Hey, I'm worried a bit about my story's premise. The main elements are those of Norse, Greek, and Celtic mythology, you could say I'm combining all of these. However, my story takes place in 1925. I'm having this feeling that the date (84 years ago) might "wall" the events happening and the characters from the reader... Like making them distant. I hope you understand me, and this might be a tad stupid, but I need some reassurance.
Many stories take place in other time periods. Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly, for example was a vampire tale set in the early 1900s, with gas street lamps and the like. If done well, the different time setting can add depth and interest to a story. Many people enjoy historical fiction. Yours sounds like fantasy with a historical background. Nothing wrong with that. Terry
Not really. You'll be surprised how modern Celtic mythology is (which Celtic race are you talking about here? I might be able to help out if you need it later on) with a little bit of interpretation. Most of the proverbs come from mythology, take a look at some of those if you don't believe me. I find that, quite often, the contrast between Norse mythology and Celtic mythology makes a story, especially a fantasy one, although not only those, more interesting. If you throw Greek in there, then you have something entirely different that has been shaped by both of the others, so you can't do any better than what you've got. With that sort of selection, the time period really won't matter.
I think the trick is, not to tell the reader of a time long gone, but to pull the reader into that time as if they lived there right now.
Of course it won't. If when a story takes place was a problem, books wouldn't continue to be reprinted decades after they were first published, and we wouldn't have historical novels.
It especially doesn't matter considering that Celtic mythology was widely believed in across northern Britain only a few decades before your story is set.
I'm doing something with different forms of mythology in the past as well, and I have to say that I don't think your setting will create any sort of barrier. Just remember that there are people still alive who lived in 1925, their children are still around, and their grandchildren are still around, so you have to make sure that your facts line up wherever possible. At the same time, I'm assuming that you're writing fiction since you're using many different mythologies, and you shouldn't be afraid of changing certain aspects to fit your fictional setting. Just make sure that you are consistent in the things you change and leave alone. Do lots of research and only change aspects of the real world if you have a good reason. Don't do it for the sake of it! If you are serious about this project, I would even recommend interviewing people who lived in the time and place you are writing about. The surest way to bridge the gap between modern times and those of the 1920's is to get your facts straight. People will think about the things they've heard and know about the time, and you want to appeal to their knowledge of it. Also make sure that you don't get yourself in a rut of thinking those times were so incredibly different. When you really research it, it isn't all that different.
I'm not combining them like mixing them. However, places like Anwwn, Glastonbury Tor, Mount Olympus, Hel and Avalon appear in it, and artifacts such as Tyrfing and Aegis do, too. Yeah, I'll just be sure to research more about 1920. I'm pretty confident on the mythology side. Thanks!
