Writing Mythical Creatures

Fiction writing lends itself to all kinds of possibilities, from literally unreal setting to an endless array of characters―human and otherwise.

“We do not, or need not, despair of drawing because all lines must be either curved or straight, not of painting because there are only three ‘primary’ colours. We may indeed be older now, in so far as we are heirs in enjoyment or in the practice of many generations of ancestors in the arts. In this inheritance of wealth there may be a danger of boredom or of anxiety to be original, and that may lead to a distaste for fine drawing, delicate pattern, and ‘pretty’ colours, or else to mere manipulation and over-elaboration of old material, clever and heartless. But the true road of escape from such weariness is not to be found in the willfully awkward, clumsy, or misshapen, not in the making all things dark or unremittingly violent; not in the mixing of colours on through subtlety to drabness, and the fantastical complication of shapes to the point of silliness and on towards delirium. Before we reach such states we need recovery. We should look at green again, and be startled anew (but not blinded) by blue and yellow and red. We should meet the centaur and the dragon, and then perhaps suddenly behold, like the ancient shepherds, sheep, and dogs, and horses—and wolves. This recovery fairy-stories help us to make.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, On Fairy Stories

Think of your favorite fantasy novels. What are the first details that come to mind? Maybe you picture a map of Middle Earth or the Hogwarts castle. Maybe it’s physical representations of magic at work, like sparks or gale-force winds. Or maybe your thoughts gravitate toward the story’s characters―humanoid, furry, feathery, and everything in between.

Every good writer knows that the characters populating a novel steer the plot, affect the setting, and ultimately color your readers’ perception of the story, both with their actions and with the way they think and feel about their world and its other inhabitants. And in fiction, what species these figures belong to, not to mention how that plays into the narrative in general, is entirely up to the writer. What would the plot of Peter Pan look like if pixies didn’t exist, or have the same vain, bitchy tendencies we know and expect? If Harry Potter couldn’t speak Parseltongue, would J.K. Rowling have even bothered to write the basilisk into the second book of the series?

Which brings us to one of the most pressing questions at the start of the creative process for writers looking to branch into fantasy, science fiction, and every other genre that bends the rules of reality and makes mythical creatures seem feasible: to borrow from previously conceptualized stories, or make shit up? There’s no right or wrong answer, and who says you can’t do a little mixing and matching along the way? Just do not plagiarize, bogart, or otherwise swipe someone else’s ideas. There’s a huge difference between stealing and basing your work off that of the greats, and it’s something we’ll explore in terms of inserting standby, original or hybrid creatures in your novel.

Encores

Let’s clear the air now; using commonly recognized monsters like dragons, vampires, werewolves, griffins, mermaids, unicorns, etc., does not automatically make you a cliché or put off potential audiences. Anyone who reads or watches works of fiction has a favorite creature or two and doesn’t mind seeing it pop back up from time to time. What will turn people off from your work is if they get the nagging feeling that they’ve read it somewhere else, and the repeat gets old fast.The key is to incorporate these beings and making them stand out from their counterparts in other narratives. Not every dragon has to be Pete’s and not every sea monster has to live 20,000 leagues below, but it’s okay to lean on previously established origins as long as you then expand them into the events of your story. Just like you wouldn’t copy the plot of another book just to fill in the blanks in your story, it won’t do to take a well-known mythical creature and plug it into your work without first doing some serious research and retooling.

Want to write about the age-old feud between vampires and werewolves? Great! Just don’t rip off Twilight or Underworld or The Vampire Diaries. Create your own history for these two clans and have them go at each other for reasons all their own. Even if they aren’t the main focus of the narrative, treat each of these monsters as fresh ideas and characters. That means crafting their backstories and keeping in mind the history of their species as is needed to drive the plot forward in a way that makes sense and keeps your readers engaged.

Originals

It’s also perfectly acceptable to put on your mad scientist cap and create a new beastie altogether. One of the best things about fiction is that, so long as you can follow your own rules, you have the last say in what goes on in your world. That includes what sort of creatures live in it.

So, if you’re worried about your ability to go against the grain with the classics, make like Frankenstein and build your own creatures of legend from scratch. Sirens are world-renowned for using their song to lure unassuming sailors to their deaths, but what else lurks beneath the surface of the ocean? What if something looked sinister, but turned out to be your hero’s most reliable friend because that’s just how its species rolls? Maybe you had a crazy dream once and your mind already got you started with the image of a dragon with the paws of a lion. What would you call it? There is literally no limit on your imagination when it comes to writing fictional places, characters and creatures, so go nuts. As long as your story flows, makes sense, and entertains your readers, you’ve got nothing to lose.

The tricky thing about concocting something new is that sometimes, we step back and realize that we’re really just blurring the lines between what’s been written before and what we think is our original design. Don’t sweat it; some of the best things in this world come from meshing one great idea with another, and as we covered in the paragraphs above about encore performances, it’s totally fine as long as you put an original spin on things. If you notice this pattern in your own work, it just means that, rather than a brand-new creation, you’ve been throwing hybrids into the plot.

Hybrids

Writers often find that there’s a little something extra we think would be cool to add, or some seemingly minor detail that we just can’t get on board with. This mindset doesn’t just apply to settings or human characters or even plot points. Consider the many different versions of fairies, sprites and pixies in stories. Or, how many descriptions of dragons, water nymphs, or god-like entities have you read? It’s like a literary version of the telephone game. As time goes on, and as the stories circulate, everyone adds or takes away a detail here, a personality trait there, or even special abilities, and there you have it―something new out of something familiar.

Luckily for all of us creative types, this doesn’t count as plagiarism. Since it’s St. Patrick’s Day, let’s say for funsies that you aren’t a fan of how leprechauns are painted in that creepy 1993 movie with Jennifer Aniston (can’t say I blame you), but you want to pay homage to the older fairy tales they star in by writing your own. So, you start mixing and matching the facts. OG leprechauns would have to adapt in order to survive in the modern world, so you take their basic features and traits and use them as foundational attributes you can shape their reactions on and build from. Maybe you even take things a step further and weave a few tactical developments into their backstory, like if they found a magical way to disguise themselves among the human population, or if they adopted modern conveniences to hide their gold (are rainbows now obsolete?).

The point of fashioning a hybrid mythical creature is to use something familiar as the starting point for your characters, but add new elements to drive them and therefore the story in the right direction. Writers have been doing it for ages, so you’ll be in good company. And, it takes some of the pressure off you during the planning/first draft phase. At the end of the day, you can redesign a creature all you want, but if it’s still going to essentially be the same beast you started with, then certain aspects must remain. It’s not a vampire if it doesn’t drink blood, or a witch/wizard if it doesn’t cast spells, or a griffin if it doesn’t fly. Refer back to these hard-and-fast rules whenever you feel your creative frenzy taking you off the rails.

Fiction just wouldn’t be the same without the weird, the unexpected, and the magical to keep us guessing. And whether you’re a writer or a reader, there’s no denying that creatures of myth and legend can make or break a good story just as easily as any plot device. So whatever you throw into the mix, and wherever it comes from, make sure that it’s the right monster for the job.