A CHALLENGE FOR YOU!

Well hey y’all! It is I, cupcakegirl10, coming at ya once again. I’m just here attempting to keep this blog from dying. Again I have literally written nothing of interest except for boring research papers. So in an attempt to post something, literally anything, I’ve decided to post a challenge for y’all. It’s going to revolve around a descriptive “paper” I wrote about the musical ballet, The Firebird by Stravinsky.  This assignment helped with a ton with my creative writing skills! This is a great way to help get your brain-wheels turning! It helps you imagine things you can’t see and helps you create things in your mind, with little basis to go off of! You can do this challenge with any piece of music, and if you ever have writer’s block, this is a great exercise for you! Hopefully it’ll help you too! Anyways, onto the challenge!  Ready???

 

Go ahead and listen to part of The Firebird <——–link is here.  Now use the music to help give you an image of what the Firebird looks like or what he’s doing. What does the music show you or help you envision? This will help you with your writing in the future. Tell me your thoughts and what kind of picture you have in your mind of the Firebird. What does he look like? Is he shy? Does he fly? Is he full of fire or just really red? Be as descriptive as possible. Use to the music and only the music to help you get a picture. Envision your own Firebird.  Now, before you complete this next step, make sure you comment down below what the Firebird in your mind looks like!

Still have an idea of what the Firebird looks like? Good. Now, after you’ve commented, go ahead and watch Disney’s 2000 take on The Firebird <—- link is here. And tell me how different your vision was from Disney’s! What was the same about your Firebirds? Were the personalities the same? Did he look like the one you envisioned? Do you think Disney did a good job in portraying the Firebird? Did the story match the music? Make sure you comment again and let me know!!

Now don’t start coming at me about how “music isn’t a part of writing blah blah blah blah”. ACTUALLY, music is a huge part of writing! Poetry can in fact be turned into music. Music is poetry. Poetry is music. ANDDDDDDD, listening to music helps A TON with writers block. So if you’re stuck and you have no clue what to write either A, go outside or look at pics online of the world, B, look up some interesting people or interesting events in history, C, read a book or two, or D, listen to music. It’ll help! Anyways, here is what I myself thought the Firebird would look like:

“As I was listening to The Firebird, I started to envision a bird who’s shy at first and afraid to flap his wings. He’s kind of just walking around becoming more and more dull. His color is gray and his eyes are lifeless. He has lost the will to live and breathe. But soon, another bird comes up and helps him find the courage to soar. He soon realizes his full potential, thanks to the endless help of the other bird. He then takes off into the air and transforms into this beautiful bird made of straight fire. His eyes were the color of sapphires and he had this gorgeous firey mane, much like that of a horse. He has the most beautiful and flowy wings, and his wingspan was taller than most trees. He glows orange, red, and yellow hues and his wings are wavy and full of fire. His songs were rare and so sweet to the ear. I was thinking of a bird much like that of a phoenix. This is what I imagined and what the music portrayed to me. The composition started off mellow and quiet at first, but soon there came a large crescendo and the music grew! The piece ended with a lovely melodious tune, and made me think of “and they all lived happily ever after!” This my friends, is what I envisioned the Firebird to look like. This was my take on Stravinsky’s The Firebird.”

But the way Disney decided to portray the Firebird was so different from the way I imagined him to be!

“I was very startled after seeing how Disney portrayed the Firebird. He was in fact not kind or gentle. He didn’t even have a tad bit of stubbornness or hardheadedness. No! He was so very angry and destructive. As soon as a little creature full of light touched him, he became so so angry! He wrought havoc on the once beautiful land. He blasted the fields with lava and destroyed everything in his path. Lava poured from his humble abode, the volcano. He was more like a ‘lavabird’ instead of a ‘firebird’. He engulfed everything in flames and destroyed everything. His eyes were pitch black and his appearance was scary and demon-like. His wings were like gigantic red capes taking up half the sky with just a stretch! He was ten times bigger than I had imagined! Sweet songs didn’t come from his beak, but streeches and horrid cries of anger. This is not the sweet little firey bird I pictured! But what’s so amazing about this discovery, is that we can conclude that no one interprets music the same. Music means something different to each of us. Just because I thought Stravinsky was portraying the Firebird as a sweet soul doesn’t mean that’s actually what he wanted to portray him as. We all have different imaginations. And we all imagine, create, and see things differently. This is what makes each of our music and writings so unique.”

 

So that’s pretty much it! This is a great way to help get your brain-wheels turning! It helps you imagine things you can’t see and helps you create things in your mind, with little basis to go off of! You can do this challenge with any piece of music, and if you ever have writer’s block, this is a great exercise for you! I hope you enjoyed this challenge! And I can’t wait to read your comments and thoughts down below! God bless and stay tuned for more posts from other authors soon!

-Cupcakegirl10

We have returned!

Hey y’all! Wowzers! No one has posted on here in like FOREVER. All of us here at Author’s Press are truly sorry for neglecting this blog so. Hopefully we’ll be able to post more regularly on here in the months to come. Honestly, I haven’t really written any more chapters to my books. Really, the only things I’ve written in the past year are essays and literary analyses for school. So, due to lack of interesting stories, I’ve decided to post my essay entitled The American Camelot, that I wrote a year ago. Hope you enjoy!

  Have you ever heard of the mythical city, Camelot? If that doesn’t ring a bell, then have you ever heard of King Arthur, Lancelot, or perhaps Guinevere? The Arthurian legend has been a popular history topic for years, amidst the fact that Camelot might not have existed at all. Really, the legend is just so captivating with it’s tales of knights, romances, quests, and kingship, that we just choose to believe such a staggering story. While the Camelot spoke about during the Renaissance might not have existed, there is an American “Camelot” spoken about by one of America’s beloved first ladies, ‘Jackie’ Kennedy. And this “Camelot” was lived out not to long ago by America’s own Kennedy family.

In order for us to get a full understanding about Camelot and the Kennedys we must first select the opportune roles for each of the Kennedys. Camelot wouldn’t be anything without it’s royal majesty, King Arthur. When comparing the Kennedy family to that of Camelot’s, without a doubt the 35^th president of the United States of America, John F. Kennedy, takes the role of Arthur. “For with Truth and Faith girded upon you, you shall be as well able to fight all your battles as did that noble hero of old, whom men called King Arthur.” (Pyle, 80) Just as Arthur led his country with dignity and optimism, so did Mr. Kennedy lead his country.

The role of Lancelot, one of Arthur’s most trusted knights, belongs to John’s brother, Robert. Bobby lands this role for not only being a great brother and uncle to the Kennedys in their time of despair, but also for having a rumored affair with Jackie. “The great and guilty love he bare the Queen, In battle with the love he bare his lord, Had marr’d his face, and mark’d it ere his time.” (Tennyson, 245) Just as Lancelot fell in love with Guinevere, Bobby was rumored to have fallen in love with Jackie either before or after the death of her husband.

The son of Lancelot by Elaine, Galahad, served his country well. He sought out the Holy Grail and succeeded with his quest. The role of young Galahad fits with John’s youngest brother, Ted. Ted sought out universal health care for all. Even though he may not have succeeded as Galahad did, he was able to put the magnificent idea out there and call for a change. So the role of Galahad goes to Ted.

And lastly, we have the nation’s beloved Jacqueline Kennedy. Tennyson says in Le Morte d’Arthur that, “Guinevere was the most beautiful of all women and Arthur loved her dearly.” Jackie takes the role of Guinevere not only for being the wife of the president (Arthur), but also for having a recognizable style, for being very beautiful in many ways, and for having had a rumored affair with Robert (Lancelot).

When one hears the name Guinevere, we immediately think of a tragic love affair. We don’t think of a woman who led America through sorrowful times, who was strong for her family and for her husband, and someone who was an influential first lady to us all. Therefore, we must remember Jackie not as a Guinevere, but as a strong, influential woman, just as she wanted us to remember her husband. Jackie was the very person to come up with the nickname “Camelot” for her family’s dynasty. A few days after the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Jackie was interviewed by the people of Life Magazine. She stated that she wanted the nation to remember her husband as a man who led America into a period of hope and prosperity.

Even though John’s time as president was cut very short, he led the U.S during the height of the Cold War, focused on our relations with the Soviet Union, and he encouraged NASA to go to the moon. “We choose to go to the moon”, he stated. “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” And this is what kind of person Jackie wanted America to remember him as.

She famously stated in that interview, “and the song he loved most came at the very end of this record, the last side of Camelot, sad Camelot… Don’t let it be forgotten, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot.” A quote that has been remembered for decades was said in so little amount of time. The story behind Camelot, she said, was every night John would play a record from the musical, Camelot. The songs would start off bright, cheery, and optimistic. Then the last song she stated, “the last side of Camelot, sad Camelot”, was sorrowful and very sad. And this is how Jackie described her husband’s time in office.

Nothing could be more fitting for a man who led America with optimism and gave it hope. Today we remember the Kennedy’s family legacy as an American Camelot; a story that starts off in prosperity but ends in despair. Nevertheless, neither the Renaissance version of Camelot or the American Camelot will never be forgotten. We shall always remember the Kennedys as a period of Camelot, just as Jackie wanted.

written by: Cupcakegirl10 

Hope you enjoyed! And thank you for sticking with us throughout this past year! God bless!