Van+Hoose,+Tina+M.

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=Unfamiliar Genre Project=

Fable, Fairy tale, Folktale
I always thought the three of these were very similar, perhaps more so fairy tale and fable. I always loved reading fairy tales when I was younger, and I love the idea of some day writing one for children or adults. The Grimm Fairy Tales have always intrigued me as well because they are so dark whereas the Disney versions are much more pleasant.

I know that fairy tales tend to have some sort of moral to them and that they can be written for adults or children.

Book/Movie Review
I'm interested in these because I do actually want to start writing reviews on things, but I'm not entirely sure what needs to included in reviews.

I know they generally include some sort of rating system and several elements they look at.

Feedback
Hi Tina:

Regarding book reviews, it helps to know what kind of publication you'd be writing for. I think the online reviews are a little skimpy, but reviews for popular magazines or newspapers are a decent challenge. Decide what audience you want to reach and what kind of publication would print this kind of review-- //The Detroit News// or maybe a more college-oriented magazine or a journal that prints mostly reviews like the Modern Library Association?

Bill

Annotated Bibliography
Ashliman, D.L. //Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts//. University of Pittsburgh: 2010. Web. 10 October 2010. 
 * This website offers countless primary sources of folktales, myths, and fairy tales. I will be using it to look at examples of folk tales.

Fierst, Gerald. "Storytelling." //Scholastic.com.// Web. 10 Oct. 2010. 
 * This website gives a general helpful information on storytelling techniques and will help me since folktales are usually told rather than read.

Flor Ada, Alma & Refe Martin. "Folktale Writer's Workshop." //Scholastic.com//. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. .
 * This site breaks down how to write a folktale and gives examples of folktales. It appears to be designed by two authors but I am unsure.

"Genre Study: The Folk Tale." //Glencoe Online.// Web. 10 Oct. 2010. 
 * This site explains some of the basic fundamentals of folk tales, which I include in my user's guide.

"Myths, Folktales, and Fairy Tales." //Scholastic.com//. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. 
 * This site has info on fairy tales and myths as well. It helped me narrow down my idea to folktales.

Jafe, Nina. "What is Folklore?" //Scholastic.com// Web. 10 Oct. 2010. 
 * This site explained what folklore was and helped me understand the difference between it and other similar genres.

McWilliams, Barry. "Effective Storytelling - a Basic Manual." //Eldrbarry's Story Telling Page//. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. .
 * This website also gives information on how to write effective stories and will help me bring the story to life.

Russell,, Joan. "How to Write a Folktale From Reading About Johnny Appleseed" //EHow//. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. .
 * This page offers a how to write folktales guide. It's simple and will probably serve as one of my guides.

User's Guide to Writing Folk Tales
The folk tale genre encompasses fairy tales, myths, tall tales, legends, and fables. Folk tales, like its cousins the fairy tale and the myth, are often short stories involving morals or reasoning behind why something is the way that it is. Folk tales often incorporate animals with human characteristics, such as the ability to think and reason. Folk tales are often cultural; in other words, they explain things or give morals that pertain to a certain culture rather than a foreign one. In that regard, folk tales in Germany will look very different from those in Africa. Folk tales are also meant to be told and are passed orally from generation to generation.

Since it is usually told to others, folk tales are very informal in style. Written folk tales are written as if someone is telling the reader a story that they heard to capture the element of oral tradition.The conflict in a folk tale is supposed to be something that common humans can encounter.

In order to write a folk tale, you must have certain elements.

The main character should be:
 * Main Character**
 * an ordinary human
 * or an ordinary animal with human characteristics.
 * Either may also have exaggerated or slightly magical features.


 * Conflict:**
 * Folk tale conflicts are often every day problems humans encounter.
 * It may also be a common problem that a culture wants to avoid, such as greed in a communal society.

The purpose of the folk tale can be
 * Moral/Message/Purpose of the Folk tale**
 * a message to go against a trait or characteristic that a culture does not want
 * an explanation of why something is the way it is
 * a lesson not to do something


 * Style and Mechanics:**
 * Dialogue is a must
 * Inner motives of characters are encouraged
 * Descriptions are key
 * Informal Tone; pretend you're telling the story to your best friend

Always remember your purpose. Folk tales often mention the purpose in the title or somewhere in the story so that it is not lost on its readers.

Imagination is key, especially when explaining why something is the way it is.

The world where the story takes place can be real or imaginable. Just remember that the oral stories did not have pictures so storytellers had to invoke images with just their words. Even if your folk tale has pictures, you should still invoke images too.