Story Lab: TVTropes

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What is a trope?
A trope tool writers use that is a story telling device or convention.  It is an easy way for writers to describe things that the reader will quickly understand.  Below are a few examples of tropes.

The One Steve Limit:
This is an omnipresent trope, or one that is used so much that the reader does not even notice it.  The trope says that no story should have two or more characters with the same or similar name.  For  example: If there is a Steve, then no other character will have the name Steve, Steven, Stephen, or even Stu.  This is considered a break from reality.  Think of a class room, there is usually a couple of people named Sara or Mike.

The Great Big Book of Everything
This is an "information desk" (exposition) trope.  The purpose of the book is to supply a character with knowledge at the right time in order to push the story forward.  It will always appear when needed by a character.  A good example is The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, it describes the entire universe in detail for Arthur.

All For Nothing
This is an older than feudalism trope.  According to TVTropes classification that means the trope has been around since the invention of the Greek alphabet (800 BC-467 AD).  This trope can be found on the Ramayana trope page.  Their example of all for nothing is Rama exiling Sita while pregnant with twins after he rescues her from Ravana.

Story Lab: TED talks about stories and storytelling

TED logo (Wikimedia Commons)

Video 1:  The Danger of a Single Story, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie


Definition:  The single story is when a people is shown as one thing and one thing only.  So from an outsiders point of view that is the only thing that group of people can be.

Examples: Mexicans as only immigrants.  Africa is a beautiful land with beautiful animals, but all its people are poor and dying of AIDS.

• The single story creates stereotypes, especially negative ones.
• It is not the complete story, just overshadows other more positive stories.
• Remember to reject the single story.

Video Two: Imaginary Friends and Real World Consequences: Parasocial Relationships, by Jennifer Barnes

• Why do we spend so much time, money, and emotion engaging with fictional characters?
• We know that they are not real, we know them but they do not know us
• What effect does this engagement have on us?
• Benefit from imaginary relationships same way we do with actual relationships
• Why do we care about fictional characters?
• On a deep level we believe that they are real, even though they are not
• What effects do these relationships we form with these characters have on us?
• Make up for loss of confidence, or rejection 
• Parasocial relationship is formed by learning about someone without actually meeting them.
• Be mindful of how you can take your feelings toward fictional characters, and apply it to the real world.

Story Lab: Crash Course

Thought Bubble (Max Pixel)

For todays story lab assignment I choose the crash course video series.  I have watched some of the world history crash course videos and I enjoyed them a lot.  The myth videos were just as good, I like the animation, their sense of humor, and the way he would ramble on.  

You can watch the same three videos on you tube at:

 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrWYQjLLbXcigjUCnKKR86F5zrcQqfiP-

The first video explained the that myths are stories of significance and staying power.  Also, I highly recommend watching it for the Persephone story, I got a good laugh out of it.

The second video I must confess was a little boring.  He did talk about Jung and his archetypes, which I found interesting.  It is interesting how the same types of characters pop in stories from different times and cultures.

The third video was all about Campbell's Hero Journey.  I think this one was the most beneficial one for me.  I just finished reading the Ramayana this week, and it was no big surprise that the Ramayana fell perfectly in line with Campbell's Hero Journey.  The hero must leave home, faces trials, returns home, and tries to gain acceptance from the people at home.