Hi there! Thank you for taking the time to read my Portfolio stories! Or, if you haven't already, feel free to check my Portfolio: The Mythology Project
The New Greek Mythology Introduction
Here is the link to my second story for my portfolio! Check it out! The Universal Stones
Hi Melanie!
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job of putting together the first part of your story. I've always found Greek mythology very interesting but tended to lose focus about half-way through a lot of the stories because they had all sorts of complimentary information. I think you did a great job of making more modern analogies to the setting and events of the original story of Homer's Odyssey. I really liked the way you switched between narration and character voices because it gave the reader more information about your characters and was very easy to follow along to.
I like the idea of using a popular t.v. show like The Ellen Show to setup your interview style presentation of the story. I know this is just the very first addition to your portfolio but I think this story would really draw readers in if it contained some sort of action scene from Odysseus' adventures overseas. Perhaps you could create a modern interpretation of one of his encounters with a mythical monster. But that aside, I think you have a great story here!
Hi Melanie! I really like how you took an old story and modernized it, creating a backstory in the form of a talk show host introduction. Do you think maybe you can incorporate some of the other characters into the story such as Poseidon or Athena? I assume thats who you were talking about when you said "had to meet some people and go through—other meetings and stuff". Maybe you could describe a battle or how Ode worked with one god to overcome another - or not gods but other dictators since you are modernizing this story. You did a great job describing it for a visual affect in italics. I wonder if you will be continuing to use Ellen to tell the rest of your stories or cycle through a variety of different talk show hosts? And if so, how would different talk show hosts change the setting or tone of the interview? One idea might be to use something like Judge Judy to interrogate and punish the people Ode had to work against (or other bad guys in greek mythology). Great story, really unique!
ReplyDeleteHey Melanie!
ReplyDeleteI actually did an extremely similar concept with a story of my own as you did with the Odyssey. Rather than a talk show though, I did a radio call-in show, and it was over the Iliad. So I have a pretty good grasp on the idea here!
The way you modernized the story is pretty much a perfect image of things that happen on talk shows these days. I think you added some of the details of Odysseus's story in perfectly and described them nicely with real-world scenarios that could happen to a modern-day soldier. That said, I think you could probably add in a little more about what happened in the Odyssey without overclocking the reader! Don't be afraid to get in there and write more!
Along with the idea of writing more of the story in, you could likely portray a bit more of Odysseus's personality in there too, which I think would add to the flavor a bit! But nice, overall!
Hi Melanie! I loved your story Odysseus on Ellen! I could actually hear Ellen's voice when I was reading it. I thought your rendition was really well done. I do agree you cold incorporate more of the other characters a little more. Maybe make them a surprise guest? Overall, I liked the story and how you modernized it. I enjoyed how condensed it was. It made it a more bearable read than the original. Really good job! Can't wait to read more!
ReplyDeleteHi Melanie!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your Odysseus on Ellen story, I like the modern twist to it and I think you captured Ellen's personality, show, audience, etc. very well. I read your Ellen story before, it actually inspired my Jerry Springer story. So, I also read the story of The Universal Stones. This was a very interesting concept. I love how you began the story with developing some of the background information for the ready. Your story transitions are fluid, i.e., I am not confused after starting the next paragraph. I am excited to see how Zeus' story progresses on his hunt for the 12 Universal Stones.
One suggestion that I have would be to incorporate some dialog along with the rest of your narration. I always find that helps me, as the reader, get a better sense of the character's personalities. I think you could get some cool dialog between Zeus and Hades. By the way, I like that Hades is seen as good, not evil. Over course, I am comparing him to Hades from the Disney movie, Hercules.
Hi Melanie, I really enjoyed the concept of your storybook but I am slightly confused as of what you are trying to achieve? Your first story is based entirely in the future while the 2nd one is based in the past. Is it the plan to try and make them all modern or are they not supposed to be related in any way? Maybe write a bit more about that in your introduction? If you were to want a more of a "red-thread" in your stories I think it could be cool to go even further with the Avengers infinity war analogy and maybe focus your story more on Zeus sitting in a coffee shop telling someone about his heroic deeds finding the infinity stones? That would bring it more into the future and be more in the same theme as your first story. Your story structure is very easy to follow and I could easily flow between paragraphs and sentences and understand where you were going.
ReplyDelete- Anna Margret
I really enjoyed reading both of your stories. The way you write the story and incorporate modern day people and events is really creative. It makes the stories even more fun to read because everyone can relate to the knowledge of the modern day idea. It was nice that you were able to incorporate so many Greek gods and goddesses. It shows how interrelated everyone is and how one action can affect another god/goddess. Have you considered adding dialogue in this story? It might be a good way to break it up a little and have some diverse writing styles in one story. You described how some of the characters think, but it would be nice to see how they act! Hearing what they have to say or knowing more in depth their thought process about the whole Stones situation would be really interesting. Overall, this was a really great story! I think that you have a really good storybook idea and I can’t wait to come back and read more!
ReplyDeleteHi, Melanie! I was excited to read your second story. I read your first story about Ellen a couple weeks ago, so it was exciting to read more from you! I am not all caught up with the Marvel series, so it felt like an entirely new story to me with the incorporation of Greek mythology in it. I agree that some added dialogue would add a little more detail and color to your story. I thought it was easy to follow, but could have used a little bit more detail. I like your interpretation of the characters, but I would have liked to seem them a little more developed. Overall, I think you are doing great, and the stories you have written are coming a long nicely. I think they have all been entertaining so far, but adding a little bit more will help might make it even more entertaining.
ReplyDeleteHello Melanie, I thought your story “The Universal Stones” was absolutely wonderful! I am a huge fan of not only Greek mythology but also the Avengers, so when I first saw this story I was absolutely in awe and was super excited to read it. I thought that you did a really great job of creating the story and wrote it out really well. Everything in the story flowed well and was easy to read which helped me to connect with the story. A couple things I did notice is a few typos such as in the second paragraph, last sentence, you need a “the” in “one of stones.” Also when the stones were split up it says one was kept and gave to Kronos. I think that this could be worded a little better because I’m not sure if it was the one kept that was given to Kronos, I’m kind of juts assuming. Overall I thought the story was fantastic, keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteHi there Melanie! Your stories were extremely creative takes on modern entertainment and classic mythology. It was so easy to get immersed into the world you created because I knew about both pieces you'd bring in; the Ellen show or Marvel Universe with Greek Mythology. It was clever and your set ups worked nicely. Something to change for the Marvel Universe themed story of the "Universal Stones" could be creating scenarios in which each god uses the stone he or she possessed. When you said that Zeus and his brother's each had different stones, I was internally excited thinking that we'd get a demo of what the stones would be like for Greek gods. You have a good amount of space left around your story to add in something like this too. It may be an over the top request but I also think it would be really good for your story if you decided to add that later on. Either way it was a great read c:
ReplyDeleteHi Melanie!
ReplyDeleteI like how here on your comment wall you have links and images for each of the stories so far. Your homepage: I like the image you have chosen for the banner, and for the 'table of' contents. Can I suggest of adding images to each story here and linking them to that page?
First Story: Odysseus on Ellen. I love watching the Ellen show and I like how you have written this story. And making Odysseus an American hero <3 Good job on details, and writing it like it would have been aired by Ellen. I started tearing up just a little bit
Second story: The Universal Stones. I knew there was something related to Marvel's Infinity War! Glad to see that in your authors note. I also liked how you combined the two, I have still yet to see Infinity War but picked up on the details. The image you have chosen for this story: there is a man just right of the center and leaning back. The look on his face looks like he is in so much pain from the gentle butterfly on his thigh. Your cliff hanger at the end is good, if there was to be another 'chapter' of this story it is a good beginning to that. But since there is not it makes for a good ending without having to wrap up a longer story.
Hi Melanie! I laughed at the fact that you used an interview with Ellen for your first story, that was such a good idea! It was so easy to picture the show by the way your wrote it. The dialogue was right on point. You had such a sweet ending to the story with the reuniting the family. I also really love the layout of your website. The photo on the first page is so large and beautiful you can't help but want to keep exploring the site. I am glad you provided a detailed author's note to compare and contrast the original story to your story. I think you did a great job here, if you can't tell. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteHey Melanie! I really like the storybook you have going on for this class! I think the layout works really well and I think the way you clearly label your stories here on your comment wall makes it very easy to navigate. I really liked your interview with Ellen! I love her show and you did a great job of making the dialogue sound like it was really her speaking. The ending was also very cute and happy which I always love reading. I also am a huge fan or the marvel movies so I really enjoyed reading your "Universal Stones" story. I love how you have combined classic Greek Mythology with the more modern Marvel stories. I think this gives it a really fresh feel. Can't wait to see what else you post here! good job!
ReplyDeleteHey Melanie. I just read your story about Odysseus on Ellen and thought it was so well put together. I had never previously thought about combining those two things together but the way you did it was perfect. You could have made the show happen back then during the Trojan War but decided to bring Odysseus forward in time and be apart of this world. By showing all the tours and everything he had been in showed how much of a warrior Odysseus was and to even keep the name of the characters the same was incredible too because it keeps the story the same in my eyes. I for sure could imagine Ellen doing this on her show and she probably already has. I like how you made it so we could read about how the audience was reacting because by doing that you made it feel like it was actually the show.
ReplyDeleteHi Melanie! Oh my goodness, the way you had Odysseus on Ellen was amazing! I would never have thought about doing a story that way, but it's entertaining as heck! I love how everything is a dialogue between the characters, along with all the commentary on the audience and their reactions, just as it would be if you were watching the show. I can totally see it in my mind and it feels like I'm watching it happen. I love how you gave him and his family the traditional happy ending reunion that usually happens on shows like that. What a creative thing to do! Overall a great job & great idea on retelling mythology. Excellent & keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteHi Melanie! Wow I can see I am not alone in this based on all of the other comments but I loved your Odysseus on Ellen story. I read the Odyssey this semester as well so I think reading about him on a talk show is a hilariously entertaining idea. I like that you brought Odysseus to this time instead of bringing Ellen into his time. It was such an interesting and modern twist on his story. I like the way that you included audience reactions so that you could really feel like you were a part of the audience or watching the show. You did a really great job at portraying their characters in a current point of view.
ReplyDeleteHey there Melanie! First of all, I love how you chose to have your first story take place on the Ellen Show! It’s pretty funny, and I especially love that ancient Odysseus is a guest on such a modern show. Also, it’s no talk show unless someone is reunited with a love one and I can’t say I wasn’t surprised when Anticleia came out with Odysseus’ family. How sweet. I was immediately excited starting your second story, and realizing that it’s about the Avengers and the infinity stones! I love the MCU, and I never thought of combining it with mythology. I think it’s neat you used the Greek gods and had Zeus be the one to collect all the stones. I also like your Persephone story and how you made her and Hades a loving couple, instead of a toxic one! Your stories are all unique and a great combination of modern and ancient, good job.
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