Project Idea: Death Stories

In the spirit of Game of Thrones, there is no shortage of death in both epics, especially in the Mahabharata. You can create a dramatic project by working on these stories of death, either focusing in on one epic or drawing stories from them both.

Research Tip: The key is to watch for death scenes as you are reading, looking for the drama and details that most interest you as a writer. You can explore the Wikipedia article about the Hindu god of death, Yama, and also the articles about Naraka and the Vaitarani River in the abode of the dead. Death has a different meaning in a belief system that involves rebirth and redeath; for more about that, see the article on Samsara. You can also read about Hindu funeral rituals, and also the tradition of suttee which is named for the goddess Sati, wife of Shiva. Some of the most famous Indian love stories are about the lovers confronting death, as in the story of Savitri and Satyavan, or the story of Ruru and Pramadvara.

Past Projects:

• Yama's Collected Souls
• Tales of Death from a Lamp
• 1000 Ways To Die: Demon Edition
• CSI: Indian Death Cases
• Deaths of Demons in the Ramayana
• The Four Elements: Birth and Death Stories
• Indian Horror Story: Tales of the Lingering Souls
• Epic Tales of Birth and Death