Myth ruminations


Looking for Pagan fiction? I may not be the guy to give it to you.

I've been asked again why I don't write stories with a Pagan protagonist.

After all, I read quite a bit. I've studied film and theatre, and to this day I have a hard time putting myself back in the audience sport. I've been a science fiction and fantasy fan for decades, and I have a very through grounding in most of the other genres.

Except for romances. Never did get into those.

Just for a bit, let's rule out some of the more obvious cliches.

Any fantasy with firework special effects or spectacles.

Anything that concentrates on Paganism so much that Paganism itself becomes the story.

Anything that uses a Chosen One™ with a Grand Destiny.

Any crime drama where the magical powers give our hero the edge to take out the baddies.

Anything with sexual escapades featuring non-humans.

Anything where Paganism overthrows Christianity.

Anything that equates power with victimhood.

It's not that these can't work and work reasonably well. It's that they are too easy, all deus ex machina and no character. A writer friend of mine called it the Fuckin' Finger of Fate. Because yes, it messes with the reader, and it is not the polite forefinger.

If I were to write a story, it would be where the protagonist just happened to be Pagan, but the story would be something else.

How many stories have you read where the story was defined because the character was Christian, or Jewish, or Hindu? How many of those stories made it into the mainstream?

Religion and faith is a tough sell these days, especially in fiction. Unless it is fantasy.

Posted: Sat - March 6, 2010 at 01:36 PM
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