Thoughts about Comments

My favorite kind of comment on one of my stories has multiple parts.  They don't always have to be the same parts, but a variation of comment type is just what I need for proper feedback.  The most helpful is whether a person enjoyed the story or not.  The second is their favorite/least favorite parts, and the third is any advice.  The most helpful thing in a comment is when someone provides a kind but constructive criticism.  This way, I am able to fix what is needed.

In the beginning, I tried to only say the nicest things in comments. With time, I realized it is perfectly fine to still be kind and honest about a persons writing, but throw in some curve balls too.  Sometimes it is a question on the plot or with a character, and other times it is just a question I want to know.  This way a person can fill in any plot holes they have.

Week 5 Storytelling: A Woman in Exile

Draupadi's Diary

Day 1 of Year 1

I cannot believe What Yudhishthira has done to us, to me! Even after I saved him from his gambling addiction and convinced King Dhritarashtra to release us, he still returned once more to get us exiled…FOR THIRTEEN YEARS!!!


Day 14 of Year 1

We have been walking through this forest for quite some time now. My husbands are growing weary, as am I. I should not be living the life of a hermit, I am a royal! Yudhishthira has been trudging around for days now. No one will speak to him, and this is beginning to weigh on him. It is unfair for him to be labeled the leader just by being the oldest, but that is how society works.


Day 312 of Year 1

My time with Yudhishthira is coming to an end. I have finally released my underlying grudge for him by washing in the Ganga. I fasted for two days, and did nothing but pray. Upon leaving the glorious river, I felt like a new woman. I approached my husband and he noticed the change as well. He sent the others away so we could spend some happy time together. I have to start focusing on the positive.


Day 1 of Year 2

Today is my first day with Bhima. This is one of my least favorite parts of having five husbands. My relationship with Yudhishthira grew the most ever has in these last few months, and now I am supposed to forget it all and get reacquainted with the man I have not been with in four years! I truly love Bhima, so I will not complain. He was so excited to see me, to be with me, to be able to think of me all he wants again; I must not take this overflowing love for granted.


Day 1 of Year 3

Now it is Arjuna’s year. We as a caravan are getting very good at coming up with games to play, and things to do. There are blooms on the trees, and the birds sing such glorious songs. Though I am anxious for my husbands to defeat Duryodhana and his army so we may return to the throne, it is days like today that I understand the life of a hermit. Arjuna made us a picnic and we went alone to a beautiful green spot by the river flowing from the mountain. It was a wonderful way to start our year. Though I would never admit it aloud, Arjuna is my favorite husband to be with.


Day 1 of Year 4

Nakula was so anxious to attain me today that he had me blushing in front of everyone with his sweet words. Every year has gone by faster and faster. I do hope it slows down a little, because I don’t want my life to suddenly end because I was wishing it away.


Day 1 of Year 5

After this year, the cycle of my husband’s begins all over again. I am so ready to be with Sahadeva, for I love him dearly. Hopefully I will not bear a child while in this forest. We have moved once more to a beautiful area, but I am ready for the life I was supposed to live.

Draupadi and the five Pandavas (Wiki)

Author’s Note: I have not written a diary story before now, and to be honest I am not a huge fan. I couldn’t figure out how to add climax and resolution to the story, so for now it looks like I just filled in a few gaps in the 12 years I have read thus far. I got the idea to do a diary because I have read another student’s diary storytelling post and I really enjoyed it.

I chose to make Draupadi very stubborn in this diary. She had a right to be mad at Yudhishthira, but at many points she was completely blowing up. In The Mahabharata, she made numerous statements that basically stated she was severely being mistreated because she was supposed to be a royal and live in a palace. Based on what I have read thus far, she has always been pretty spoiled where ever she ends up.

The picture I have selected is of Draupadi and her five husbands.  I couldn't find one of her in exile.  I really enjoy this picture because it is all the main characters in her diary in one picture.


Bibliography: R.K. Narayan’s The Mahabharata written in 1978.

Week 5 Reading Diary: continued, R.K. Narayan's The Mahabharata (Part B)

Title: The Mahabharata

Author: R.K. Narayan
Year: 1978

Part B

Draupadi from The Mahabharata (Wiki)

Draupadi's Diary: A Woman in Exile

This would be a new story type I have not tried.  I believe it would be a great idea to give more insight into what the one woman in this caravan was thinking when alone.  She makes many of her thoughts clear in the beginning of the exile, but little is known of what happened throughout.  If she is still switching husbands every year, I could make five entry posts about the five different husbands and how they vary from each other.

Duryodhana

I don't exactly know what I would write about this guy, but I really am starting to hate him (though this was probably the authors intent).  He is vile, and untrustworthy in all senses of the word.  I believe the book explains it best when calling him a jackal over and over.  I'm sure I could come up with a great story out of the passionate hate I have developed for this apparent antagonist.  I really want to write an ending now where he just dies, but I have a feeling something bad is going to happen after the curse put on him at the end of chapter 8.

Arjuna With Indra

I really enjoyed reading about how Indra took his son in and helped him in every way he could (though oddly, he even tried to hand him a hooker...unsuccessfully).  If I were to choose to write about Arjuna's time here, I would have a lot of freedom for creativity, because very little was written for a total of a five year stay.

Week 5 Reading Diary: R.K. Narayan's The Mahabharata (Part A)

Title: The Mahabharata
Author: R.K. Narayan
Year: 1978

Part A

Vyasa telling the story of The Mahabharata (Wiki)

Ganga Raises Devavratha

This possible story could be the few years where Ganga takes Devavratha into the river to train him.  Maybe it could include some other Gods he met while preschool age, and a more in-depth version of the things he learned while with his mother.  There could even be a part where Santanu is waiting at the river impatiently every week, hoping his son would appear.

Arjuna vs. Karna

This is way off normal track, but this could be a story where King Dhritarashtra literally sees things for the first time where he keeps dreaming of fights between Arjuna and Karna, where each subsequent duel is more realistic, and more compelling.  Dhritarashtra is confused, and tells no one but his wife, who is at a loss for what to do.  One day, the King dreams that Arjuna is dueling his son, Duryodhana, and he is nearly stricken with death at the thought.

More About Draupadi

There is an excerpt in the book that is a mini story telling of Draupadi's previous life as Nalayani.  I think it would be a fun idea to expand on this small portion of the text.  I think giving her a more realistic and exciting front would be interesting, as not too much is said about her.  I could do the flip of this, and make something similar to a diary entry, one entry for each husband she has.  I might not be able to do this yet, because I am just now to the part where they decide how she will be split up.