Writing fiction is a pipedream for many of us who become writers. We explore nonfiction to pay the bills but the main focus is to write fiction. The writing-for-the-wallet however takes over the writing-for-the-dreams. Fiction writing sadly becomes that thing we wanted to do but we didn’t know how, or we couldn’t complete what we started, or there wasn’t enough time, or … ifs, buts, what ifs simply dominate the narrative and sadly, fiction writing gets pushed in the corner.

Fear not my lovely scribe because Binati is here to quell your fear, obviously minus the abhorrent poetry she tends to write. Without further ado, let’s come to the point – Historical and Mythological stories. History is that which has happened. Mythology is that which influential people of history claim happened. The point being literally and/or figuratively, historical and mythological stories have a start, a middle and an end – the three basic building blocks of any story. As a writer trying to learn fiction, you can start here. Instead of getting overwhelmed by designing characters and charting a plot (that makes sense), you can take existing characters and plots, and explore the recesses of your sublime imagination.

Let me tell you the why first; why you should practice fiction writing using historical and mythological stories:

1. Reading enhances brain function

According to multiple studies exploring deep learning, skill acquisition, boosting creativity and such, reading is shown to increase myelin production which allows neural synapses to fire quicker. With a faster, more active neurochemistry, you will obviously create better. Also, history and mythology are interesting! Why not spend time reading, improving brain function and exploring stories from around the world!

2. History and mythology already consist of a winning idea

The stories became myths and legends for a reason – they contained within them a winning idea. A winning idea is a story people like to listen to over and over again. If you take these stories which are immortalised in the sands of time (for a reason), you already have a winning idea. All you need to add would be perspective and language.

3. The Characters are unforgettable by default

Historical and mythological characters have depth (often unexplored). They, by default have the necessary traits of a successful literary character; that’s why people remember them in the first place! With unforgettable characters of this sort, all you have to do is simply focus on the storytelling rather than character building.

4. You don’t have to needlessly explain things

Descriptions would be pointless because people already know the stories. The familiarity to the character already exists saving you precious time to tell a story instead. Instead of waxing poetic about the traits of a character, you can learn how they talk and make their actions show on the page. It would be a much better use of your practice time.

5. The Structure of the Story already exists

Structure of any fictional or real-life story lies in two things.

1. What your character is doing?
2. Where is your character going?

With historical stories, you know what the character is doing and where they ultimately ended up. Instead of charting their path, you get to tell a story about it.

Now, let us move on to the how; how can you practice fiction writing using historical and mythological stories:

6. Use your POV to trigger you reader’s mind

Every individual on this earth has a unique POV i.e. point-of-view. This POV is what enables us to tell diverse stories containing one or more of the three types of stories we tell, namely:

1. Rags to riches
2. Boy meets girl
3. Man learns a lesson

You can take any or many historical and mythological characters and weave a narrative around that. Your POV is not just limited to perspective; it also includes genres. A historical character can land in a time loop for instance. A mythological character can suddenly become human. Your storytelling canvas is as blank as it could be in spite of the popularity of the character/s you choose.

7. Intentions and Obstacles of the Character can be fictionalised to a specific genre

As stated previously, you already know the intentions of the characters. You also know the roadblocks they encountered. Every story told requires an intension and an obstacle. Intension is the strength and purpose you give to your character/s. Obstacle is a weakness (or many) that your character/s has to overcome. The intentions could tie into their original stories. The obstacles however are where you can let your imagination run wild. Bring in multiple genres – magical realism, fantasy, sci-fi, etc.

8. Use the known idea and work your perspective into the narrative

You can make the mundane feel exotic by the power of storytelling. If I were to make a God order something on Amazon without having any legal address or human money, the story becomes hilariously entertaining by default. Simply use the existing narrative and twist it to suit your storytelling needs.

9. Make the audience a component of your work

People already know the stories. They know who the historical/mythological characters are. They probably also know the story arcs. They are invested in those stories already. All you have to do is make them a component of your narration of story. You can do this by challenging their perception, introducing an unreliable narrator, drawing a parallel (without explicitly stating so), shattering expectations, et al. I can go on and on. In doing so, you will make the reader think of the magic words, “Oh! What happens next…”

10. Try mirroring which is imitate the history/mythology

If the idea of retelling a story irks you, try mirroring instead. Mirror the story from history or mythology into a story containing new characters. Don’t tell your readers who you are mirroring. Let them make the connections and let their minds explode. Mirrored characters provide this surreal depth which might make your newer characters seem more relatable.

11. History/mythology is condensed (and open sourced). Try expanding the stories, the facts to create fiction.

History and mythology aren’t copyrighted. You can use them however you please. They are also incredibly condensed because of how many stories there are to tell. Like peeling the layers of an onion, pull apart these condensed stories at their seams. Explore their depth. Analyse what they are trying to say beyond the literal. Research the scenarios around the time these stories were told for the first time. Expand that which was compressed courtesy of the limitations of their time.

12. Write (and increase) what you know

Research. You have plenty to research with these characters, their stories, their locations, and their motivations. If you like these stories already, you can write them because you already know them. Write what you know. Then with the help of search engines and open sourced literature, delve into the research rabbit hole to discover the land of the compressed. Start expanding. Start writing.

13. Make the story accessible to the morality of the present

Stories from the past rarely stand the test of time in terms of morality. Or do they? See what your research uncovers and either use the morality of the present to retell stories from days gone by or question the current perception of the past by showcasing the realities of the past to the present. There are just so many possibilities here.

14. Characters with a likability problem can be made accessible; more sympathetic

Unlikable characters are interesting to write because while the intention maybe singular, the obstacles might not be. Instead of telling the story of the hero, try telling the stories of the other characters. You might find some amazing stories staring at you in the face, hidden in plain sight.

15. People read fiction to read about people; imperfect people

What history and mythology inevitable shows us is imperfect people who found perfect, fitting endings. You have the best people for a story. You simply have to shine the light on their human elements making them relatable, accessible and likable.

So, that is all I have to offer with this one. I will see you soon with more writing advice. If you have any ‘writing advice’ requests, tell me (in the comment section). Did you find these fifteen blahs helpful?

Thank you so much for reading and sharing your thoughts. If you’d like to read more, feel free to browse through the blogs and the essays. If you want some amazing verbal goodies delivered to your inbox monthly, fill in your fabulous details down under.