Using mythology in your stories can sometimes feel like trying to write really complex fanfiction: if you don't do the characters just right, people yell at you.
Here's the thing, though. No matter what you write, people are always going to yell at you. Because many common things are perceived very, very differently by different people. For example, someone who happens to be quiet and mostly introverted can be seen as a secret plotter, as someone who's shy and worried about the way the world is perceiving him, as someone dull and boring who has nothing interesting to say, as someone secretly wise and who spends his time observing the world around himself, as a good listener, or as someone who's off in his own little world and doesn't really care about anything but whatever he's doing at the moment. And say, even if something happens right in the goddamn story that says 'Mr. So and So was secretly very intelligent,' some people are still going to look at this character and find reasons and ways to make him not intelligent. And then some people are going to get mad at other people for not following their interpretation of said character. Because. That's the way people are.
Mythology is like the same thing except there's more people who think you have to be totally 'in character' because clearly mythology is so much more serious and complex and completely full of original ideas. It's not like most mythologies are just copies of each other and use each other's characters all over the place however they please to make their own original mythological heroes look better by beating up that other mythology's heroes.
Luna says I'm cynical.
Anyway. The thing about mythology, however, is that unlike a lot of say... original fiction, if we're going with that metaphor still, is there's not often a comprehensive list of source material left over. Often, we have mythologies filled with deities and demideities we have precious few actual stories about, or maybe even only a mention here and there, and thus just a basic idea of their character. That might be seen as a bad thing, but... is it? Not at all. That's a blank slate for you right there, with one set idea that you have to choose to work in, but otherwise a character you can design to fit right into your story. And because many mythologies do have interlocking or interceding points - such as how the deities of one religion may be referred to as the demons in another - it gives you ways to connect entire pantheons.
The big thing is not to be afraid. If you have an idea about how to use a character or present a particular hero or deity, then run with it. You might be surprised how many people might say that's either really creative or that they once imagined so-and-so might be like this themselves. If you want to twist their relationships a little, do so. The biggest thing is not to be afraid of what you're doing. Any idea, no matter how stupid-sounding or bizarre, can be the foundation of a good story so long as you're willing to follow through with it and not back down in the pursuit of it. Always give your best shot: if it doesn't work out, you can always try it again from a different angle, and you will learn something from the process. I find we often learn more from our failures than our successes, after all, but... that's a post for a completely different series.
So yeah. Using mythology is just like tapping in to ancient fanfiction. I know that's a horrible metaphor but. It's kind of weirdly true. So remember to check your source material, but don't be afraid to make stuff up as you go along. At worst, you can always just claim 'alternate universe' really loudly until people leave you alone.
~Scrivener Blooms
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