Write me

This week Cecil boils down the literary world to a series of plots and investigates Yaqui sorcerer Do [The Straight Dope] Write me By [The Straight Dope]( • Issue #24 • [View online]( This week Cecil boils down the literary world to a series of plots and investigates Yaqui sorcerer Don Juan from the Carlos Castaneda books. And SDStaff Czarcasm proves everyone knows it’s Wendy! Threadspotting The best of the Straight Dope Message Board  June 12, 2020: [We’re dancing the Apocalypso]( Straight Dope Classic: November 24, 2000 [Illustration by Slug Signorino] Illustration by Slug Signorino [What are the seven basic literary plots]( Dear Cecil: I once read a quotation along the lines that there are only seven basic story lines, and that all the stories in the world can be seen as permutations of those seven. Do you know: (a) Who said/wrote it? (b) What the exact quotation is (including the descriptions of the basic story lines)? — Julian Maynard-Smith, Antibes, France  Cecil replies:  Seven? Come on. Pick any integer from one to a hundred and you can probably find somebody arguing that that’s how many basic plots there are. A few minutes of browsing produced the following sampling, based in part on a breakdown from the Internet Public Library.  [Click here to keep reading](. Straight Dope Staff Report: December 17, 2002 [Was the name Wendy invented for the book “Peter Pan”]( Dear Straight Dope: Here’s a rumor (and by rumor I mean one of those E-mail-lore things): The name Wendy was made-up for the book Peter Pan. As I have a friend so named, is this true? — Craig Cormier SDStaff Czarcasm replies: One simple click [here]( shows us that the name Wendy was invented in 1973 for the “Superfriends” cartoon on ABC, the name Marvin having been previously invented by Mel Blanc in the 50s for a series of Bugs Bunny cartoons. Next question? All kidding aside …  [Click here to keep reading](. Straight Dope Classic: June 21, 2002 [Did Carlos Castaneda hallucinate that stuff in the Don Juan books or make it up]( Dear Cecil: What’s the deal with Carlos Castaneda and The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge? I always thought he was just a nut job who ate too many mushrooms. But now I hear that the whole thing is fiction. Did Castaneda ever go to Mexico and eat peyote with an old Indian? Are any of his books true? Or is the whole thing completely made up? — Brian P. Cecil replies: Carlos Castaneda. I’ve been waiting for this one for a long time. At least you frame the question properly. Except for a few lost souls, nobody really thinks that Castaneda turned into a crow, flew, fought with a diablera (witch) for his soul, etc. The issue is whether he hallucinated these events or simply invented them. There will always be disagreement, but the smart money is on the latter. [Click here to keep reading](. Did you enjoy this issue? [The Straight Dope]( By [The Straight Dope]( Fighting ignorance since 1973. (It's taking longer than we thought.) [Tweet](    [Share]( If you don't want these updates anymore, please unsubscribe [here](. If you were forwarded this newsletter and you like it, you can subscribe [here](. Powered by [Revue](