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On Writing Fantasy:Adding a Mythic Quality to Your Writing

© Debbie Ledesma

Why do some Fantasy works like Lord of the Rings stay with us for years while others fade away and disappear? The books and stories that stay with us have a mythic quality to them. Writers draw from myth for inspiration and to create works that become timeless for readers. Each reading of such a work provides the reader with new insights about humanity or ourselves. Mythic themes give Fantasy a unique quality of wisdom that persists in the mind and become part of an individual for life. If you write Fantasy, trying to include such a quality in your work is helpful. To do this isn't easy and takes some effort on the part of a writer. To incorporate myths into their works, Fantasy writers need an understanding of the relationship of myth to Fantasy, knowledge of mythology and to use their life experiences in their writing.

First, writers of Fantasy need an understanding of the relationship of myth to Fantasy. Myths from many different cultures teach us about the human experience. They provide ways for people to work through problems, help with life changes and try to explain what we don't understand. The relationship of the Fantasy genre to myth is that it performs the same function as myths in our present day. With this understanding, writers add a greater depth to their work and possibly create new myths. "In this way, the body of modern fantasy-and this true of fantasy by men as well-comes to resemble a mythology: that is, a compilation of narratives that expresses a society's conception of itself, its individual members, and their place in the universe." (Attebery, 89) This powerful relationship establishes strong, timeless works of incredible resonance. These works can stay relevant to different times and people; put simply, they last for generations. Once this understanding is accomplished, writers need to acquire knowledge about mythology.

Having a working knowledge about mythology is necessary for Fantasy writers. Without it, books and stories become lifeless forms of entertainment, losing their sense of wonder after one reading. A Fantasy writer needs to spend some time learning about mythology. An awareness of mythic themes and symbols creates more vivid works because: "Take myth away, and the magic in a Fantasy book is nothing more than special effects, or Le Guin's phallic staff of wish-fulfillment. The myth is the magic, moving us through the dark, through the fire, flaying flesh from bone. By following myth to its end, the hero of the tale, and the reader, and the writer, all participate in the final rebirth--putting us back on the road to the east with tobacco seeds in our pocket." (Windling, 26)

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