Basically, the background of my latest story is like this: its in the future, maybe around 3000 or so, and the norse god loki decides to put into effect his grand plan (which mytho buffs will known leads to ragnarok) and it triggers a war between the gods and loki's army, including the fenris wolf (which buffs will also know devours the world after ragnarok) and the humans are caught in the crossfire. I want the story to be as accurate as possible regarding the norse mythology (with one exception, which is what stimulates the plot and I refuse to give it away ) I don't know where to start with all this mythology. Is there a timeline I can start with, consulting bios as demigods and gods appear in the timeline? Should I get a norse god family tree and work my way down the line of gods? How important would minor deities and spirits be, and how should I go about researching them? There's a lot to go through, and I'm not quite sure how I should do it.
One really good source to start with is Edith Hamilton's Mythology. It gives you a pretty basic overview, although it sounds like you already know a great deal. I just think this book could be a good starting point to give you other ideas from there. I think when it comes to the Norse gods a timeline would be incredibly useful. Start googling for one. The book I mentioned above talks about the beginning and end of Norse Mythology, as well as gives a few myths in between, so it might help fill in some of the blanks. I'm actually doing a great deal of mythological research for my novel (although not the Norse), and I really think that when it comes to the myths you can't get too detailed. I've included minor players a good deal, but only in passing. The more you know, though, the better you'll be able to judge these things in terms of your stories. I would just start with what you know and build from there. Since you know Loki is going to be a major player, start with myths about him. I'm assuming Odin will have to play a large role, as well, so you might also want to do a great deal of work with him. After that, see where it takes you. Whatever parts of the mythology interest you are likely to interest other and make for intriguing plot!
Thank you. I read the greek section of Mythology a long time ago. I've also read the Fenris Wolf, The Birth of Baldur, How Odin Lost his Eye, and several articles pertaining to ragnarok. Basically, the biggest players will be Fenris, Loki, Baldur, Thor, Ymir (loki's father), and of course Odin. All of the major gods will probably be mentioned at some point, and the valkyries are going to be so important that I've thought of giving one of them a POV. They make up the actual plot, with a surprising twist. don't want to give much away on the plot, though so that's as much as I'll say I'm probably going to mess with the valkyries' stories a bit, so I definitely need to focus on them a lot.
I know it's not the best way to go, but since you've already read Hamilton's Mythology book this is the best thing I could come up with, but did you try Wikipedia or your library? They both are references, and Wikipedia has references to books, which you could look for at your library. Just trying to help.
