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Shadowhound

Topic: Taking Things from a History or Legends

I'm reading a great book right now called "Tyranny of the Night." It is very well done and kind of like the crusades. After reading about sixteen chapters you've learned a bit about the three main religions. A holy order that believes in one god and has a patriarch that heads the church, another group that believes in one god and calls every infidels and their main territory is the 'Holy Land.' The third religion consists of wealthy merchants who always seem to have money and are widely discriminated against by the first religion. Basically, they are, in order, the Catholic Church, Muslims, and Jews. Glen Cook does a great job with the religions and the characters, but he is very obvious about what the organizations are based off of.

This happens a lot, whether it is based off Ragnarok, Queztalcoatl, the deeds of Hercules, WWI, WWII, the American Civil War, the War of the Roses (George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" is a prime example of that), and various other historical events or legends. I have no problem with the idea of rewriting legends or history, but people tend to do either a great job or a bad job. There is very little middle ground. To clarify, "Tyranny" was done very well and I was being a bit nitpicky about that example. Often the authors intentionally do such things so the reader recognizes the connection and makes more on their own.

How do you prevent someone from doing a bad job on it? Every hears legends and reimagines them. What would you do?

#1 Apr 13th 2007, 6:04pm

Running Sunrise

Use legends and stories that are not quite so well known. Instead of "Dracula", reference to "Carmilla". Instead of zombies, use ghouls. Have magic creatures be allergic to cold iron, not silver or wooden stakes. Does this make sense?

#2 Apr 17th 2007, 3:42pm

Shadowhound

It does, but you end up using another word to say the same thing. The things attributed to a word tend to save a lot of time. Do you need to explain that a zombie eats people's brains? Most people only have a vague idea what lesser known creatures like ghouls and kobalds are. It isn't just easier to say vampire or zombie, but it allows an instant connection to be made in the reader's mind about what the creature is and what they should be.

It would be better to have a story about ghouls instead of zombies, or lichs instead of vampires. To help flesh out the creature and explain what it is in the context of a story.

#3 Apr 17th 2007, 4:26pm

striped feather

Using more obscure mythical creatures, as Shadowhound suggested, can be helpful.

Don't just think not-so-subtle WoW references like kobalds, lichs, etc. Selkies and merrows are actually Irish and Scottish versions of mermaids (though I have high doubts that this is incorporated in writing much) that are only well-known in their respective countries and have traits that aren't as mermaid-ish (selkies use sealskins to turn into seals, merrows are usually pretty ugly).

Taking a drastic spinoff of vampires (cold iron is a common useage against fey, but plenty of hardcore fantasy readers will figure it out very quickly) might help, if it's not just a new weakness. Be careful about warping it too much, though. Vampire stories, especially romance ones, are extremely predictable and cliche. And, especially on here, new ideas on vamps, etc. tend to turn into fads until they die out.

Generally, stick to the less known or create your own species/civilization.

I just bumped a dead topic.

#4 Oct 11th 2007, 3:29pm

awilla the hun

Try to use actual events of history. Not just the obvious ones (Rorke's Drift keeps appearing) or World War 2 allegories (small bands of heroic allies fighting the evil foe) but others. Revolutions. The Cuban Missile Crisis. All kinds of things have happened, all sorts of people who could be turned into fascinating characters.

#5 Nov 18th 2007, 12:13pm

Heatless Flame

Also, try researching different cultures. Turkey, for example, has wonderful legends that I've based a couple stories off.

#6 Feb 25th, 6:00pm

Akhdar

Sen Türkçe konuşıyor musun?

#7 Mar 12th, 11:45am

Shadowhound

I'm sorry, can you repeat that?

#8 Mar 12th, 2:19pm

Akhdar

Asked if he spoke Turkish. I guess not.

#9 Mar 12th, 6:12pm

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