Mythic Writers Blog

Oops! Missed a day, didn’t I? I have an excellent excuse—I was reading. I had a few days off from work, giving myself a nice, four-day weekend, and yesterday was reading day.

I finally had the chance to finish the last 150 or so pages of Christopher Golden’s The Myth Hunters which I had set aside for awhile to get some other reading done.

Fantastic book! (Of course that pun was intended.) It is somehow intricate and deep and yet still a quick and easy read. I love the crossing back and forth between our normal world and the world of legend (in the book, the living legends only use the word “myth” as an insult against one another). And since we get most of our information about the otherworld from the perspective of our modern American protagonist, we get the full impact of the wonder and sometimes horror of the land of the legends.

I was half excited and half frustrated to find that there are two—yes, two—sequels to Myth Hunters. The Borderkind and The Lost Ones. My summer reading list continues to grow…

I rounded out the day of reading by starting and finishing Greywalker by Kat Richardson. Completely different from Myth Hunters and generally a really good time. I enjoyed it quite a lot, loved the idea of the Grey (you’ll just have to read it, won’t you?), and now I have to go get the sequel, Poltergeist. The book was a fun read, plus the author briefly touches on an interesting aspect of vampiric feeding that I’d like to know more about.  So I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of these.

So that’s what I did on my mid-spring, mini-vacation. I’ll be sure to give opinions on the other books in the two series as I read them—assuming I can make myself put them down long enough to get to the keyboard!

I love ghost stories. Especially gothic type ghost stories with spooky mansions on a cliff above the sea, complete with hidden passages and ancient ancestral paintings. So I’ve been thinking about ghost stories lately, trying to decide if I think they fit into the mythic fiction category.

I think they do. Some people will claim that ghost stories belong in the horror genre. They do. Some people will say they belong in the supernatural sub-category. They do. Some people will say that the type of ghost story I’m particularly fond of belongs in the new paranormal romance category. They do (well, some of them do).

I don’t think fitting into those other categories keeps a story from being mythic fiction. I think mythic fiction is a sort of vesica pisces, the place where multiple genres cross over. It is the common ground between horror and fantasy and sci-fi and all the sub-genres we might find in those categories.

How do ghosts fit into mythic fiction? I know that often when we think of myths, we think of stories of gods and nymphs and dragons and unicorns—the traditional stuff of legend. But ghost stories have been around for millennia, too. The ancient Greeks traveled to the underworld to speak with shades. There are ghosts in Beowulf. Gilgamesh has at least one ghost that I can remember. There are even ghosts in the Bible. So I think ghosts have at least as long a connection with myth and folklore as dragons or unicorns do.

None of this has much to do with anything else right now. I have just been thinking of ghost stories lately, and I have obviously been thinking about mythic fiction, and I thought I’d share my musings even if they haven’t reached any sort of conclusion. I am toying with a ghost story idea which might be why ghosts are on my mind a bit more than usual lately. Or maybe it’s because tonight is “Ghost Hunters” night. Or maybe I don’t need a reason.

For now, those are my thoughts.  But there will assuredly be more later–don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Thunk. That would be the sound of a clue hitting me in the back of the head.

My good friend Laura reminded me on Friday that the gwragedd annwn story I’m working with actually has a way into Faerie that isn’t accidental. Before someone just had to go and take a flower and get us banned forever, humans were invited into the gwragedd annwn’s realm as long as they knew where the correct rock with the doorway was located. So, yeah, obviously that’s not accidental.

She then went on to mention reading a legend that says if you walk around a fairy mound nine times you can get in to Faerie. Thunk. There’s another clue. I knew this bit of folklore! As a matter of fact, I know I’ve read it more than once. How could I forget?

What’s especially embarrassing is that I think that’s actually how the main character in Stephen Lawhead’s Song of Albion trilogy got into the Otherworld, and I was just writing about that series and didn’t remember that part. I can’t believe I forgot all of that! I’m going to blame it on sleep deprivation and move on.

So there we have it. Now we know of at least two ways to purposefully cross into Faerie. There are probably more. I hope if anyone tells me about them I don’t discover that I already knew them and forgot. I’m not sure my ego could stand the embarrassment!

At least knowing about these ways into Faerie is good news for my story. I now have two ways to get there on purpose. This doesn’t mean I’m not going to make up something for my characters, some way for them to get into the door in the rock that has nothing to do with knowledge from folklore. I can do that. I’m a fiction writer! But it’s good to know that there’s historical (folkloric?) precedent for humans crossing into Faerie. Having some folklore for my characters to research so they can cross over might just be the trick I need. I’m going to go write this down before I forget!

I think I mostly don’t believe that one day I might turn around to find myself enmeshed in some faerie world adventure. Mostly. Still, I dream of it. I think about it a lot, wondering what might happen, how I would react, what I would do. I wonder how it would start.

If such things were possible, how would they start? What do you think would be just the thing to do to get the otherworldly ball rolling?

Naturally, there are the various run-ins with fairy rings—stepping into them or falling asleep in them seem to be the classics. Then there are the chance stumblings through rends in the veil or thin spots in the veil—also classics in fairy lore.

I’ve read a few stories about fairy mounds being portals into the otherworld. Stephen R. Lawhead’s Song of Albion trilogy (The Paradise War, The Silver Hand, The Endless Knot) starts out with an exploration of a mound that leads to a crossing. But again, this is an accidental crossing into the faerie realms. (Okay, I admit I did get distracted after the first book and haven’t returned to the other two—shame on me!—so I don’t know for certain that the accidental crossing is the only one that happens in the series.)

How would someone go about purposefully transporting himself to the faerie lands? I am sure I’ve read stories where it happened. I think I’ve read some bits of folklore about it. Now that I want to know, can I find any of them? Of course not. But I just started this search yesterday, so I must be patient and keep looking.

Still, if anyone out there knows any stories or folk tales where a purposeful entry into the faerie realms happens, leave me a note, will you? Even if you just sort of remember a tale you once read but don’t know the name of, a note about what you do remember would be most appreciated. Meanwhile, I will carry on with my search and let you know if I find anything good.

When I started out, this post was going to be about how we often see mythic elements more in children’s stories than in adult literature. But then I stopped myself. Is this really true? We definitely see a lot of magical elements in children’s stories, but does that necessarily mean that they are mythic in nature? Is something magical automatically something mythic? What exactly makes a story specifically mythic as opposed to just fantasy or fantastical?

It’s really a fine line. Think of J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Mythic? I’m not sure. Maybe. Are there any typically mythic elements? Sure—we have wizards and dragons and a werewolf. Those are mythic elements, right? Is that enough to make these mythic fiction stories? No, mythic elements alone don’t make a mythic fiction tale.

But there are modern, mundane world elements (you know—Muggles), which is one of the standard elements of a mythic fiction story. Does the combination of mythic elements and modern elements automatically make mythic fiction? Maybe. If so, then Harry Potter seems to fit my broad, sketchy definition of mythic fiction. I’m clearly going to have to work on refining my definition before I can answer all of these questions.

Maybe mythic fiction is more about the meeting of the mundane with the magical. Maybe that element of two worlds colliding is what makes it mythic. We need mythic or archetypal elements—I don’t think we necessarily need specific mythic figures to have a mythic story. And we need the contrast of a “normal” world set against these mythic elements.

Well…This post has veered from its starting point. At least I have a slightly clearer view of what constitutes mythic fiction as separate from fantasy. But I may have created more questions than I’ve answered. That’s all right. For now, I’ll leave it this way. Any input or answers you have will be most welcome. Tell me what you think makes a story mythic fiction. I’d love to hear your ideas as I work to hone my own.

Last September, I had the wild good luck to get into a workshop on mythic fiction taught by Charles de Lint up in Seattle at Richard Hugo House. One thing we had to do was take a myth or fairy tale or folk tale with us to work with, which was so much fun to research.

I chose the story of the gwragedd annwn. They are Welsh water fairies who live in cities beneath the waters of lakes and rivers. (I read that the Lady of the Lake might have been one of the gwragedd annwn. I actually found out about them while looking up Lady of the Lake stories.)

Long ago, the gwragedd annwn used to allow humans into their beautiful, magical garden on an island in the middle of one of their lakes. But, as usual, one human just had to do the one thing he was told not to, and he ruined it for all of us. The gwragedd annwn kicked him out, sealed the door in the rock, and their realm was closed to us forever. Maybe.

I’m poking through the research I did in the fall, thinking of turning the snippet I wrote in the workshop into an actual story. I’m not sure yet if it’s going to work out, but I’m making notes on it to see if I come up with anything I want to work with.

I’m trying to find stories about people who purposefully found their way into the otherworld. Does anyone know any stories like this? I need to figure out how my characters are going to get inside that rock!

Didn’t Tam Lin’s lover find a way to get into the fairy realm to rescue him? Or did she have to wait until they came out into our world? I’m going to have to find a good telling of that story and read it to refresh my memory. If I find anything good, you can probably guess what my next post will be about. Until then, I’m back to my work.

Of course, I’ve been aware of Joseph Campbell and his works for ages. Anyone with an interest in mythology knows his name. I’m embarrassed to say that I haven’t really read much of his work, though. (I’m not even sure I should be admitting that in public!) I’ve always meant to read his works, study them, watch the Bill Moyer interviews, etc. I’ve read parts of his work. I’ve read synopses of his works. But I haven’t made inroads into any sort of true study of his works.

I’m going to change that now, though. It’s ridiculous that I keep putting this off—it’s my own desire that has put reading Campbell’s work on my “to do” list. It’s not like someone else is trying to make me read his books. And yet I keep putting it off. But no more! With Mythic Writers kicking off, this seems like the perfect time to delve into Campbell’s works and educate myself more fully. (As a side note, lifehack.org has a couple of great articles about self-education. One outlines ways to become self-educated, and the other gives steps to being a lifelong learner.)

Now the next problem—where to begin? The man was nothing if not prolific. There’s so much to read just of Campbell’s work alone. Then there are all of the offshoots created by people responding to and adding to his work. Contemplating all of it has put me into overwhelm several times in the past. But I am really feeling driven to wade in this time, so I’m going to take a look at the list of his works and find a starting point.

I think I’ll start with Hero With a Thousand Faces. Of course, there’s also The Hero’s Journey where Campbell discusses his life’s work (there’s also a video with George Lucas). And the video interviews with Bill Moyer, and the book The Power of Myth which is based on the interviews, but I think I want to start with a work by the man himself. I can get into the discussions of his work and that sort of thing later.

Well, that wasn’t so hard. I made a decision and in less than half an hour! Hero With a Thousand Faces it is. Now to get the book and get started. Stay tuned for progress reports!

One of my favorite things to do is spend an entire day lounging on the bed, reading. Is there anything better than waking up, not getting out of bed, and reading an entire book in one day? Not too many things.

I am really feeling the need for a day like this. This weekend is just not going to let it happen—too much other stuff I have to do. But soon. Soon, I will absolutely have to schedule a reading day.

I love the anticipation in planning for a day like this. What day will it be? What book will I read? I save books for just such occasions. It’s like saving your favorite flavor of jelly beans to eat last—they taste so much better when there’s a whole pile of them to eat at once! Some books are like that. They’ll always be good, but they’re just that much better if you can read them all at once.

I have a book already picked out for my next all day read-a-thon. Charles de Lint’s Promises to Keep. A story by my favorite author about my favorite character of his! How perfect can you get? I’ve been saving this book for a while now. I almost read it during my last all day reading session, but I wanted to wait. I was saving it for when I really, really needed a Charles de Lint story. That happens sometimes. Sometimes I’m in a particular mood, and only a Charles de Lint story will do. And it’s especially glorious when that mood hits and I can read a story of his that I haven’t read yet. Bliss!

I don’t generally get in moods for a particular author. Most of my reading moods are about what sort of story I want to read. Often, I crave something moody and gothic, with decaying mansions and ghostly encounters (and those are really hard to come by, let me tell you!). But sometimes, it’s the magic and reality of a Charles de Lint story that I have to have. And I’m feeling that now. The anticipation is thrilling, that little quiver of excitement in my solar plexus. I can’t wait to meet the new people, experience the mystery and myth I always find in his stories.

What stories or authors or genres give you that thrill? What books to you save like jelly beans to savor slowly, at your leisure? I know I can’t be the only one who does this, right? I hope we get a good list going–I can always use more books to add to the pile!

All this talk about saving and savoring books has made me antsy to have my reading day. I think I’ll grab the calendar now and see when I can make this happen. There’s a story waiting for me—I don’t want to keep it too long.

Beginnings are hard. I feel as if I should write something pithy and clever, be so witty and insightful that anyone reading this will just sit at the computer longing for more until I post again. That’s not actually going to happen, though, so I think I’ll just start right in.

I have been in love with mythic fiction since before it got that name. I’ve been reading Charles de Lint and Terri Windling and Robert Holdstock and so many others from the moment they first appeared in the bookstores. And before I discovered these magic makers, I read fairy tales and folk tales and anything that spoke to me of magic and myth touching the “real” world. And I am always seeking more. There just isn’t enough mythic fiction out there! Happily, though, the field is growing…

You might be asking “what is mythic fiction?” The term, coined by Charles de Lint and Terri Windling, refers to fiction that has mythic elements. That’s the broad-stroke definition, but it’s so much more than that. It is lyrical, ephemeral, magical, intense, gritty, stark, dramatic…It is too many things to write about all at once. Many of my posts here will be me going on about all of the intricate, beautiful, fascinating details of what makes up mythic fiction. It will be me writing in appreciation, and writing to get a clearer picture for myself of what it really is.

I keep trying to pin down what mythic fiction is. It may be an impossibly task, but I keep trying. So really, what is it? Mythic fiction is a longing. You know those beautiful tales that fill your head with visions of fairy lands, images of misty mountains, rolling hills, impossibly green lands filled with whispers of magic? Mythic fiction takes these elements and brings them into our world, brings them to a place where maybe we can see and touch them ourselves. Mythic fiction is the kind of writing that stirs a longing in your heart, that bittersweet pang of homesickness for places you’ve never been. It is magic.

Can I promise you magic here? I don’t know. I can promise to take you along as I search for the magic and look for ways to write it into my world. I’ll stop in here at least twice a week to chat more about mythic fiction, writing mythic fiction, reading mythic fiction…You’ll usually see me on Mondays and Wednesdays, and sometimes on Fridays, too. I’m looking forward to the conversation. I hope you are, too.