I have had a hard few days with my NaNoWriMo novel creation due in part to the death of my laptop and lack of iPad ability. I am back on a working machine now though and enjoying how my fingers fly over the keys and little slows me down. trying to keep a bit ahead of my word count I found myself needing more research.

 Research Your Novel!

There are two main ways to go about NaNoWriMo, either with an outline and research done or by the seat of ones pants last minute. I yet again ended up with the second option having only picked this story idea the day of NaNoWriMo. It had come to me in a dream like so many great novels others have written. This does not mean it will be anything special though. One thing it does need though, one thing all novels need is research. Some have more than others of course, this one is now weighed down with a lot of it but tonight I needed to dive in.

I too am trying to write a supernatural novel and it includes werewolves. While trying to keep to my unique ideas of them, I am also trying to reach back and pull forward some of the mythology and really trying to keep from having my wolves be like that of twilight or Anita Blake were animals.

I found a site tonight dedicated to werewolves and it has a lot of information in it but not a lot of sources for it. While looking at the native american myths I noticed many of the comments where from children or teens, not very well written (Not that I am one to talk!) but in short, most of the kids called themselves werewolves of some kind or another or wondered if they were given some connection to Native Americans. Some argued that the information on the site was wrong as their tribe taught that skinwalking was a positive thing, while the site says it was a dark curse of sorts and evil. The writer of the site was quick to point out that different tribes believed different things and the beliefs of one do not negate the beliefs of another. It got me thinking about belief and religion and hope. I had to comment with the following:

    The Beauty of Myth

  I love the mythology, the open minds, the rush of hope to believe. While stories of half human – half other are rooted around the world, this does not make them true. It does however speak to the human condition and how much we have in common, our fears and dreams and goals. It is a beautiful web of life we live. Thanks for putting this information together. To me, it is much like the Gods who have been born and killed across the face of this planet during our history. We change beliefs, they grow, they too die or fade to whispers. It is all brilliant myth and part of our history. I am not saying it is not at all possible, I am saying however I find it no more credible than a talking burning bush, or any other religion. My personal belief though is that it is all beautiful myth, tales that make the mind ponder like brain candy, or tales to control people with fear, or myths to wrap oneself in for comfort like a child pulling a blanket up over their heads to hide from imaginary monsters in the dark. All fiction, but goodness isn’t it a wonderful art with a rich history? Who wouldn’t want to roll around in it and pretend it was real? Alas, no one is actually getting an owl letter from Hogwarts.