How to Write Viking Fiction
Introduction: The Enduring Appeal of Viking Fiction
Ah, Vikings. The moment you hear the word, your brain floods with images of muscle-bound warriors, drinking out of skulls, wielding axes the size of small children, and screaming “Valhalla!” into the stormy abyss. And if that’s what you think writing Viking fiction is about, I regret to inform you—you’ve been watching too much Vikings and playing Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla on a loop.
The truth is, Vikings were complicated, fascinating, and frequently terrifying. They weren’t just mindless berserkers smashing their way across Europe; they were traders, poets, shipbuilders, political schemers, and, yes, occasional brutal raiders. If you’re planning to write about them, you need to know more than just how to describe someone getting decapitated in the middle of a fjord.
So, let’s go full Bergthora’s Saga mode and talk about how to write Viking fiction that actually feels real rather than something that just makes people want to paint themselves blue and charge into IKEA.
Research Like a Scholar (or Risk the Wrath of Viking Nerds)
If you’re going to write Viking fiction, you need to accept a fundamental truth: Viking enthusiasts are terrifyingly well-informed. These people have spent their entire lives reading Icelandic sagas in Old Norse, hand-weaving linen tunics, and shouting at inaccuracies in TV shows (cough Thor cough). If you get something wrong, they will find you.
The best place to start is with the sagas themselves. They are dark, weird, and often involve people killing each other over minor insults. (Njál’s Saga, I’m looking at you.) You can read them for free at The Icelandic Saga Database.
You’ll also want to dig into academic sources on Viking life. A good starting point is The Vikings: A History by Robert Ferguson or Children of Ash and Elm by Neil Price. You can find more recommendations at HistoryExtra’s Viking reading list.
Everyday Viking life is also worth understanding. They were not all enormous blond supermodels. They farmed. They made cheese. They occasionally died in horrifyingly preventable ways. For a deeper dive, check out National Geographic’s Viking History.
And for Odin’s sake, do not put a horned helmet in your book.
Mythology and Magic: How to Add Norse Gods Without Turning It Into Marvel
Norse mythology is chaotic. It’s full of doomed gods, world-ending wolves, and a giant squirrel named Ratatoskr (yes, really). If you’re writing Viking fiction, you need to decide how mythology fits into your world.
Is your novel strictly historical? If yes, then your characters will still believe in the gods, but Odin isn’t going to be turning up to have a chat. Are you blending history and magic? If so, you’d better read up on Seidr (Norse magic), shapeshifters, and why Viking sorceresses were both revered and slightly feared. A great resource for this is World History’s Seidr guide.
And remember, Norse gods were not nice. They were ruthless, morally questionable, and constantly getting themselves into avoidable disasters. If you want to add magic to your Viking world, lean into the eerie, the strange, and the morally complex.
Christianity vs. Paganism: The Ultimate Clash of Worldviews
By the late 10th century, Christianity was slowly but surely taking over Scandinavia, and Norse Paganism was on its way out. But, because Vikings don’t do anything the easy way, this was not a smooth transition.
Imagine being a Viking in 999 AD, and suddenly some monk from England turns up saying you can’t just stab people for looking at you funny anymore. That’s exactly the kind of conflict you want in Viking fiction—the tension between the old gods and the new faith, between blood feuds and written law, between warriors and priests.
If you want to write about religious conflict, read about how Iceland officially converted in the year 1000 (hint: it involved a lot of compromise and probably some grumbling) at HistoryExtra’s guide.
And if you’re including Christian Vikings, remember that they adapted their new faith in some fascinating ways. They just made Jesus sound like a slightly less moody Odin and kept using their swords a lot. More on that at Norse-Mythology.org.
Write a Viking Protagonist That Feels Like a Real Person
If your Viking hero is just a gruff warrior who loves drinking mead and chopping people’s heads off, congratulations—you have written a Viking NPC from Skyrim.
A great Viking protagonist should have flaws (and not just “he’s too good at fighting”). They should have a sense of humor (even sagas have jokes, though they’re usually at someone’s expense). And, crucially, they should not be modern people in tunics. A Viking woman is not going to care about gender equality in the way we do today, but she might still rule a farm, lead a raid, and poison anyone who gets in her way.
For a great example of a well-written Viking woman, look at Bergthora’s Saga—her story isn’t just about fighting men with swords, it’s about navigating a brutal world, using Pagan magic, and getting her revenge on her own terms. You can read more about Viking women’s roles at HistoryExtra.
Revenge: The Ultimate Viking Plot Device
If you don’t have at least one blood feud in your Viking novel, are you even writing Viking fiction?
Revenge was so important in Viking society because they didn’t have police. You had to handle things yourself, and that usually meant stabbing your enemies in the night. But revenge shouldn’t be straightforward. The best sagas are full of twists, betrayals, and unintended consequences.
For more on Viking revenge culture, check out History Today’s feature on Viking blood feuds.
Conclusion: Write Viking Fiction That Feels Real
The best Viking fiction isn’t about mythical warriors in fur cloaks—it’s about real people navigating an unforgiving world, torn between their gods, their families, and their own brutal sense of justice.
So, if you’re writing Viking fiction, make it messy, make it strange, and make it feel like something that could have actually happened. And for Odin’s sake—leave the horned helmets out of it.
What’s Your Favorite Viking Book?
Got a favorite Viking novel? Are you writing your own Viking epic? Let’s talk in the comments.
