Who here is a fan of anime, manga, and Japanese videogames?
I've been a fan of all good things Japanese since the late 80s. I've watched a lot of anime and read a lot of manga. I have also read a lot of books about mythology. One thing that had always interested me about Japanese entertainment media is that they dip into mythology without drowning in the ideology. White Wolf's first story arc will be dealing with Norse myth. The story itself is set in c.1000 and features a decent amount of history and fantasy.
Now, I am fairly knowledgable about Norse life, Norse mythology, and literature around that time period. When I first sat down to flesh out my story I found myself drowning in information. Unfortunately, I get writer/artist's block when I'm overwhelmed. Jotting down what I wanted to do, I went to another activity to let my brain cool down...
Typically that means a reading session or gaming session, but at this time I picked up my copy of Ah! My Goddess. Those who aren't familiar with Ah! My Goddess should know that the author incorporated Norse mythology into a romance/comedy manga about motorcycles (and it's as cool as it sounds). After reading for a bit I began to think about this... There was the basic ideas, some delving into mythological information, then stretching of the concept to fit the storyline. Y'know what, it totally worked! Then it got me thinking about some of the video games I've playing in the past... Secret of Mana touched upon Mayan mythology and the Tales of... series also used Norse mythology as a base. With this in mind, my goals seemed clearer and I got back to writing. (Now if dialoge were as easy, it wouldn't be so stressful... but that's a story for another time!)
Just a note before I go: By all means, if you want to incorporate more mythology in the story, go right ahead. This though process is what helped me write White Wolf, but there's a chance it might change for another story.
Any questions, comments, suggestions? Just write below in the comments.
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