Friday, September 1, 2017

Topic Brainstorm

I have boiled down my selection of topics for my storybook.

Hercules' 12 Deliveries:
I am a huge fan of Greek/Roman mythology, so retelling the story of Hercules' 12 labors can be fun. Admittedly, I got this idea from my roommate when he jokingly said this. Instead of a man seeking redemption through 12 painstakingly difficult tasks, we would be following an average delivery boy through 12 of his not-so-average deliveries. Take, for example, his task of dealing with Cerberus, Hades' guard-dog to the underworld. In my retelling, the delivery boy would be forced to have to make a delivery to a house guarded by three, unchained dogs. Another aspect of the story that I can change up is, where Hercules was known for using his strength in the trials, the delivery boy could instead rely on wit and intelligence. I found a site by Tufts University that summarizes the 12 Labors, which I can refer back to if I need to brush up on the labors.

The Trojan Feud:
Continuing with the topic of Greek mythology, I feel that the Trojan War can be easily parodied (especially the reason why it started). In the original version of the myth, the war was  started by the abduction of a Spartan Queen by Prince Paris of Troy, my retelling could be set in modern times where a man accidentally kidnaps a person, ensuing a family feud that could be extremely funny. I could then incorporate the story of the Trojan Horse, where instead of ending with a bloodbath, I can make it where the man simply wants to get into the victim's house to merely apologize. I would use this site for a basic summarization of the entire war.

The Rift Between the Brother and Sister
This story would be be a retelling of the Chinese myth known as "Why Dog and Cat are Enemies"; but, instead of a cat and dog having animosity against each other, the characters would be brothers and sisters. The original myth has the two animals becoming mortal enemies due to the cat being fortunate enough to return home before the dog with an item the owners desperately needed, despite the dog having helped the cat in the first place. My retelling of the story could replace the animals with brothers, sisters, or both. We all know the story of how either the youngest or the oldest of the siblings always receives the most love from parents, and I feel that I can use this theme since it is so similar to that of the original myth's (envy). I would use the UN-Textbook for any information needed.

Solomon's Long Week
This story would be an in depth tale about Solomon Grundy. Where the original nursery rhyme is only 10 lines, I feel that it would be a fun challenge to create a backstory for Grundy. How does he become sick? How does a 3 day-old person get married? I believe I can write a story where, instead of being born on a Monday, he could be doing something relating to life on that Monday (giving birth, saving a life, etc.). I feel that there are endless ways to expand on this story. Solomon Grundy is a minor villain in the Batman comics, and I can maybe create a story of Batman trying to put together Solomon Grundy's origins! Fortunately for this story, the only real resource needed is the original rhyme itself. The rest I can make up on my own. (Hopefully)

(Hercules is just trying to deliver some pizza:

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