 Drama: September 17, 2014 Issue [#6535] |
  Drama
This week: Spinning Tales with Myths and Legends Edited by: Joy  
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“When we lose our myths we lose our place in the universe.”
Madeleine L'Engle
"It’s only recently that I’ve come to understand that writers are not marginal to our society, that they, in fact, do all our thinking for us, that we are writing myths and our myths are believed, and that old myths are believed until someone writes a new one."
E.B. White
“We have such a young culture that there is an opportunity to contribute wonderful new myths to it, which will be accepted.”
Kurt Vonnegut
“Myth must be kept alive. The people who can keep it alive are the artists of one kind or another.”
Joseph Campbell
Hello, I am Joy , this week's drama editor. This issue is on the importance of myths and legends as they relate to our fiction.
We, the Drama Newsletter Editors, thank you for reading our newsletters and for supplying us with feedback and encouragement.
Note: In the editorial, I refer to third person singular as he, to also mean the female gender, because I don't like to use they or he/she.
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Welcome to the Drama newsletter
Believe it or not, you are a demigod if you are writing stories. Who knows, one day, your stories may survive the passage of time and stay for posterity, becoming myths. Remember Frankenstein?
Just like your stories, a myth is an invented story that explains the existence of anything; although historically, it dealt with the natural phenomenon, such as the changes in weather and seasons, natural disasters, and what causes night and day. Older myths involve gods, goddesses, and other supernatural characters who have extraordinary powers.
We may view old myths as unreality, but once upon a time, they were considered to be real for the people of antiquity. If you are using older myths to create your story, you can take liberties with them. Just think how many Cinderella stories have been written and are being written. The thing is, the readers cannot have enough of them. And yes, Cinderella is a fairy tale, but it has become like a myth, now, and as is Jack and the Beanstalk. Mythologists claim a version of Jack and the Beanstalk appears in every culture on earth, because myths and all fiction are written with reality and reality is written with fiction and myths. In addition, our reality is what we believe in.
While writing our myth/story, a point to consider is the plot elements. Mythology of antiquity involves too many twists and turns and may become directionless. Our stories, on the other hand, can have simplified themes, one moral argument, and a story arc. We also need to keep them short and to the point, since today’s world is a hastened one.
Another point has to do with tone and voice. We need not use the Homeric epic voice, but make it more adaptable to the way people communicate in our day.
When it comes to the epic part, you can possibly make things happen that don’t really happen, and except for taking it down a notch with the voice, you can think big in telling them, just like in the scriptures of any belief system. For example: What if you or your character were to become Zeus or Hera or Aphrodite or any other Greek god or goddess for a short time? Or what if you or your character opened a Pandora’s Box, creating havoc?
When using a god, goddess, or demigod as an archetype, it is important to analyze their reasons for action, their ambitions, morality, attitude, temperament, and complexes. Like every human being, mythological characters, too, are in a state of constant fluctuation and change, and even the most unlike hero, at one point in a story, rises to the occasion and acts on his convictions and ideals.
Then, for every myth we can tell a different variation, a different ending, and apply a different god or demigod to it. The idea is not to forget our ancient myths and legends. If we do, we may be closing an important door to our collective subconscious and imagination.
Until next time... 
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 This Issue's Tip: Modern day stories are driven by the free will of the character, not through fatalism or deux ex machina.
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Feedback for "Beware of the Wimpy!"
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Ẃeβ࿚ẂỉԎḈĥ 
Great information, Joy, about developing the character of the protagonist to fit the shoes of a hero. Heroes don't have to be an Adonis or secret agent to stir the drama pot, but they do need some magnetic quality that sets them apart from the other characters, and charms the reader. It also goes for plot development. It can't just be random scenes with no rhyme or reason. There must be a solid plot with a connection from inception to conclusion.
Great Newsletter!
Thank you for highlighting my story in this Newsletter. 
~WW
True, and you're very welcome.
Adonis-like heroes would be boring and unconvincing, although in the hands of an expert, they could rock.
Glad you liked the newsletter, Ẃeβ࿚ẂỉԎḈĥ .
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Quick-Quill 
Great NL. AS I begin putting my characters down on paper you have given me an excellent pattern to follow. I was worried the plot would take over the characters.Now I know how to prevent that from happening.
Thanks.
I'm glad it helps.
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