Writing Tips and Reviews

Tales, Myths, and Legends

These are used often when writing, how many people have used the name "Lucifer" or "Solomon" in their work? Too many to count. As someone who loves the Fate series and Granblue Fantasy, I like to see what people do with old ideas.

But there is an underlining rule that you have to be creative with the idea you're using. If it's like everyone else's version, why bother?

Fate Series

Take Artoria Pendragon from Fate, she's much different than other versions of King Arthur told in stories and her growth with the other characters are what make her so different. Yes, her past is much different from the regular King Arthur pulled Excalibur from the stone, but Fate goes a step further by making her understand what it means to be king in Fate Zero. Her relationship with the others is also a reason people love her, like the other servants, she has comic relief moments and serious moments with her allies. Her and Shirou being the obvious example.

Gilgamesh is a complete asshole, Medusa is like a big sister, Ishtar is useless, Karna and Arjuna constantly keep picking fights with each other, and Solomon, I think all I need to say is that he saw it coming and did everything he could, just to avoid spoilers.

The point here is that the Fate series takes ideas and executed them in ways that are not only rememberable, but unique while also staying to the core of the story. You shouldn't be afraid of using an idea that's already been done, you should be afraid of it being executed the same as someone else. Because if theirs is more popular, then yours won't get any notice or people could claim you stole it.

Nothing is original anymore, and you need to step out of that zone to be creative, once you say "I can do whatever I want with this idea", you can really show your style through your work. It's like an art style, everyone's art is unique and original to them, and inspiration is a huge factor in the creation of the final product.

Anecdotal  

Personally, I don't like using the real names of the historical or mythological figure. Let me explain more because that sounds confusing since I use the name "Yggdrasil". Those names are not their real names, they're titles that are passed down to successors because it's well known. Their role, powers, and purpose in the universe are always the same, and that title carries those. A character named "Merlin" wouldn't actually named that, "Merlin" would be the title they carry with them. Their real name would be something else.

This is just how I do things to make them more unique to me. You're free to use the actual name of the figure. No shame, again, the Fate series does it and I hear no complaining from anyone who's a fan. Just inaccuracies in their lore, which, that's just creative interpretation. I only use the names as titles so I can add more to the character that's not part of the figure. One example is "Cain", from Cain and Abel, I use the original story as a base then add on other ideas to make the character. It's clear who his inspiration is and clear that I've gone beyond that to make my own character.

GBF

Now let's talk about Granblue Fantasy, they use figures like Baal, Medusa, Chevalier, and others as summons and playable characters. Mostly summons. There are stories to them that are unique to GBF, but there's also the core of their mythology present. And like the servants of Fate, their abilities and personality are interpretations from their mythology.

Conclusion

The biggest take here is to do what you want, there's nothing stopping you from using an idea that's already been done. The only people who care about things being "purely original" aren't worth your time. Take it from me, I've dealt with one and I'm still writing. Just use your imagination, combine ideas, and make it unique to you. There's no shame in using the real names of a historical or mythological figure, if you do, make sure their core is the same as the original story. Everything else is free game.