 Mystery: July 14, 2021 Issue [#10834] |
This week: Etiology Edited by: NaNoNette  
More Newsletters By This Editor 
 
1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions
Dear readers and writers of mystery,
Everything in the world has an origin. Explaining that origin is the etiology of that thing.
Before peer reviewed science, everything from male pattern baldness to why the apple falls from the tree had a story that explained the mystery |
| ASIN: B01CJ2TNQI |
Product Type: Kindle Store
|
Amazon's Price: $ 5.99
|
|
Etiology
Not every mystery is a crime. There are many mysteries in the world that are still unsolved. Science, religion, anthropologists and even newspaper reporters have tried to give us answers. Let's reject those answers and give the world our version of the truth.
Etiology explains the origin or cause of something. In storytelling, this technique has been used by people all around the world to explain the world.
Every culture or society has a creation myth. Those will describe where the heaven, stars, and earth come from. How they were shaped and why everything is where it is. This gave us such wondrous stories as the one shared by Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands in which we all live on a giant turtle.
Not only the big things have creation myths. Some cultures went above and beyond and meticulously catalogued where everything they knew came from. Native American stories are filled with crows and coyotes that did mischief and ended up creating one or the other natural feature. The African folktale The Girl with the Large Beautiful Eyes explains how it came to be that ponds have water lilies on them. Whether explaining the color of bird feathers, the shape of a lake or mountain, folktales have better (more fun) answers to life's riddles.
As writers, we can take this type of creativity and apply it to just about anything at all that we don't understand. Everything that is a mystery can be solved in a scientific way. We have Sherlock and Watson for that. They can keep solving crimes.
As creative writers, we should really ask ourselves:
Is there a natural mystery that is more fun to explain with fiction than science?
Let me know in the comment box below.
|
| |  | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#2251850 by Not Available. |
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#2251652 by Not Available. |
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#2220565 by Not Available. |
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#2218400 by Not Available. |
|
Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
Don't forget to support our sponsor!
| ASIN: B07YXBT9JT |
Product Type: Kindle Store
|
Amazon's Price: $ 4.99
|
|
Reply to my last mystery newsletter "Cunning & Cozy"
Quick-Quill  wrote: Crafting a mystery is as subtle as taking a corner at the Daytona. You know it's coming, but the road's conditions and its occupants will make or break the experience. Great job!
That was an awesome description. Taking a corner at Daytona. Visual, scary, exhilarating. Now I want to try it. |
| ASIN: 0995498113 |
|
Amazon's Price: $ 19.95
|
|
To stop receiving this newsletter, click here for your newsletter subscription list. Simply uncheck the box next to any newsletter(s) you wish to cancel and then click to "Submit Changes". You can edit your subscriptions at any time.
|
This printed copy is for your personal use only. Reproduction
of this work in any other form is not allowed and does violate its copyright. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
