Ann's Blog

Advice to Writers: Interviews (Image Information: Rick Riordan,  Wikipedia Rick is one of my favorite authors of all time) For this lab, I chose to read three interviews with different writers off of the advice to writers website. I love getting advice from other writers. I find it very encouraging.  The first interview I read was of Mitchel Zuckoff  a professor of journalism and author of two books. My favorite piece of advice from him was "Write Scared.  That is, push yourself beyond what you think is possible or safe, to the outer limits of your research and your ability, to the point where it feels exciting and a little scary. When it works, it’s exhilarating for you and for the reader. " Next I read the interview of Lori Gottlieb , a journalist for The Atlantic. She is also a pyschotherapist. My favorite part of this interview is when she talks about writer's block. " I was like the gambler who kisses her spouse goodbye in the morning and then goes to t...

Bearskin , by The Grimm Brothers (Image Information: Bearskin, Wikipedia ) This classic European story is about a poor soldier who has nothing in life after the war ends who must obey the commands of the devil in order to receive money. The devil tells the soldier he cannot bathe himself for seven years and must always wear the devil's coat but in return, he will always have gold and if he survives the seven years he will be forever rich and free to do as he pleases. He becomes so ugly from never washing that people think he is a monster but he is able to bribe people with gold for a place to sleep and eat. Once, he helps a poor family and in return is promised his choice of the daughters as a wife. Two out of three refuse to marry him because of his looks but the third doesn't mind because she knows he is a good person. He leaves and returns to her after the seven years have passed and they live happily ever after. The moral of the story is don't judge a person by th...

Hansel and Grethel , By Brothers Grimm This classic story is one that probably everyone in this class has heard of before. It's about two children trying to survive and make their way home after being abandoned in the woods. They come across a witch who captures them and tries to cook and eat them, but they trick her and escape after trapping her in her own oven.  There are quite a few popular tv tropes that come from Hansel and Grethel. One of these is the trail of breadcrumbs trope where the characters leave objects behind them as they go on a journey in order to be able to find their way back home in the end. In Hansel and Grethel they leave behind breadcrumbs but this trope can manifest itself in other ways as well.  Some other tropes that appear in/originate from this story are those of the wicked witch, the gingerbread house, and the rule of three. (Image Information: Hansel and Grethel , publicdomainpictures)

The Little Match-Seller, by Hans Christian Anderson.  (Image Information: Little Match Girl, Blogspot ) This is a tragic tale of a poor child who dies on a cold winter night because she is too scared to go home to her parents because she had not sold any matches. It's a heartbreaking story, which is kind of a talent of Hans Christian Anderson. In this post I will be focusing on the details that make this story so sad, other than the mere premise.  Details: The first description that the reader is given of the girl is "a poor little girl, with a bare head and naked feet." We learn that the little girl originally had a pair of slippers, though they were not her own and much too big for her, but she lost them when running across the street to avoid being hit by carriages. This all paints a pitiful scene that makes the reader's heart ache. The poor child! The author goes on to describe her feet as being naked and red and blue from the cold. These details real...