The first one that caught my eye was Shreemati News. The format of the webpage mimics that of an actual newspaper, down to the introduction being what one would expect from a business and having links (that don't actually work) to other "features." I found it interesting that each story took a different format - a "Breaking News" page, a developed interview, and an advice column. The content was really well-written and the layout innovative for a Storybook.
screenshot example of the Shreemati News newspaper format
The next one I liked was CSI: Indian Epics. Of course the CSI title is what caught my eye. I thought the design and layout of the website was rudimentary, but the frame set-up of a crime scene investigator's case files was cool. The introduction in particular was nicely done to set up a typical find-an-old-journal frame for the stories that follow. The images also tied in well with the stories and frame.
Finally, I enjoyed looking at Real Housewives of Ramayana. I think this is a Storybook idea that's been used several times, but it's still fun. Mythology is full of soap opera drama presented as truth! I thought the author did a great job translating the stories into modern speech and actions, accurately mimicking the feel of the reality shows that are so popular right now. I liked how much dialogue the author was able to create, as I think writing engaging dialogue is more difficult than writing about actions.
I am so glad you found projects you enjoyed looking at, Susanna! A change I made in the class I think right after you took Myth-Folklore was that I divided the projects into two different options: the Storybook for people who have a topic they want to pursue all semester, and the Portfolio for people who are not interested so much in a specific topic but who want to explore different styles of storytelling; they might settle on a theme as the semester goes on or they might just keep experimenting all semester — the Portfolio is totally flexible that way as opposed to the commitment that a Storybook requires for the whole semester. That was a really good shift in the class (I felt like such a doofus for not having thought of it earlier; I needed a student to suggest it!) ... there are fewer Storybooks now, but they usually have a really strong focus, and meanwhile there is all kinds of good writing that is happening in the Portfolios as people take their weekly storytelling posts and revise and revise them so that they end up really polished too. One guy did this amazing thing in Myth-Folklore last semester where he picked stories from the reading week by week by week and retold them with fish as characters, set under the water. It was brilliant, and it was all about the style of the stories, not a single topic. Very fun stuff, and you will get to see what kind of project you want to do this semester — another Storybook like before (which was fabulous; I still remember it in great detail!), or something more free-form this time around.
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