Vaguely semi-intellectual thoughts

Reading something on my friends list about ancient Greek gods set me thinking. It was a really good piece and used an old myth to fantastic effect.

And then there was a programme about King Arthur and one of the end lines was about how each new generation/group of people/what have you retold Arthur's story and added some parts and took away others and that was what kept it fresh and alive.

That's what a lot of ancient myths are - stories told around campfires finally set down in writing and every time the story was told, a different spin would be put on it because someone else would be telling the story. The lore-writers, the minstrels, the travelling story tellers they used characters people knew and told new stories featuring them.

And that's kind of what fanfic is. We're all gathered round the warm glow of the internet and we want to hear a story featuring heroes and adventure, or romance, or a different plot. New stories featuring a character we like, whether it be Arthur, once and future king, or Aragorn or Evolution.

I find that inspiring in some way. I'm part of a slightly off-centre branch of a tree that leads back to the great storytellers of yore.