Create your own myth. Tell us a story about why something is the way it is or how it came to be in the first place. The method to my madness is revealed below but give it some thought before you get there.

Some ideas are:

Why do cat’s land on their feet or why are dogs man’s best friend?
Why does the tide come and go or why do trees grow so tall?
Why does the sun chase the moon around the sky?

-or-

How did the earth become round?
How did fish learn to breath under water?
How did the desert become so hot?

Ask a question. Give an answer.

What does this achieve?

Amazingly, a whole lot. It can be great practice for any writer to try and create a tiny myth from time to time. For those who struggle to write short stories writing something as simple as a myth can be a great step inward, a new way of looking at things. You don’t need to be detailed and, unless the plot bunnies get lose, your mind already has a set path and shouldn’t be too tempted to turn a simple idea into a novel (over complicate)- hence pulling you into the task elusively known as short story writing.

For those of us working on longer projects myths can serve another great purpose. For novelists in particular, where you’ve created your own world, be it fantasy or modern day, myths can really come in handy for explaining why your characters regard certain everyday things in a light that those of us outside your book may not. It can also be a great way to pull your readers in further, add layers to your story, and thus make your world that much more believable.

Myths, or reasons why something or some belief in your world is the way it is, can also work as great dialogue fillers. They’re interesting and don’t leave your characters sitting still too long. A common example of what I mean is when a character from our world falls into another world and to put it simply- they don’t understand jack. Instead of having one of your other characters explain everything single thing plainly (and thus spend more time standing around talking instead of moving your plot forward) you could have them tell your main character a myth from their world. You’re still explaining but you’re still holding the reader’s attention as well- not only that, you can always, especially in fantasy stories, intertwine your larger myths right into your plot.

[Edit: Much of this was a post from the previous version of this blog. I brought it back simply because it still holds true.]