Deities

Gods and goddesses have had power over our imaginations stretching through the ages—whether ancient Norse, Chinese, Mesoamerican, or Greco-Roman, we have a fascination with cosmic beings.

- MORIAH RICHARD

Fiction is a place where we have the freedom to reimagine these beings. The Percy Jackson series modernized Greek gods and goddesses for middle-grade readers. Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia features a woman in 1920 unleashing the Mayan god of death. The Between Earth and Sky series by Rebecca Roanhorse features a cast of pre-Columbian American deities.

We also have the freedom to create something completely new. While deeply problematic both in his personal life and his writings, H. P. Lovecraft is widely considered the father of cosmic horror, inspiring hundreds of authors in his wake, like Victor LaValle, Caitlín R. Kiernan, and Laird Barron. Dungeons & Dragons and World of Warcraft were heavily influenced by Tolkien's world-building. The Apple TV+ series “Foundation” delves into different religions in a sci-fi setting.

Whether you're looking to reimagine an ancient deity or create something from scratch, here are some things you'll want to consider.

NATURE AND POWER

At its most basic level, what is the source of the deity’s power? Is it a being who was always divine (making the power innate), something that it gets from the worship of mortals (meaning it can strengthen and wane depending on how beloved they are), linked to a cosmic force (like creation itself or another plane of existence), or is it something that was learned or stolen (meaning a mortal might theoretically be able to learn or steal the knowledge)?

How powerful will your deity be? Can they create and destroy life on monumental scales, or are they limited to smaller, localized effects? Do they have a defined domain (like Poseidon and the ocean), or are they omnipresent?