Introduction to Dancer, Sophie!
Hello! My name is Sophie Martin. I am from Orange County, California. I was born and raised there so I know the area very well. Although my family has moved a few times we have generally live in the same part of Orange County. I am very close to my family. I have two older sisters who are amazing. My middle sister does behavioral therapy with children who are on the spectrum and she loves it very much. My oldest sister is an amazing chef and now is working to get her masters in teaching. She also just got married this past summer. She is the first out of all of us to get married so it was very special. I also gained my first brother from this so it was an amazing experience altogether. My major is public relations with a minor in communication. I absolutely love learning more in this topic. I always knew I wanted to do something social but taking classes in public relations definitely makes me like it even more. I know this major is broad so there are many different paths I ...
Hi Sophie! I loved exploring your website and reading your plan for your storybook. This is a great idea, and I think it will resonate with a wide audience as so many people can relate to Disney and the princess stories and strong facets of people's childhoods. The villains are often misunderstood, and I know that we love a happy ending which is why I love fairytales, but it is interesting to write from the villains' perspectives.
ReplyDeleteAre you planning on retelling the entire story, from the villains' perspectives? Or are you thinking you will choose a few scenes and go into more details for those scenes? I think that could be interesting, as it may allow you to delve deeper into their minds and really evaluate their motives and intentions.
What made you choose those three princesses? I like them all, but is there anything particular about them that made you choose them? If so, you could add that to your author's note.
Hey Sophie, I really like the direction you want to take these princess stories in. I'm doing a similar thing too with trying to explore more of the villains perspective. Do you plan on changing the stories very much from the originals? I think having a villain or two succeed in their story could let you explore some uncharted territory that does not have a happy ending. We have heard so many stories about overcoming evil and chaos, but not much about why those evil forces do what they do. Will you be giving some backstory before the real story begins? Things like villains origins and past experiences with the heroes could really shape how they interact with each other. Especially with the Disney princess stories, there seems to be an evil that's a lot worse than what it seems if you really think about it. I hope you're able to explore these concepts and why the villain thinks what they are doing is justified.
ReplyDeleteHey Sophie. I love this idea for a storybook. You are right, without the villains there would be no story. I personally think that the villains are the best part of the stories because they create the conflict that the main characters must resolve and in doing so they learn lessons and teach them to us too. I think you chose three great stories to do, they all have prominent villains, I am eager to see how you retell them from the villains perspective. I wonder, will you choose to retell the entire story or just use a few scenes? I would also like to know why you chose those three stories, is there any specific reason. I think you are on a good track with this storybook and I cannot wait to read more of it!
ReplyDeleteHey Sophie!
ReplyDeleteI cannot wait to see what you do with your storybook. I enjoyed how you laid everything out for the reader and told them what to expect from your readings. Are you going to divulge a bit into the background of the villains and why they are the way they are or are you just going to pick it up from the original spots in the stories? I think that you could do so much with this. If you wanted to divert from the traditional happy ending maybe see if you want one of your villains to prevail in the end, a bit of a plot twist.
I think that you chose some really good stories with eccentric and evil villains. All of them have their little henchmen in a way that you can also use them too to help convey your stories some more. Overall, I am excited to read more from you. It is time that the villains get the spotlight for a little bit!
Hi Sophie, This is an awesome topic and would be so much fun to write. There are two sides to every story and though it never seems like it in the heroine's version there has to be a reason for the villain to do what they do. This concept is great and I love the ones you have chosen. Right away the graphic for Evil on a light bright caught my attention. It is interesting that everything is muted colors with the neutral grey since princess stories are always so full of color, it shows this will be different. Are you going to be pulling the inspiration from small hints in the princess stories for the villains intentions or is it going to be you coming up with your own reasons why they do what they have done? Are you going to try and humanize them a little or just leave them as completely evil? There is a lot of room for embellishments so I think this will be great topic to run away with and have fun.
ReplyDeleteHi Sophie,
ReplyDeleteI'm really excited to see how your storybook turns out! These are all stories we are familiar with in this age group because we grew up watching Disney princess movies. There have been tons of remakes of these movies in different settings or with twists, but hardly ever from the villain's point of view. Your website was very easy to navigate, and I like how the color scheme and overall visual aesthetics really reinforced the villain theme of the storybook, with the dark clouds and black and whites. How are you planning on capturing the backstory of the villain in some of these stories? This might be a bit challenging when spinning off from the original stories because you only see it from the character until their interaction with the villain. You have a lot of room to be creative so I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with this!
Hi Sophie,
ReplyDeleteVery nice choice of topic to write about. I am so familiar with these stories because I grew up watching Disney princess movies. I can see how challenging it's going to be to retell their stories but from the villain's point of view. A Princess life is so colorful but when adding the evil hint on it, it becomes more interesting. I wonder if you are going to make those princess be a little more modern. I would recommend trying to humanize the evil a bit, where after doing all the evil things they look back and see that he did wrong (remorse) and will try to make things right. Maybe explain also why they ended up being the evil that they are. Will you be giving the backstory before you tell yours? That will help refresh memory. I can't wait to see how your storybook turns out.
Hi Sophie!
ReplyDeleteI really love your concept for your storybook. People always overlook the villain just because they're the "bad guy", but you're right- with no bad guy, there's no real story! I love the dark clouds for your banner image; it gives your storybook a gloominess and evil that's very appealing for your topic. This idea reminds of the Disney Channel Original Movie series called "Descendants", which I have always enjoyed. It's basically a trilogy about the journeys of the kids of certain villains trying to acclimate to a normal life with the children for the heroes.
I really enjoyed your story. I like how the Evil Queen would continuously check on her scheme to see if it was going successfully, only to be frustrated by the mirror when Snow White was still alive. It was fun getting to see the story from another perspective of a villain getting updates on their plot, only to suddenly see it was foiled, only to be confused how they failed because the Evil Queen was not there to see the Prince save Snow White. Good job!
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ReplyDeleteHello,
DeleteI accidentally deleted my previous comments. So, here it is again. haha
I really enjoyed your introduction. I agree with you. Giving the villains a viewpoint, whether they are still bad or were secretly a good person, like Wicked, is still a great way to twist the original story.
There is a small grammar issue in the third paragraph. Our brain thinks faster than our fingers and skips words. So, I understand it happens to me too.
Now, I have to ask who's going to be the villain in The Little Mermaid story? There was a sea witch, but if I remember it correctly in the original story she wasn't evil. She wanted to help the little mermaid, but giving her legs was going to be painful.
I'm curious to see if you go a Disney route and make her as cruel and manipulative as Ursula. Fun Fact, did you know, in the film, Ursula was at one point in the story going to be King Triton's sister. I think it would be cool is you considered an idea like this. However, I'm sure whatever you have planned is going to be great!
I can't wait to read your stories.
Hi Sophie!
ReplyDeleteI read over your first story in your project and as a Disney fan, I love it! I have always thought the villain's were a cool and interesting character in all of the movies (especially Hades, he is my favorite) but they are always overlooked for a different part of the story. I love that you included their side of the story and that is what is the main plot line. The story of the evil queen and Snow White is a good one to begin with. There were many more attempts than were included in the movie and I liked that you went through all of them. I, also, appreciated the author's note because it added an extra layer of information for those who do not know the story. If I had to make a critique, I would add more details to the death attempts put on Snow White. It is very apparent the queen is going through a lot of effort, but we only know she fails.
Hi Sophie! I think the idea of telling stories from the villain's perspective is great! I think it will be especially interesting if you end up writing about any of the villains who have a perspective that can be sympathized with. Disney villains have a tendency to just be "pure evil" since it's targeted towards a younger audience, but I think a really cool way to rewrite the stories would be to make the villains relatable to the reader. Disney has always painted the heroine/hero and villain as very black and white, but I think it would be interesting to tackle the grey area where the reader can actually relate to the villain, and maybe make them see the story in a completely different way. Overall, I love the concept that you chose and I'm excited to see what other villains you pick for the rest of your stories!
ReplyDeleteHi Sophie! I really like your idea for your storybook. You're absolutely right when you say that there would be no story without the villain. Stories are all about conflict. Our villains provide that conflict.
ReplyDeleteI thought your intro page was great. It gets straight to the point and lets the reader know what they're about to find in the book. I think it may be worth your time to do a quick readthrough and tighten up some of the writing.
You did a great job telling the story of snow white from the villains perspective. I wondered if you were going to still show us Snow White's actions. I think not doing so was a good choice. We feel the confusion and bewilderment of our villain (well now she's our protagonist) because of it. I wonder if a bit more information about why the villain takes their actions would be helpful. Why is she so jealous? Why is it important that she be the fairest of them all? I'd love to really feel bad for our villain now that we're seeing her perspective. Also, I am a bit confused as to who Snow White's mother is. In your author's note, it says she is the queen, but Snow White becomes her queen in the end. How does that happen?
Hi Sophie! I really liked the homepage of your project. Even before your reader gets to the introduction and subsequent story, they have a good idea as to what to expect to see throughout the storybook. The theme of your project is fascinating as well! I like the idea of shedding light on the villain's perspectives in certain stories. After all, people say that history is told by the winners. And it seems like many villains have interesting origins stories that show how they turned out. The introduction seems perfect for the project! You go into more detail about what the reader will expect. I like that all of the villains that you picked out are from classic fairy tales that hopefully a lot of people have heard. It is cool that your first story gives a sort of prologue to the queen and snow white. Through her interactions the mirror, we can see her deterioration into the villain she is known to be. Great work on this story!
ReplyDeleteHi Sophie! I'm from the Indian Epics course so your storybook was a super exciting change for me to read. I like both the title of your storybook and your introduction very much. You really prepared the reader for what was to come in the following pages of the project. I do have some notes for you to consider after reading your first story about Snow White. First of all, I think it is important for you to remain consistent when you capitalize Snow White's name. Sometimes you would capitalize White and other times you would write her name as 'Snow white.' Next, it would be more satisfying and easier for the reader to follow if you were consistent in your spacing with the dialogue throughout your story. At some points you would have "The mirror said:" then the mirror's dialogue on the immediate line after, and other times you would double space the dialogue. I think the way you began the story was the best way to do it as it was easy to follow who was speaking throughout that portion of the story by merely looking at the layout. In your author's note, you mention that Snow White's mom is the queen, but at the end of your story Snow White is the queen. I think it would be cool if you could clarify how Snow White became queen in your story even thought it is being told from the villain's point of view. Overall, great job! I really enjoyed reading your storybook!
ReplyDeleteHey Sophie!
ReplyDeleteI just read your first story and I really enjoyed it. I thought it interesting from the Evil Queen's perspective. One thing that I could suggest in order to enhance the look of your story is that it was very spaced out which makes it read choppy. It was a wonderfully told story and I do not have much feedback on the substance of the story, but think that you could make it more fluid by changing the layout a smidge. I like that you added more ways that the queen attempted to kill or harm Snow White. As I was reading I got a little confused as I thought you were doing away with the apple, but I enjoyed the buildup to the evil apple that everyone has become familiar with. Overall nice job with your first story and I cannot wait to see which villain gets the spotlight next!
Hi Sophie, I love the concept of this Storybook! I love the ominous background and the image of "Evil." One suggestion I have would be to see maybe a more creative name than Story #1 or maybe you could even have Snow White as the title to give the readers a better idea. Oh my! The bodice being wrapped too tight was something I had never heard before from the original. That is very interesting. In the Author's Note, I saw that it discussed the original Snow White's true love kiss. I thought that in the original non-Disney version that there was no kiss. Rather, the apple gets dislodged from her throat and she chokes when the dwarfs move Snow White's casket to the prince, but I am not 100 percent certain. I like how determined you made the queen to be. She just kept trying and trying to kill Snow White but could not succeed. Overall, great story! I can't to read some more of your stories!
ReplyDeleteHey Sophie, I'm excited that you're going to write more from the villain's perspective because there's so much good content they have the potential to offer us! Likewise, I liked that you marked out the stories that you're going to tell because it'll give the readers a chance to prepare for those specific villains, especially because there's so many!
ReplyDeleteThat said, there's a few things I noted while reading your introduction and first story. I definitely agree with other's that a more creative title may be in order! Likewise, more for aesthetics sake than anything, maybe you could limit the spacing between your sentences, and if anything add a little more detail as you switch between each act undertaken by the queen. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely enjoyed your first story, but a little more detail never hurts, and I believe you're on the right track to make these villainous perspectives super good! Besides those few things, I'm excited to read the rest of your storybook, especially the Little Mermaid!
Hi Sophie! I love the idea of switching the perspective from which classic stories like Snow White and Cinderella are told. I think using this tactic is an easy way that that we can force our brains to think about the way different characters are thinking and feeling as key elements in the stories play out. In addition, reading your stories feels like reading the diary or journal of the villains! The way you have chosen to space out the dialogue feels almost like the crazed rantings of the evil villains, so if you didn't do that on purpose, just know you did a good thing! I would like to point out what other people have already pointed out: I think more creative titles are in order. I would encourage you to figure out what the original text may have been title had it been from the villain's perspectives and go from there! Other than that, good job!
ReplyDeletehi sophie!
ReplyDeletei love this idea of telling the stories from the villain's POV. There so many ways to spin this so no 2 stories alike. After reading your introduction I think i'm most excited to read about the Little Mermaid! That's one of my favorite princesses growing up and I don't think I've ever seen or read anything from Ursula's POV. I'll be checking back for that story! For your Snow White story, I like how you opened it with the queen and the mirror (iconic duo) but then jump ahead a few years. The way the evil queen's character is slightly neurotic is something i find comical. She seems so distraught and panic-y. You were very consistent with your writing style and the voice you gave the queen, which isn't always easy. So nice work with that! I can't wait to read more of your evil villain stories:)
Hi Sophie,
ReplyDeleteI think that it is so cool that you told your story from the perspective of the villains. I think that it was a very unique idea and you did such a good job with it. It was very interesting reading from the evil queens perspective and although she is very shallow. You did a good job making us feel sympathy because that was all that she wanted and it does make sense not being happy being unable to have the one thing that you always wanted and no matter what you do it keeps being taken away from you. I also really liked the story from the perspective of the evil step mother and how she just wanted the attention and although Cinderella didn't necessarily do anything wrong the pain that she feels makes sense. I also like that the end she actually changes her toon a little bit.
Hi Sophie :)
ReplyDeleteI really like your storybook!
I thought your Intro was very nice. I really liked your energy. It made me really look forward to reading your stories. I also liked how you planned it out in, so I knew generally which story to expect.
For your first story, I really liked the blatant spiral into madness the Evil Queen goes through as she becomes more and more obsessed with killing Snow White. I also like how the story follows her stream of consciousness. In the beginning of the story, Snow White is put at seven-years-old, so I was so glad when you put "Years Later" before she got married, lol! I would really like to see what the Evil Queen did to the Huntsman as well!
For your second story, I liked how you kept the stream of consciousness style going. I really liked how you had the stepmother catch glimpses of Cinderella getting ready to go to the ball with the help of the Fairy Godmother. It would've been interesting to see how she reacted to Cinderella's father dying. I think it could add another aspect as to why the Evil Stepmother despises Cinderella. There were also a few spelling errors in this one. The most common one was "women." There are times where you have "women" when it should be singular. Other than that, the story is great!
Hi Sophie,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your storybook from the perspective of the villain. I am looking forward to coming back to read what you have to say about the tale of the Little Mermaid.
Your story of Snow White seemed to show the queen starting out in a somewhat stable fashion and then just spiraling. I appreciated you including all the ways the queen tried to kill Snow White. It really did add to the queen's madness!
In Cinderella, noting that Cinderella essentially named herself was a nice touch! I also appreciated that in the end, you had the stepmother have a small change of heart and think that Cinderella was not so bad after all.
Your author's notes explain what you have done with your source material well enough that your readers can follow along, even if they happen to be unfamiliar with the original stories. I look forward to reading what else you have to share with us!
-Eli
Hi, Sophie. Great job on your Cinderella story. Again, I like seeing old stories made new by telling them from a different perspective. The thing to look for this week was paragraph length and spacing. I think you knocked that out of the park. So much so that it kind of feels like something was missing. To me, your Cinderella story felt very much like I was reading someone's diary. Was that your intention? If so, maybe consider adding in date headings to each section. If not, consider it anyway or possibly think about writing your story in a different fashion.
ReplyDeleteI noticed in your first paragraph you say that she hates Cinderella. However, in your story, they don't give her that name until a few paragraphs later. Maybe consider just calling her "the daughter" until the name is established in your story. Also, if you decide to go with the diary thing, consider changing the ending to past tense. The stepmother's thoughts fly very fast in those last few paragraphs and it feels like she's narrating her thoughts in real time. If that's what you intended, great!
Hi Sophie! I really liked reading your project from the villain's point of view. I think it is hard to see their view when all of the fairytales are typically told from the hero or winner's point of view instead. While I really enjoyed reading your story, there were a couple things that I thought were confusing with your paragraphs. First, there seem to be lot of time skips within the stories you wrote. This is perfectly fine, but it was hard to keep up with it because there was no warning of a time lapse or anything before the next paragraph started. Maybe in asterisks or something you should put *several hours later* or something along those lines so readers can keep up with the time lapses! Second, when you wrote dialogue for your Snow White story, the dialogue was spaced out like they were separate paragraphs but they had different spacing than a new paragraph would. My advice is to keep the spacing between new paragraphs all the same size so that this does not get confusing when people are reading! Overall, I liked the content of your project very much and I can't wait to see what else you add!
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