Literature so... creativity help... for a norse mythology thing.

[proiettile]

hello. the title's really vague but... eh. anyways, i've been thinking about doing a norse mythology 'fan-fic', except it's not romantic in the slightest. my main thing was... well, i need some sites for norse mythology stories, information on gods and goddesses, giants, dwarves, and other stuff. do i have a single clue on what the story is about yet? nope. i just thought of this today, so bear with me. i might make a progress update thread if i really want to, but... have a lovely day to anyone who reads this, and stay safe!

 

[Blemmigan]

I've no idea how much you already know, and I'm by no means clued up on Norse mythology myself, but there's plenty of it out there. Best to start off simple (terminology, major gods, worlds, most famous myths) and then go from there. Once you have names you can search for more information in specific areas.

Information on any one subject/person/myth will almost definitely differ depending on which site you read: people will use different sources, or some might just not be as accurate. So it's probably a good idea to hunt around and read about the same thing/s in several different places.
One good thing about myths is that they often do have several variations, which means you can have a bit of choice what to use as the "fact" behind your fiction.

A basic, quick guide: Tribes of gods, nine worlds, important mythological events, and how it relates (very briefly) to Viking culture.
A short list (with descriptions) of several Norse gods
This Norse mythology blog hasn't been updated in a while, but there are a few sections on myths, origins, realms, etc.

And there's norse-mythology.org: a site with pages about Vikings, creatures, places, runes, concepts, old Norse language... there's plenty there and it doesn't look difficult to navigate, nor too difficult to read (despite the header).
It also has a list of recommended books, should you want more information. Though of course the author takes every opportunity to recommend his own.

Whether this is helpful or not, have fun researching! I'm sure you'll know far more on the subject than I do before long. If you enjoy it, I would recommend reading a book or two on the parts that most interest you, whether from a library or buying one for yourself. But it's totally up to you!

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

The good thing about norse mythology is that there is an over arching narrative surrounding Ragnarok. The bad thing is that it is a plethora of characters, stories, realms and fixtures. If you can find a way to streamline it into a coherent story, and still keep a level of accuracy to the source material, this could be something worth writing and reading.

The issue I immediately see happening is players only wanting to play Thor, Loki, or Odin, not because of a love for norse mythology, but for Avengers movies. I just see it being the Thor vs Loki show. Furthermore, for some reason I see people dragging sexuality into it; wanting to play a homosexual Loki who has a torrid love affair with Baldr - dumb stuff like that.

But aside from the obvious dangers, this has a mountain of potential. When thinking in terms of a bigger plot, Ragnarok stands out as an absolute go-to. A great anchor point to work toward and a beautiful way to end the story. When you get into the lore behind Ragnarok, you find that it is rather beautiful. It's not a final destruction, but a rebirth of sorts. It's said that the final battle between the gods and their foes will engulf the world in flame and ruin, but that it will be reborn with fields of lush green as far as the eye can see. The surviving gods will meet there, and two humans will repopulate the earth. That line opens up so many doors for you. Instead of just being a tale of the gods and their adventures and deeds, you can add a human, mortal element to this thing.

I believe that in order to do this you are going to need one hell of an Odin to hold it all together. Might not be a bad idea to create a principle volva character should you plan to use Ragnarok for the central plot. This principle volva would of course be the seeress who told Odin everything that has been and will be. You'll also need to put some thought and work into Yaggdrasil and its nine realms.


This could be very cool, or a total disaster.

 

[bread-and-butterflies]

Heya! Have you heard of Dr. Jackson Crawford? He's an expert on Old Norse language and mythology iirc, and he's got a cool Youtube channel where he talks in depth about different gods and myths, as well as the Old Norse language.

Aside from that, as far as I know, the most popular "primary source" of Norse mythology is the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, the former being an actual recounting of the myths, and the latter being a kind of analysis of the myths, I believe. You could almost certainly find translations of these in the public domain (like Project Gutenberg, maybe?), though you might have to hit the library/bookstore for a more readable/modern translation.

 

[tuxedo-fish]

I know this is a few months old, now, but I just wanted to add in that Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology is out in paperback, now, so that's handy for things.

Also, this all made me remember Andrew Boysen, Jr's Twilight of the Gods, which I saw the very first performance of about ten years ago. Sadly, this performance doesn't capture the glory of that first-ever Midgardian rooster utterly failing because of a stuck valve. I love that poor rooster. :V