No matter what kind of novel you’re planning to write next month, and even if you haven’t gotten that hammered out yet, creating a legend can still be a useful exercise. We’ve all heard urban legends before so don’t let a modern setting sway you from this exercise. I’ve even had full fledged novels emerge from short two page legends, so take some time this weekend and make sure you create yours.
What do I mean when I say a legend/myth?
By this I mean a story that everyone in your main setting—whether that be a village, a town, a household or an entire country—knows and knows well, that may or may not be true. Usually these involve great heroes and have some sort of lesson in the way they’re told, but they could just be a fun story… or history that nobody believes anymore, the choice is yours. You can also choose your own word count goal for this exercise, but it should be at least a page.
Take your inspiration from the Encyclopedia Mythica and please leave the first sentence of your legend/myth in the comments below.