How to Write a Myth Story

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a myth as "a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon." This is the accepted definition of the traditional myth story. Myth is also defined by Merriam-Webster as "a person or thing having only an imaginary or unverifiable existence." This definition is closer to the meaning that we are looking for when we approach writing our own myth story. You would be surprised at how many popular stories and movies follow the myth outline.

Instructions

1

Create a setting. The setting of a myth story is typically a made-up one; think of "Star Wars" or "Lord of the Rings." Will your story be set on another universe or on Earth in the distant future? Another option is to set your story in the past, using knights and dragons and wizards.

2

Imagine a character. The main character can be male or female, but this character will be the hero of the myth story. Every myth story has a hero; Luke Skywalker, Oedipus and Bilbo Baggins are some examples. A hero is almost always an orphan being raised by a kindly relative or wizard. The hero is, of course, handsome/beautiful and young. They are poised on the edge of life between being a child and becoming an adult. The journey you set them on in your story will determine which way they fall (but they won't fall because they are the hero!).

3

Set your hero on a quest. All myth stories revolve around a journey. The hero will leave his home world and travel to another time or world or dimension in order to save the world. The hero does not usually know he is going to the save the world in the beginning. He simply is called to find something or find someone, or his world is destroyed and he must journey to find a new place to live. In the end of the story, the hero will return to his home world (if it is still there) to the adoration of all the townspeople.

4

Give your hero a talisman. A talisman is simply some sort of token that the hero carries with him. Sometimes he already has this talisman, or he may find it while on his journey. He has no idea of its power until much later. Think of the gold ring in "Lord of the Rings or "the force" in "Star Wars."

5

Surround your hero with lots of conflict. The driving force of any story is conflict, and the myth story especially is dependent on you moving the story forward one problem after another. Your characters will encounter difficulties at every turn. They will experience external conflict by battling dragons or aliens and being exposed to deadly weather conditions. Throw in internal conflict by having the hero fall in love with someone who doesn't even like him (again, think of Luke and Leah in "Star Wars").