Topic Brainstorm

While I am still not sure whether I want to do a storybook or a portfolio for my project, I do have some ideas as to the topic. I plan to start off with a storybook as recommended and see if it is the better option for me.

The A Thousand and One Nights offers plenty of starting points, and I am particularly interested in learning more about the story of Sindbad, since I am not very familiar with his adventures. I actually bought a copy of الف ليلة وليلة (A Thousand and One Nights) while I was in Morocco this summer, though I doubt I can read it fast enough to use as a source. It would be interesting to write the story of Sindbad as if it were to be produced as a TV show, perhaps in a superhero universe.

I have always been intrigued by the ancient Middle East, particularly by old Semitic languages like Akkadian and by cuneiform. So the myths of Babylonia and Assyria would be interesting to explore. As far as myths go, they have an advantage for this type of project in that no one believes in them anymore, at least as far as I know. I would like to bring details from the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian cultures into the stories, while also retelling them as modern fantasy.

My interest in Russian fairytales is inspired by this song. There are several different collections of Russian fairytales on the Freebookapalooza, among which The Russian Garland looks to have several interesting characters. One possibility for retelling would be to put them in a sci-fi context. I would want to research Russia's history in space to see if I could blend fact and fiction.

В гостях у сказки. Websource: Youtube.

Of the Native American tricksters, I am most familiar with Coyote, but I would like to learn more about Raven from Myths and Legends of Alaska. I learned one story about Raven from the Pacific Northwest during my Native Earth Systems class that explains earthquakes and resulting tsunamis. My main concern with retelling these stories is that people still believe them. While I have read a few books, such as Summerland and Alif the Unseen, that put actual beliefs in a fantasy setting, I would need a lot of background information to do so considerately. When done well I really enjoy reading such books, but I know I would be very particular about which retellings of my own religion I would want to read.

Raven. Web Source: April White.