How to write a legend – more specific features

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Here are some pointers in how to write a successful Legend

 

Plot and characters

Legends are usually based on real characters and events, even though these have been richly embellished and exaggerated over time. This gives the narrative an exciting quality because all the events seem to be within the realm of possibility even when the plot has become so widely adapted or updated that it is completely fictional.

The plot of a legend usually focuses on an individual character, a cultural hero or a person respected and remembered (Jason, King Arthur, Robin Hood, William Tell, Roland) but there are also legends about places (Atlantis, Shangri-La), objects (the Holy Grail, the Philosopher’s Stone) and legendary animals (the Yeti, Loch Ness monster, Sasquatch, Chupacabra).

Structure and style

Structure is usually episodic, as in the phases of a journey over several years or the stages of a great battle. Some legends tell the entire life story of their hero as a series of linked episodes, each one a story in its own right, as in the King Arthur stories and the sagas of German-speaking and Northern European countries.

Common structures include:

  • chronological episodes
  • journey stories
  • sequential stories
  • life stories and community histories

Like myths, legends sometimes use a more literary style than fairy tales or fables.
For example:

  • rich, evocative vocabulary
  • memorable language use
  • use of rhythm and repetition techniques
  • formulaic openings and endings
  • imagery: simile, metaphor and symbolism.

Theme

Legends employ many of the typical themes of traditional stories:

  • good and evil
  • friend and foe
  • magic
  • the supernatural
  • rich and poor/rags to riches/riches to rags
  • wise and foolish
  • strong and weak
  • just and unjust
  • a quest or search
  • a journey
  • trials and forfeits.

Legends, like myths, reveal information about the way people lived, what they believed, what was important to them, what they valued and what they were afraid of.

They also convey meaning about the way we live our lives that make them relevant and interesting across cultures and time. This makes them worth repeating through generations and publishing as new versions or adaptations for twenty-first century readers. Brand new legends continue to be developed as part of contemporary literary and oral storytelling cultures.

 

How to write legends

You can use these suggestions and prompts to help you plan and develop legends.

  • Work out how the legend will tell the story of a struggle (e.g. between good and evil, friend and foe, or wise and foolish)
  • Decide on your MAIN CHARACTER – the HERO or HEROINE
  • When you have decided on a main character, you can then decide on the structure you will use and what will be included in each episode or each stage of the journey or quest.
  • Consider adding ingredients of magic or the supernatural to make your legend different from other kinds of stories.
  • Use symbols your reader will recognize to help them get involved in the story (e.g. red for anger/danger, darkness for danger/evil, or a light or flame for goodness and hope)

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