Quetzalcoatl: The Aztec Myth That Inspires My Writing
The Aztec Lore that Found Its Way Into my Novels
Snakes are already fearsome. Add wings, and they become nightmare fuel. Imagine not just watching one slither toward you, but seeing it descend from the sky.
This is the image carried in Aztec mythology of the feathered serpent, Quetzalcoatl. More than scales and feathers, it embodied wisdom, wind, and creation itself—its influence shaping civilizations for centuries.
As an author, it’s myths like these that ignite my imagination and add creative flavor to my stories. I find myself asking “if an idea can persist across generations, what will its elements do to my stories?”
Discovering Quetzalcoatl: From Myth to Muse
When I first came across Quetzalcoatl’s mythology, I was hooked. I found it deep, mysterious, and fascinating. It was only a matter of time before some of that lore found its way into my novels—and now it has.
I won’t divulge which book—yet—but you can expect to find some feathery serpents in an upcoming novel.
Not Quetzalcoatl exactly, but much of its likeness. I look at it as a starting point for world building by asking myself a series of questions. What are my favorite stories about this ancient deity? What forms could it take? Was Quetzalcoatl male or female? Does a god even have a gender?
After a few hours of research, I’ve already found answers to these questions and others as they’ve come. For every piece of knowledge gained, I’m better able to sculpt a new idea into my stories.
Take for instance, the idea that Quetzalcoatl could change forms. Instead of a deadly flying snake, he takes the form of a man. That concept changes the situation drastically. Where once he was a monster, I can now see him as self aware, thoughtful, and full of emotion.
To the Aztec people, Quetzalcoatl was a god. In my writing, he’s something else entirely. My Quetzalcoatl shares many of the same traits, but where the Aztecs treat him like a god, I introduce him as a powerful force—one strong enough to have created the mysterious lore surrounding him.
Building a God: How Quetzalcoatl Found a New World
Let me paint a picture. Countless miles into a vast and ancient jungle, stands a beautiful city made of crumbling, dull, black stone. It sits in the middle of a wide, slow flowing river with crystal blue water. Cracked stone paths connect hundreds of small buildings. In the center of it all, a towering tiered pyramid.
It’s beautiful, captivating, but something’s missing—its inhabitants. No. Not just the inhabitants. It’s missing life. No vines creep up the buildings, no fish swim the waters, and not even a fly buzzing through the air.
This is the abode I’ve invented for Quetzalcoatl. He slithers in deep passages. From time to time, he silently glides through the clear water. For thousands of years, he has never left. Not because he wants to stay, but because he is trapped.
From Myth to Memory
These are the kind of ideas that spark question after question—ones I get to explore through narrative. Why are there no signs of life? What can trap an ancient god-like being in this way? What happens to anyone daring, or ignorant enough to enter this long forgotten city?
As I said, Quetzalcoatl is not a god in the world I’m creating, but in my world, it’s easy to see how the myth escalated to that point. So far, he has only appeared as a colossal snake with a pair of gigantic, bird-like wings, but I already have plans to expand him into something more diverse and deep.
“Myths do not happen all at once. They do not spring forth whole into the world. They form slowly, rolled between the hands of time until their edges smooth, until the saying of the story gives enough weight to the words—to the memories—to keep them rolling on their own.”
― V.E. Schwab, A Conjuring of Light
That’s one thing about ancient mythology. Some of these stories have been around so long, mankind seems to have muddied the waters of original inspiration. For instance, some accounts of Quetzalcoatl suggest that he wasn’t just a snake god, but that he could take the form of a man and played the role of a benevolent ruler.
It’s that kind of information that helps me put on my imagination cap and try to pull back the curtain on original inspiration. Perhaps Quetzalcoatl was never really a snake god, but his story began as a powerful, just, and well respected ruler. It’s conceivable that over thousands of years, his reputation grew exponentially.
With each generation, his memory could have expanded until it took such a hold that entire cults rose in his name. In short, it’s possible that Quetzalcoatl as an idea started as a noteworthy man and grew to god-like proportions.
Between God and Man
That’s where my job as a fantasy writer comes in. Instead of trying to tell the story of a once great man, or rendering an incomprehensible god, I try to walk the line. My challenge becomes trying to create a version of Quetzalcoatl that goes beyond the bounds of reality, yet has a deep set anchor in plausibility.
That’s what good fantasy writing is made of. Not out of this world ideas, but wild, captivating ideas that have enough connection to our own realities to allow us to believe, if only a little, that it could be so.
Balancing Myth and Believability in Fantasy
When attending creative writing courses in college, I had a professor that spoke often on this topic: The suspension of disbelief. I learned that it’s a powerful force. When we read something too outlandish, it causes a pause in our thinking and reminds us that we are not in the story, but merely watching or reading it.
That’s why I aim for a balance between mythology and reality. It allows the reader to find more ways to connect, suspend disbelief, and experience the story.
You can see that same concept in the first book I published, Echo Island: The Clan Games. The world of Echo Island is full of incredible wonders, but you only get a small glimpse at them in the first book.
I know some readers love dropping into a fleshed out world, but I’ve always enjoyed the ones that subtly pull you in. That’s why I wrote Echo Island the way I did. The reader starts in a seemingly normal medieval world, but hints of unique worldbuilding are laid throughout the pages.
The story doesn’t shove the world’s mechanics in front of the reader, instead it allows them to wonder, to guess. When book two comes out, (hopefully later this year) readers will start to see those mechanics bubbling to the service.
I know it’s not the only way to go about world building, but it’s long been one of my favorite methods of entering a new world. I like to think of it as the “Brandon vs. Brandon” idea. Brandon Sanderson, and Brandon Mull. Both are well respected authors, but both write in drastically different ways.
Brandon vs. Brandon Worldbuilding
Sanderson tends to drop the reader right in, it’s a “hit the ground running” approach—think The Way of Kings, or Mistborn. Mull has masterfully done the opposite. In his Fablehaven series, he starts off with two kids who get left behind as their parents go on an adults only vacation.
Both writers don’t always stick to these methods, but they have set some prime examples of what can be done. Sanderson’s novels are undoubtedly some of the best worlds built in literary history—but so are Mull’s. They’ve simply gone about it in different ways.
I’m sure the day will come where I’ll experiment with a more “sink or swim” style. But for now, especially in the case of Quetzalcoatl, I’m enjoying trying the more subtle approach—building block by block.
Keep Reading, Keep Dreaming
Writing novels is an art. I don’t profess to be an expert at it, but I do love doing it. (You have to if you ever want to finish writing a novel.) Writing blogs like these, doing research, and trying to continue expanding ideas are all key components of what I do.
I’ve been asked before how I have so many words to say. How does someone just sit down and write a 150,000 word manuscript? My answer is simple. I fill my brain with information until it is forced to find a way out.
So far, I’ve managed to create and publish two full length novels. Echo Island, and Subterrania. Each one tells a unique story, and each one comes from hundreds of inspiration points.
If that’s something you enjoy, consider supporting me by signing up for my weekly email. I send a weekly blog post on Wednesdays and share occasional updates on my latest projects. Otherwise, thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll stop by for next week’s blog.
Out Now: Subterrania Book One
For fans of Maze Runner, Divergent, and the Hunger Games. Join the adventures of Quin as she uncovers the true depths of Subterrania.
