Day 30

I do not really know where I will go from here, but I am too glad that it is over! Blogging has really helped me and my writing. I used to be a kind of bad writer, but writing everyday for a whole month has really done positive work for me. But I do not know exactly what I will do with the future of my blog account.

Continuing to blog would be a good experience. The problem is that I don't know what I would write about! Also, I do not know exactly who I would direct my blog to and my audience. I do not know who would even want to take the time out of their day to read my blog, but if someone or people did then I would be pretty thankful!

Day 28

This might sound cheesy, but I am dedicating my pastiche to Mr. Prier. I thought long and hard on who has pushed me to be a better writer and more persevered. Not really anybody else has helped me through out the process of the pastiche and I couldn't ask for anybody else to help me out more! He has really helped me out on writing and pushed me to how much I want to write.

I'm sure we'll have to write more and more as the year goes on, but I'm sure he'll be there to help me after school if I need any. This is something that I have really put a lot of work into, and I want to thank the person that helped me. Thank you Mr.Prier :)

Day 27

- The Story of Pachu & João
- The downfall of the Besta-Fera
- The Village Hero
- The battle of Evil and Good
- The Origins of The Great João

"The Story of Pachu & João" was just a generic name that I thought of from the top of my head. It's simple and introduces two of the main characters, and maybe introduces the protagonist and antagonists. "The downfall of the Besta-Fera" is something i thought up of since Pachu is killed and maybe a mythic story of how a creature disappeared off the earth. "The Village Hero" is something that might indicate the average person becoming a hero.

"The Battle of Evil and Good" is again something pretty simple that I though of pretty fast and sums up the story nicely. The only thing is, it makes it sound as if it is an epic battle for the Earth of something. And finally, "The Origins of the Great João" is something kind of cool I thought up of. It might be the first of many stories that include João and his many adventures.

Day 26

Writing this pastiche and writing in general is pretty beneficial. I was always kind of a bad writer to begin with and never got into the hang of writing good quality stories. Brainstorming with the blog and discussing has really helped with my writing style and overall success. It has helped me with dialogue and story writing in general.

I'm sure that if I continue with my story writing and style every other day it can really get better and I can be the best writer I can be. The blogging experience and the class experience has really contributed to the pastiche's value and how good it has gotten so far.

Day 25

Reading my pastiche draft was really different from actually writing it. The flow seems as if it needs some improvement, but was well enough for someone to like. The style is really simple and straight-forward. Now seeing my pastiche as a whole, there could be more improvement. I might add more Portuguese since there is about only one paragraph that contains it.

I've seen reading it over and over that it seems a bit boring. It seems very predictable and monotone-ish. I could add some excitement to the final battle and more intense-filled scenes. It would really add some variety to the story and want the reader to really keep with the story. There is room for a lot of improvement, only to make my story better!

Day 24

There are a lot of events that occur as the rising action. They all kind of give clues to the main climax of my pastiche. The climax is going to take place when the villagers storm in and João and Pachu have an epic battle together while Pachu is in his mortal, vulnerable state of being. It will have the most tension and I'll try to make the reader really on edge and want to read faster.

My climax falls in the first and second choices that Mr. Prier put up. The goal of defeating Pachu is finally met and they don't have to pay him anymore. Also the greatest challenge of defeating him and gaining independence and safety from such a tyrant of their lives. So they are two great climaxes mixed into one for a great story!

Day 23

In my pastiche I want the kids to take a few things away from reading my story. One thing I want kids to understand is to treat others the way that you would want to be treated, and if you don't it may lead to horrible consequences. It is a good social responsibility because it just shows kids to show respect for one another and to care.

The other thing I want kids to get out of this is portrayed through the main protagonist João. I can make him maybe like a role model to the kids on how to be. He could be forbidden to curse, or do bad things. And since the antagonist Pachu does bad things and only acts negatively towards other people, maybe I can show the consequences that you may suffer. 

Day 22

The theme of my pastiche is, kind of like good will always conquer over evil. Or a different one since the book is going to be intended for younger kids can be is, don't bully because it will always come back to get you. I think this is a very good for the age group the book is intended for because bullying is often found in like 4th and 5th grade.

In my story the "bully" is Pachu since he terrorizes the villagers and bullies them out of the money they make make selling their goods or from the services they perform. Then there is the guy that stands up to the bully first which is João, the "hero". He and the villagers stand up to the bully and take him down. It goes to show that good will always conquer evil.

Day 21

"Once there was a man, who helped out his Brazilian village in one of the biggest ways possible." That is one option of the beginnings to my story. It introduces one of the major characters and something that they did. It also makes a little of the mystery becomes maybe the reader wants to read on to find out what this man did to help out his village in such a big way.

The illustration that can go with the first page can be maybe a nice overview of the village or of the aftermath of when he saved the village. I still have not decided which one to pick though. I also thought of maybe just selecting some images off of the internet because that might make it easier.

Day 20

I have decided that I want to draw all of the illustrations of my pastiche myself. It will take some effort, but I am sure that they will come out good. I want all of them to be done with pencil, then colored in with colored pencils very well and maybe some markers. They are going to be very detailed, but I am not sure exactly what each one is going to contain.

I have thought to scan them, and them maybe edit them a bit. I could use picnik to add some cool effects to all of the illustrations. Or I could add some text into the picture so that they know who is saying what, and for dramatic effect. There are a lot of options, but drawing is the direction I am going for!

Day 19

I can't really think of something I could add that there isn't already in my pastiche. Honestly, I think I am missing some of the South American Latin cultural feeling. Like when someone thinks of Brazil they think of tropical latin stuff, and I feel as if my pastiche doesn't really capture the whole picture of that.

I want to add some things into my pastiche that makes it feel as if the reader is sucked into a Brazilian cultural tornado! I am kind of positive if I kept my pastiche the way it is, it wouldn't feel anything like if it was set up in Brazil or had anything to do with Brazil. That just gives me more to work on!

Day 17

I chose the folktale "The two brothers and the white-bearded old man" to compare to my original folktale, "Brabo and the giant". There are a lot more differences then similarities between the two folktales. I could not find another exact Belgian one, or another one by the same author since there is no exact author.

In the folktale "The two brothers and the white-bearded old man" there are two brothers that decided to venture for happiness from village to village. They meet an old man, and he wants to help them. The older brother accepts the 2 gifts from the old man without hesitation. Then the old man asks for who will help him carry this huge sack to his town. The younger brother answered this time, and the old man told him to keep the sack. The sack was full of precious gems, and when he looks up to thank  the old man he is no where to be seen. Pretty much kindness is always rewarded after all.

The moral of the story is different from my folktale. My folktale's moral is that bullies will always be defeated in the long run, one way or another. They are two very good morals that kids should use in everyday life though. Kindness always really does pay off, sometimes in unexpected ways; and karma will always come back with a vengeance.

Some similarities between the folktales are kind of hard to find, but once found make some good sense. They both have an eager, selfish, greedy character who just wants more and does not care for others and their well being. They both also have a character who does care about others more then greed and wealth, and is rewarded in the end greatly. 

 

Day 16

For the main character João or former Brabo, I want him to have the stereotypical hero voice. Kind of strong but a hint of compassion. This will tie into his personality because he is good leader who is strong, courageous, and brave.

As for the mythical creature antagonist Pachu, I have chosen to give the some harsh dialogue that is sort of straight to the point and quite frank. I want him to have  maybe a different voice when he is in his human form then when he is immortal. Probably a more strong and meaningful voice.

I have also chosen the King of the village at the time to be King Leonardo III. I have shortened it to just plain old King Leo for the kids. Since he is a king I want him to be very influential and maybe a bit more demanding. He is a kind person though, and only wants the best for his people.

King Leo: Olá! How are you on this fine sunny morning?

João: Olá! Quite amazing actually! Thank you for asking my King. And how are you?

King Leo: Very good actually João. I'm just taking in the nice weather this morning. But I hear it's going to chover tomorrow.

João: Yes I have seen the weather patterns lately, it doesn't look good for tomorrow King.

King Leo: I hope it's not as bad as last mola, or it would be dreadful for the crops.

João: I sure hope not. Well, I have to get going. Adeus King Leo.

King Leo: See you around, adeus João.

I put the Portuguese words in italics so they are easy to identify.

Olá = Hello

Chover = to rain

Mola = Spring

Adeus = goodbye

Day 15

My animoto was alright. I think it could have been better because I couldn't really find anything else to talk about while is was up there. I might have found some better pictures of the Belgian culture though. They were mainly pictures of art and the back canvas of the country. The Brazilian pictures were alright too.

The animoto was kind of disappointing to me. I could have talked more and been more specific about my exact story line and plot. Also I could have put more pictures that sort of related to my pastiche and the original story more. The pictures were really good in my opinion, but I think I could have found some better ones.

Overall I think I did really good! I chose a really good song to go along with the Brazilian culture and all. And I liked the back round that I chose to go along with the whole animoto. It took me a while to get it finished, but I didn't do too shabby!

Day 14

So in the first event it kind of introduces the characters of the story, and shows that Antigonus is the mythical creature that he is. Everyone knows that he is mythical, but nobody knows that he turns back to mortal form at a certain time.

The next event is the next day when he starts an uproar and is mad with the whole villagers. Then he shows his powers to all of the villagers and they fear him. He tells them that if they don't do as he says he will kill them as an example to everyone of what not to do.

This happens over a duration of months, and he gets his way. The villagers and the king finally have enough and plan a rebellion against him. They all get together while he is asleep and plan to spy on him in search of any weaknesses. They find out that he becomes mortal unwillingly at midnight.

They come up with a plan to trap him in his castle and destroy him at midnight since he would not be immortal. They do this a couple days later to get everything prepared and then do the plan.

The plan works and he is killed, and everyone in the village is happy again. All the money that he made the villagers pay for living is given back to them. They destroy his castle home and build something beneficial in its place.

So the whole story will take place in about a 4-5 months and the main action happens within a daily process of time.

Day 13

The message in the original Belgian folktale was that karma always comes back to mean people. Since the giant wanted to overthrow the village for the trade and make money from taxing the heck out of all the ships passing through. If they didn't pay the tax, then he would cut off they're hands and throw them into the river. In the end they killed the giant and threw his hands into the river.

In my pastiche I wanted to keep the same moral in the original folktale. I haven't researched any rivers near the city of Rio de Janeiro. I want the new Antigonus to be very cruel and hateful to all of the villagers. Then I want all of the villagers to do something that will make him mortal or kill him while mortal. Moral is, karma always comes back even to the meanest of people.

Day 12

My folktale "Brabo and the Giant" is more of a Trickster Folktale. It's about a giant that gets outsmarted by an average man and some villagers. Antigonus the giant is not very smart at all, and is more muscle then brain. He doesn't think anything through, but Brabo is very smart and brave.

In my new story it transitions to the Fairytale category. I added mythical creatures and a lot of mythical themes related to the time period. It really takes away the part of outsmarting someone larger or of that concept. It really makes a difference because there isn't any giants in Brazilian mythology.

Day 11

     I've never really noticed that a lot of folktales integrate numbers into them until Mr. Prier brought it up! Numbers are really important in movies, stories, folktales, and just about everything else! I can't really find anything unique or cunning to fit into my story though.
     One idea was about Antigonus. Since he is a mythical creature in my story I want a number to bring his demise. Maybe a certain amount of something will kill him, or he can only do a certain number of things. I need some help on this! I would surely appreciate it from you all!
     Another idea may be that he turns back into human form after a certain time of day. Maybe at midnight he becomes mortal and he is able to die since he is immortal while in mythical state. Then they attack him while he is vulnerable. 

Day 10

     The experience of blogging is a great idea. The experience of writing all of your ideas and expressing everything so people can help you is awesome! It's a lot better then writing a paper definitely! In a paper you kind of just cram all this information into one paper and hope for the best. In blogging you get feedback, better ideas, more time, better research opportunities.
     Blogging has kind of changed the way I think about things. I used to just want to do something and never lay everything out and choose the best information and never think anything through. The blogging experience has really helped everyday blogging. It helps because maybe one day I have a good idea, and the next day I have an even better idea. Before I would of just gone with the better idea. Compared to now I would try to combine both the good ideas and make a fantastic idea! 

Day 9

     In the folktale the giant Antigonus wields a giant axe to cut off the hands of the townspeople who disobey his will. Then he throws the hands of his victims into the massive river. I really want to incorporate a weapon that is connected to Brazilian culture. One thought may be a sword or a machete. They were very common in Brazil, even today in modern days.
    Also adding to the mystical part of the story. Since Antigonus is going to be a magical being, I want the actual weapon to be magical as well. Maybe if he cuts a part of you, you can have it back only if you obey him and he can give it back. Instead of throwing the hands into the river, then the story can have a good ending with all the victims getting their hands back!

Day 8

      In this picture I found of some local Brazilian boys. They are all huddled up and one of the boys is holding a soccer ball. It shows inspiration, and perseverance. Even if these kids do not have shirts on their back and good clothes they are still very happy and content with friendship, and make the best of what they have.
     A story that may come out of this story is a story about a boy's soccer dream. The boy with the soccer ball may love soccer and it may be his passion. He practices every day and does his best every day even as a little boy to chase his dream. And all of his friends around him love soccer too and want to succeed with him.

Day 7

     In my story I have two major characters, Brabo and Antigonus. They are very different since one is the antagonist and the other, protagonist.

Brabo:
-Physical Traits: tall, dark hair, brown eyes, strong, skillful, wears normal clothes of the time period, very good manners
-Personal History Traits: catholic, some education, he is a single man living on his own. He is a salesman and respected man of the community
-Inner Person Traits: respectful, compassionate, reliable, fears the fall of his people and town. He sees himself as equal as everyone else in the town. He has always dreamed of owning a big space of land so he can have a farm with kids.

Antigonus:
-Physical Traits: very tall, dark eyes, heavy built, very strong, wears armor (I've decided to set the time back in the old days after all). Scar on right cheek. He is secretly a Besta-Fera, which is a centaur like creature though to be the devil in Brazilian culture. He transforms into human form to disguise himself among all other humans.
-Personal History Traits: no religion, single and lives by himself in his castle, works as a blacksmith, likes to keep to his own self
Inner Person Traits: No manners, does not respect anyone at all. He sees himself as a man of his word and bigger and more important than all the others of the town. Has always dreamed of owning and running his own town the way he wants it and all by himself.

Day 6

The language of Brazil is Portuguese of course! It is the fifth most spoken language in the world, and the most widely spoken language in the southern hemisphere. I kind of understood some of the words because it is close to Spanish, but a lot of words are still very different.
Hello = Olá!
Goodbye = Adeus
Good morning = bom dia
Good afternoon = bom tarde
Good night = bom noite
How are you doing? = Como você está fazendo?
Giant = Gigante
River = Rio
City = cidade
Prison = Prisão
Obey = Obedeça

I still haven't decided whether to integrate the language into my pastiche. I want to include some of the usual words into the story dialogue and include a translation page at the end of the book to look back on. It would really make the story much more Brazilian! 

Day 5

In the folktale, the giant's name is Antigonus. Antigonus originates from a man who lived around the time 382 BC. He was a general for the massive army of Alexander the Great. I found this interesting because his name derives from a man or violence and the army. The giant is also like this and very violent.

Giant: Pachacuti (from Inca emperor's name)
Brabo: João (common Brazilian male name)

Those are the only two main characters in the folktale. But because this is going to be a child's book I wanted to make the names a little more easy. For Pachacuti, I want to shorten it out to maybe Pachu or Pachi. I haven't made my mind. I am going to keep João since it's easy and really cool looking with the accent over the letter!

Day 4

      I want the setting to really capture Brazilian culture. The weather might be hot and sunny with some humidity. Probably in a big city like Rio de Janeiro. Very large, populous, and with a very beautiful background setting.
     In my folktale the setting is set around a town and a very important river that brings everyone together thanks to the rich trade. Brazil just happens to have numerous rivers. So one place is going to be the river. Then the giant's living place, and the city streets and sales areas. Most of the story is going to be during the day, but a couple of the important scenes are going to be in the middle of the night.
     I have not really decided exactly what year and time my story is going to be though. I want the story to be very modern and up to date. But I want to include some old aspects in it as well. I'm not sure on how I am going to do that.
     Some of the story will take place in a prison type of area. In the dungeons is where the giant puts his victims if they disobey his orders. It is going to be very dark, damp and wet, and very few windows as I imagined it. And in the folktale it says the giant owns a castle near the river. I do not know the equivalent of a castle back then to modern day Brazilian architecture.

Day 3

     One of the major differences from Belgium and Brazil is the environment. The climate in Brazil is mostly tropical and temperate in the southern areas. While in Belgium the climate is mostly temperate, mild winters, cool summers, rainy, cloudy, and humid. I really want to incorporate the Brazilian environment and the backdrop of some of the mountains there.
     The religion in Brazil is made up of about 80% Roman Catholic. While in Belgium the religious views are 75% Roman Catholic, and 25% Protestant or other. So there is a great compatibility between religious views of both cultures. I do not really see how religion would fit in the folktale though.
     Something else I found very different is population size. There are about 184,101,109 Brazilians, and 10,348,276 Belgians. That is a great difference of about 8,000,000 people! I want to incorporate that with maybe a bigger city and many more people in my pastiche.
     The wildlife of Brazil and Belgium are very different. In Brazil there are, all kinds of monkeys. There is a wide variety of jaguars and pumas. There are the well known piranhas, and alligators, and pink dolphins. Flamingos and parrots are also indigenous to the rain forests of Brazil. Also, 30% of species of plants are endemic to Brazil. There are even many species of carnivorous plants!
     The wildlife of Belgium includes wild boars, wildcats, deer,  muskrats, and hamsters. I saw there is a huge difference in exotic animals. I want to use that to my advantage in my story as well.
     
    

Day 2

      In my folktale I found a couple of motifs. One was honor, and the other was bravery. In the story the giant named "Antigonus", was a bully and acted horribly towards the town people of the Belgian city. He acted brave and strong, but was truly a coward and the least bit brave.
     In the story there are some very typical characters. Such as the giant as the antagonist, and Brabo as the protagonist or hero of the story. There are some minor characters that support them, but it is mostly character vs character in this situation.
     I want to retain the main ideas of the story and the morals. The setting and time period is a bit old, and I want to modernize it as well. It might be kind of a challenge giving that there are some factors about the setting and plot. I want to dismiss the things the giant does to the townspeople as a punishment for not obeying him though.

Day 1

     I chose the Belgian folktale, Brado and the giant. I chose the folktale because mainly of the title of it. When I saw the title, I already imagined what it might look like as a finished product. I really liked what I saw, and I read most of the folktale. I am very glad with my choice!
     I am rewriting Brado and the giant in Brazilian culture. I think that Brazilian culture is pretty cool and very unique compared to all other South American countries. European to South American is a very drastic change, and that is the main reason why I chose Brazil. The environment is very different between Belgium and Brazil and there might not even be giants in Brazil!