"Borgin & Burkes" by HarshLight is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Week 6 Lab: Writers Write Articles

I read the article Why You Need Consequences In Fiction, which talks about how to make your stories matter. Writing characters with dimension is important to keep readers interested. If the characters are perfect and have no flaws, it can get boring really quickly. To make your stories more realistic, you should ensure your character's choices and actions have consequences.

I also read this article on cheat sheets for body language. I often have difficulty finding the exact right words. I know what I'm trying to say, but I can't quite put my finger on the phrase or term. Having cheat sheets like this is so helpful, and it even gives me more ideas that will help expand my writing. One of my favorites on the cheat sheet is, "Secretiveness: tight-lipped smile, hands in pockets look away, cover face, look down." The article also lists good reasons to describe body language. I'll definitely be putting this cheat sheet to use in the future!

This article on 10 Powerful Recurring Themes In Children’s Stories is exactly what I am interested in. I love children's literature, as it has played a huge role in my life. I really hope to be a part of publishing children's stories some day. They can give kids such important life advice without the kids even realizing it. The list includes things like courage, love, and friendship. It gives specific examples, and one of my favorites is Harry Potter, which it mentions shows how to have courage in the face of evil. There is so much depth to children's books that we don't even think about. They're more than just cute and interesting stories--they're introductions to important life lessons that will teach kids how to be kinder people as they grow up.

Children's books from Wikimedia Commons

Week 4 Lab: Research for First Story

Firstly, here are some images I've come across that I will probably want to use at some point:

(Borgin and Burkes shelf by Harshlight from Wikimedia Commons)

(Borgin and Burkes image by Jared on Flickr)

Also, if I search "borgin & burkes" (instead of using "and" use "&") I end up getting way more results for some reason??? I'll have to keep that in mind. 

For one of my stories, I'll be writing about an astra. I'm not completely sure which one yet, so here is a list of potential astras:

• Brahmastra - Brahma's weapon. Can destroy the world and never misses a mark. Extreme mental concentration is required to use it, and it's not supposed to be used in combat and was a last-resort weapon.
• Trishula - Shiva's weapon. According to Wikipedia, "When looked upon as a weapon of Shiva, the trishula is said to destroy the three worlds: the physical world, the world of the forefathers, and the world of the mind. The three worlds are supposed to be destroyed by Shiva into a single non-dual plane of existence, that is bliss alone."
• Gandiva - An invincible bow created by Brahma. 
• Pashupatastra - Most destructive weapon of Shiva. Extremely destructive and powerful. Summons monsters. 
• Narayanastra - Creates a shower of arrows and discs. 

There are so many interesting ones! I think what I might end up doing is I'll mention a few in the story, but have the customer only be intrigued by one.