Epics of India

(Turmeric rhizome and powder, from Wikipedia ) Turmeric I saw this on the class Twitter stream. I always thought it was spelled/pronounced "tumeric," but that's not the case. My mom LOVES turmeric because of all the benefits it has when you eat it. Apparently, it's in the same family as ginger! Whenever I buy turmeric, it's already processed and ground up, and is usually a powder, but it looks really similar to a ginger root, except that it's orange instead of yellow. The picture on Twitter mentioned mixing it with milk to cure coughs and colds. Next time I have a cough or cold, I'll be sure to try it. Ayuverda Of course, turmeric has many medicinal properties, and is used in a system of medicine rooted in India - Ayuverda. It's been said that Dhanvantari, the god of Ayuverda, passed on this knowledge to some physicians. It has treatments that include herbal, mineral, and metal mixtures, as well as surgical techniques, surprisingly! Anci...

The final story lab, and with it, my (and other writers') parting words: (questioning, taken from MaxPixel ) Make Trouble for Your Character "When in doubt, make trouble for your character. Don’t let her stand on the edge of the pool, dipping her toe. Come up behind her and give her a good hard shove. That’s my advice to you now. Make trouble for your character. In life we try to avoid trouble. We chew on our choices endlessly. We go to shrinks, we talk to our friends. In fiction, this is deadly. Protagonists need to screw up, act impulsively, have enemies, get into TROUBLE." -- Janet Fitch Without the characters, the story can't really happen. But a common pitfall I come to when creating characters is to make them too tame. Just as we sometimes need some suffering to grow, so they need that "push" of detriment to really spur their development. They a way to deal with my problems rather than a living, breathing part of the story they're in. Wh...

More advice to writers! I really love this website and all their quotes. Give Them What They're not Expecting "The advice wasn’t to me personally, but I recall hearing Jay-Z say something along the lines of, don’t give people what they want, give them what they’re not expecting. It’s what I’ve always believed and it’s powerful to have your philosophy endorsed. I never want to deliver a novel that I think people are expecting, I love the challenge of creating something unique and surprising. It’s so important to write with freedom." - CECELIA AHERN I think this is an important milestone in writing - the ability to subvert expectations. It's why some of the most beloved stories of all time are beloved. Yes, they are well-written, but they're also unique from their generic contemporaries. Who doesn't love a good plot twist? Or a story that causes you to go back and read it again and again to pick up the clues that were there the whole time? If the reader...

Notes taken from " The Iliad of the East " by Frederika Richardson. How Valmiki Received the Gift of Poesy I always wondered why Valmiki was credited with writing the Ramayana, and I'm glad someone was able to provide a bit of background. Valmiki decided to leave society and go into isolation in the forest, not because of dissatisfaction, but to obtain an unbiased, clear vision. It reminds me of the Biblical stories of Jesus, where when he was surrounded by the crowds, would always withdraw from the crowds to spend time with the Father and pray. While in isolation, he contemplates the state of man; specifically, on if there's anyone who displays an unblemished virtue of heroism that will elevate mankind. Narada, the messenger of the gods appears and joins the discussion, and tests him a bit, trying to cause him to doubt mankind but Valmiki remains resolute (yet meek) in his belief. So Narada reveals that there is in fact a human that exists such as this - Rama, s...

I'm not sure when you'll read this, but here's how it began: I was out for a walk in the woods when a sudden feeling of extreme dizziness overtook me - everything became a blur, with distant flashes of memories, and I had a sudden sensation of... something  in me being... pierced. It wasn't something physical and I wasn't bleeding. It was just as if I was...less. After that, I always had a weight on my soul that left me always vaguely tired, even after resting all day. The solution of course: coffee. The three-times-a-day caffeine rush combated the lethargy and helped me feel normal again. That week, my life began - that's when I met Ale. We hit it off right away, but I think I fell in love with her over the phone way before we actually met. I think meeting her caused some kind of reaction, though. The first few incidents were minor. Berenstein Bears, the children's stories about a lovable family of bears, changed to Berenstain Bears. A couple of days la...

Notes taken based on " The Divine Archer " by F. J. Gould in 1911. Part B begins after Sita is taken away by Ravana, due to some...questionable decisions by both Rama and Lakshmana. Rama gets distracted by a golden deer, then Lakshmana doesn't have the faith in his brother (who is supposedly the best warrior in the universe or something?) to realize that he will be okay on his own and leaves his post of guarding Sita. The valiant king of the vultures, Jatayu, gives up his life trying to get Sita back, but fails. And dies. But not before he tells Rama and Lakshmana what happened. Also, Hanuman. Section 7 The party finds out that Sita is in Lanka, so Hanuman jumps there and scouts it out. He finds Ravana's brother, Vibhishana, who, because he was like, "Yo, return Sita man. I don't want no war with Rama," was not on good terms with Ravana. Vibhishana tells Hanuman where Sita is so Hanuman goes there and gives Sita Rama's ring. He then tears up...