Mythology

Dear Bloggie,

I am considering mythologies. Not the large mythologies that govern our lives, not those of the myriad religions that cover the planets, no not those at all. I am considering personal mythologies, or rather, the mythologies that writers create to motivate and move their characters.

All fiction (and to a lesser extent non-fiction) contains mythologies. The people, the places, the motivations are all part of the writer's personal creation and the mythology that governs the work. This is even more true when one dives into the realms of the fantastic--science fiction, fantasy or horror. As you write these, you are creating a mythology that not only governs the characters actions, but their world as well. What are the physical properties of the world, what are the spiritual properties of the world, what is the technology, does magic exist. And once you begin, once the mythology is created, you have to be willing to play in the world you created, even if some factor of your creation becomes inconvenient.

Of course, that brings us to those who deviate from their mythologies. Yes, occasionally the world we create can limit us, but that is part of the game, you can't suddenly change something because it is a stumbling block. If you are writing non-fantastic literature, you can't suddenly decide, say, the sun rises in the west, you can't break the laws and rules that govern the world. When you have created your own world the same rules apply. Tolkien could not suddenly decide that Orcs could fly and would toss down their arms for pear pie any more than someone else can change the movement of the stars in the sky. The rules are set. You have to play by your rules, and writers (books, television, movies) who suddenly deviate, or even discard, their own mythologies are not playing the game, they are breaking the rules and they lose my respect.

It's something to think about, reading a favorite author or watching a favorite movie or television show. Is the writer true to the world they created? Or are they cheating, and if they are cheating what does that mean to you?