Odysseus and the Leviathan

Guest Posts The Writing Life No Comments

Guest Post by Kim May

What could a Campbellian hero quest possibly have in common with a twenty-fifth century space battle? On the surface they are completely different entities, but if you strip them down to their basic building blocks, you can trace the thematic elements in both stories back to ancient myths and legends. To show you what I mean I’ll break down one of my favorite shows – Farscape.

For those who haven’t watched the show, Farscape is the epic tale of American astronaut John Crichton. While testing a prototype spacecraft an extremely large solar flare knocks him into the mouth of a wormhole that takes him to a galaxy far, far away. He joins up with a group of escaped prisoners – Zahn (a priestess), Rigel (deposed emperor), Dargo (berserker-like warrior) – and Aeryn, the kick-ass space marine. They sail through the strange and wondrous galaxy in Moya, a living space ship, with it’s symbiotic pilot as they try to avoid Commanders Crais and Scorpius’ many attempts to re-capture them. Oh yeah, and a third of the characters are Jim Henson Creature Workshop puppets.

This show is so rife with mythic themes that it’s hard to know where to start. I could talk about the character archetypes because Crais is the threshold guardian, Scorpius is a shadow figure, and Rigel is the epitome of the trickster. Or I could break down the show’s biblical parallels with John as Jonah and Moya as the whale. However, that would be too silly since that would mean Aeryn is Mary Magdalene (which is so frelling wrong). So lets look at it through a Greek lens instead.

First off, the overall premise of the show is an Odyssian journey. Like Odysseus, John’s primary objective is to go home. More than once John is within sight of his goal when he is cruelly torn away and forced to travel the path again. Of course, in John’s case, he never makes it because it’s either the wrong version of home or his crewmates need his help out of a deadly situation.

Some of the episodes have an even more direct correlation to the Odyssey. In Back and Back and Back to the Future, they answer the distress call of a couple of scientists, and the good deed almost gets them killed because the scientists were playing with black holes. It doesn’t take much imagination to see the similarities between a black hole and Charybdis – the whirlpool that threatened to pull Odysseus’ ship into the depths of the sea. The Sirens also come to mind since the distress call lured them into danger just as the Sirens’ song lured passing sailors.

In Thank God It’s Friday, Again they encounter the uncharted territories’ version of the lotus eaters – a hippy commune growing plants for “medicinal use” and are a little too generous when it comes to free samples. True to the myth, when Dargo consumes said sample, his rage and desire to return to his son completely disappear. He spends most of the episode in a Matthew McConaughey-like daze and it’s up to John to save his crewmates from their drug addiction before they start playing the bongos.

One of my favorite episodes, A Human Reaction, has a built in Deus ex machina. John thinks he’s made it home only to find out it’s all a dream and his dad is Zeus…I mean an ancient alien disguised as his dad (which is totally what Zeus would do if he ever went into space). The most brilliant aspect of this episode was that they never explained the technology that allowed the Ancients to do this. Because of that they have a very godlike distinction for the rest of the series; and unlike Stargate, the writers don’t overuse the device. One could argue that the Ancients ultimately harm John more than they help him in the end – which is exactly what the Olympians did to the Greeks.

So why do these classical elements work so well in futuristic, technology laden settings? First of all, they’re familiar. They’re the security blanket we can clutch when hostile forces threaten to destroy Moya or when Scorpius is frying John’s brain in the chair. Because of the storytelling tradition of myth and legend, we know that eventually, somehow, the hero will emerge victorious. Whether it’s a clever idea that helps them or they’re rescued by one of their companions doesn’t matter, as long they win the day.

Another reason is that depending on the viewpoint, magic can be science and vice versa. The two can even be combined into one epic tale. Ken Scholes does it wonderfully in the Psalms of Isaac novels.

So when you sit down to write your next story, don’t be afraid to mix the genres and use ancient legends as inspiration. The slipstream may be what your characters need to find their way home.

***

Kim May writes sci-fi and fantasy but has been known to pen a gothic poem or two. She works at an independent bookstore and dog/house sits on the side. A native Oregonian, she lives with her geriatric cat, Spud, and spends as much of her free time as she can with family and friends. She recently won The Named Lands Poetry Contest. If you would like to find out what she’s working on, please visit her blog.

 

No News is Bad News

The Writing Life No Comments

Reality has taken a strange turn of events lately, becoming fiction and arcing out into quite possibly the greatest spy story since the Cold War.

There’s a saying in my line of work, it involves a couple of expletives and the rationale that truth is stranger than fiction.

Consider the news coverage over the past several months, the conspiracy theories that have popped up and the whistle blowers who are making history.

When we write fiction, there are always certain beats that you aim to hit. And when I long for inspiration, sometimes the best medicine is a quick trip to the television and a tune in to the nightly news.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I do live in a rather strange place. We have face eating zombies and killer bees. Primordial forests and dank swamps. But it wasn’t a local caper that caught my muse this time.

No, it was something on a more global scale. I won’t get into the specifics, or even mention the incident for fear of coloring this blog political in any way. So, instead let’s focus on a few general beats that every story needs to succeed. Every night when you watch the news, there is always a beginning, middle, and end to every story. Heck, that’s why they call them stories. News media operates in a reverse pyramid formula where the most important element is mentioned first. You can take that theory and apply it to fiction as well. All good stories should start with the most important thing that has ever happened to your character. It’s something that triggers the rest of the plot to move forward.

Let’s take a news event and break it down:

Catalyst – Every story begins with a precipitating event that sets your main characters on a collision course with destiny. In this case, something that has far reaching global implications. Do we hold Pandora’s Box? Did we just set off a nuclear bomb or leak a secret government plot?

Reaction – The main characters react to the catalyst, sometimes in strange or unusual ways. Sometimes even more mundane. Do we flee the country? Blast off to space? Vow to seek revenge?

Romance – Do the characters fall in love? Fall out of love? Do they sacrifice their relationship to save the world?

Climax – The chase is on, the reaction boils over and spills into a global conflict. The gods have awakened and they are angry. Pandora’s box is open. Nuclear winter is here.

Resolution – Does your hero go to jail? Get the girl? Save the world? Or tragically die trying to do the right thing?

It’s not just news that we can draw inspiration from. I’m a big fan of conspiracy theories. Not because I believe in them, but because they tell a great story and lead to some awesome What If  moments. If I recall correctly, Stephen King writes most of his books under a “What If?” scenario. Let’s take a few of the more common conspiracy theories and break them down into a story.

Chemtrails:

Certain conspiracy theorists believe that every time a plane flies overhead, its contrail is a secret mixture of chemicals used for mind control, population control, weather control, or any other sort of illicit means you could think up. So – let’s play What If.

What if your main character is an air force pilot, retired. Let’s call him Jim for ease. Jim flies for GloboAir. Before a Trans-Atlantic flight, he is approached by a shadowy man in a business suit. The man claims to be from the TSA and there’s been a threat to the security of the plane. The federal government received “credible information” that a terrorist organization was preparing to shoot down a commercial airliner as it passes through the 48th Parallel. The shadowy man offers an alternative flight path that leads him, his crew, and his passengers safely out of harm’s way. The detour he is provided secretly takes him into a military operation in which his plane has become a weapon of mass destruction. The chemtrails that his plane are set to leave will result in a monster tsunami that will destroy a large city, which would open the country up to a mutually beneficial trade agreement as the USA helps them rebuild from their disaster. Jim discovers the secret plot while in the bathroom and vows that he will not become a pawn in a global chess game. He ignores the new flight coordinates and his plane goes off the air traffic control flight path. Military jets scramble under the belief that Jim’s plane has been hijacked. Now Jim is on a race against time to save his passengers and the world.

Bermuda Triangle:

The Bermuda Triangle is more of a supernatural conspiracy in which people believe that there is a strange reason so many ships or planes disappear in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida, between Puerto Rico and Bermuda.  Popular victims of the Bermuda Triangle include Amelia Ehrhardt, USS Cyclops, and the creepiest to me, The Connemaria IV.

Let’s play What If.

Jim, the fisherman runs a charter vessel off the coast of Florida. He accidentally sails into the Bermuda Triangle, where he is accosted by the ghosts of the Connemaria IV. A chase ensues as the ghosts attempt to destroy Jim’s vessel. While fleeing, he ends up running aground in the middle of the ocean.  There he discovers the lost city of Atlantis and falls in love with a beautiful siren named Janis. Jim becomes the target of an assassination attempt when Janis’ boyfriend, John finds out. The assassin fails and accidentally kills the king with poison meant for Jim. Now Jim is accused of a crime he didn’t commit and trapped by people he could never hope to understand.

Elvis:

One of the longest running conspiracy theories is that Elvis Priestly never really died.

Elvis Priestly, Knight of Thorns, had to fake his own death so that he could begin his secret life as a vampire hunter. Seriously, how fun does that sound?

There are plenty of other conspiracy theories out there that are ready to burst with creative energy. Operation Northwoods, MK-Ultra, Psychic Warfare, New World Order syndicates, and dozens more beyond that.  So, don’t get discouraged when you hit a stumbling block or can’t think of the next great story. Just know that whatever impetus you need to propel your muse back into life can be as simple as a click away.

 

Myth and Magic

Colette Black Craft & Skills World-building No Comments

selene-watching-endymion

It’s much like the question, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” We’ve talked about mythology a lot over the course of the month, creating mythologies within fantasy worlds, how they affect our worlds and characters, and how they have evolved over time in our own world. As I pondered on mythology in my own writing, the first word that came to me was magic. I’m going to go into my thought process a bit. Bear with me, there is a point to all of this.

In my Young Adult series, Legends of Power, which I hope to have released within the year, I started with the idea of a young man being chased by shadows. Not horrible beings sent by some nemesis or arch-villain, but beings unwittingly created by the touch of our protagonist’s magic. As I searched to understand my protagonist, and what I’d made happen to him, I found a mythology to explain his powers–the legend of the Greek goddess, Selene. I played with it a bit, made her an angel instead of a goddess, and claimed the Greek legend had evolved from a much earlier event. As my story developed, so did my magic system. I searched for myths and legends from all over the world, propagating my urban fantasy world with people of various lineage, claiming their magical ancestors had instigated the most famous and/or interesting legends of their regions. It’s been a lot of fun finding those legends. There are a million to pull from. I claimed the stories were based in reality then used them to create each groups’ magic system, along with appropriate strengths, abilities, and limitations.

And here is the point: sometimes we can create myths, but sometimes myths can create magic. When you’re looking for a magic system, maybe need ideas for what your characters can and can’t do, a great place to look is the mythologies of the world in which we live. There’s almost always some mystical experience involved that you can shape and change into a magic system or alter to create a magical creature. J.K. Rowling did this masterfully in Harry Potter. For my series, I used some of these mythologies to explain real-life beings with which we’re familiar: shapeshifters, leprecons, merfolk, etc. Others, I made up: Kyro (shadow master), electricians, torches, etc. Take a look around you. Discover for yourself the magic in our myths.

What are some of your favorite books that utilize myths in the magic system, or in the creation of fantastical creatures? We’d love to see your comments.

Mythology Research: A Case Study, Part Two

Craft & Skills Evan Braun No Comments

Yesterday, I wrote about my first foray into the realm of mythology research. I laid out the broad strokes of what I was after and how I approached it. Today, I want to take the time to more specifically discuss the methodology I employed.

I mentioned a couple of the primary texts my novel focused on, and the Big Three religious mythologies I was interested in: Christianity, Judaism, and Paganism. Through reading my various source texts, I discovered elements that all of my target mythologies had in common-points of intersection. First, they all subscribe to the existence of certain very specific supernatural beings that have interacted and continue to interact with humanity to this day. Second, they more or less universally accept a single common historical event: the global flood. From these intersections, the plot of my novel arose.

But these are broad strokes. Starting points. I’m not writing this to promote my own work so much as to tackle the subject of solid research methodology.

When conducting research, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of reading books, both original texts and commentary texts, including commentaries from as many different perspectives as possible. The tension between scholars who disagree is rife with creative possibilities! The temptation, however, is to surf through a handful of Wikipedia pages, watch a Discovery Channel special, and call it done. This usually won’t be enough to generate convincing real-world depth in your writing, though, not if you don’t have a wealth of personal, firsthand experience in the subject you’re dabbling in.

The internet is your friend. We all know that. It’s like saying that the sky is blue or pizza tastes good. More specifically, the internet is that friend you can never fully trust because, although you like them and spend as much time with them as you can, he or she is a compulsive liar-albeit a well-meaning one much of the time. So it’s a good idea to vet and twice confirm information gathered online. Now, I’m not going to say I haven’t embraced a half-baked conspiracy theory or two and thrown them into the plot stew; I have, and such additions often provide that je ne said quoi spice that keeps life interesting. But it’s got to be the seasoning, not the base.

Finally, get out of your head every once in a blue moon and remember that it’s not all about screen research. You have to spend time with people. Talk to them. Befriend them. Learn from them. In my case, I scheduled face time with a number of people I know who run in pagan circles. Frankly, some of my electrifying material came from them. It’s important to stretch ourselves, to dive into areas we know are dark and murky. Real, live, breathing people make for fantastic sources, and often other people’s beliefs and perspectives bring a lot of colour to the party.

In the end, it’s important to remember that the best mythologies, on a narrative level, function best in the background. Compelling human drama is where the real story is. Even when the myth jumpstarts the plot, the characters should hopefully still do the heavy lifting. And yet without myths and legends, where would we be as modern-day storytellers? Nowhere, I say. Absolutely nowhere.