Current Project: Deceived2nd Eternal Guardians book
Status: Chapter one
Happy Good Friday! Today is my son's 7th birthday. We've been teasing him mercilessly because his birthday falls on Good Friday and most days he is anything but "good". He can be such a squirrel in church in fact, my mother is constantly suggesting, "perhaps that one isn't Catholic like the rest of you." I do feel a little guilty today, though. Because it's such a big day in our church, we will take the Gremlins to service tonight, and the Good Friday service tends to be a long one. Poor Gremlin #2 already judges his days based on "is today a church day?" with a "Yay!" being the response if I say no, and an "Aw, shucks," if the answer is yes, I haven't had the heart to tell him what we'll be doing tonight.
I don't generally talk about religion - and don't worry, I'm not going to spout off any religious views here or start a debate - because it's one of those things that we all have different opinions on. I've had friends mention, "I didn't realize you were so religious," which is both funny and odd to me because I consider myself a faith based person, but by no means a religious fanatic. We try to go to church every week. We make sure our kids are in religious ed classes. I make a strong attempt to hit the holy days of obligation (like Ash Wednesday and Good Friday) when I can (or when I remember). But I never try to push my religious views on others, and I keep my own opinions and views to myself. I do think faith-based views shape a person into who and what they are, and I've often wondered why we don't see or read more of that in books.I've often thought about bringing in shades of faith into the books I write. Not in an inspirational category way, but more as a facet of a character's life that has molded them into who or what they are today. Are they Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish or an atheist? Did they grow up that way or convert? How did that part of their background shape them into who they are in the story? I think I shy away from bringing faith into my stories for the same reason I don't talk about faith with friends - because it can be controversial. And because it's personal. But aren't our books supposed to be personal?
When I was working on STOLEN FURY, I wrote a scene where this actually came into play. The original title of the book was MAKE ME BELIEVE, which fit the heroine to the letter. Because of what she had been through in the past, she'd lost her faith in everything - including religion - and the only thing she truly believed in was herself. She comes from a very Irish Catholic working-class Chicago family, with parents who go to church every week and a family where you're supposed to grow up, get married and have kids. Nothing in her life had gone the way it was "supposed" to go. Then she meets the hero, years later, when she's 38 yrs old - who's Puerto Rican - and he also comes from a very strong Catholic background. The scene I wrote actually had the book taking place over Easter and his dragging her to this little church out in the middle of nowhere during their quest because it was the one day per year he HAD to go to church or else his mother would know. (Good Catholic guilt there.) It was kinda funny, very sweet, and showed how much she'd lost her faith in everything. I ended up cutting it not because I didn't like the scene, but because the timeline didn't work and it didn't really push the story forward. It was more character development than anything else, but I do still like the idea of that scene.
As I wrestle with the new paranormal series, I'm also wrestling with the faith question more and more. Though this in a different way. I've set up this alternate world, based on Greek mythology, and I find myself having to define Heaven and Hell and the afterlife based on parameters established within Greek myth (Hades and the Elysian Fields) then deciding what I want to fit and mold into my world. How does this work for the human realm? How much traditional religion do I want to have play into what I create? So many questions. So many answers I have yet to find.
How about you? Have you ever written any faith based elements into your books? How do you feel when you read a book and you see mention of a character's religious background?
10 comments:
Great topic!! I've thought a lot about this lately. I love paranormal books and I've been trying to think of something non-vampire to write about. So I've been kicking around an idea with solitary and coven practicing Wiccans, or more generally, Pagans. The book(s) would revolve around their faith and it would be the catalyst for the plots. But it's also difficult to take something so personal, and for me, something not as widely accepted, and put it in a book. It's a tough decision! There are a lot of people out there who write about quasi-Wiccans or Pagans to basically write about witches, but it's from an outsiders perspective. I find it difficult to take that jump to write about Pagans because there's always the fear of being judged when something isn't so widely accepted.
Great topic and timely, for me anyway :)
It is a good topic, Eli.
Not being a member of organized faith, I haven't ever considered including it my books. That said, I tend to write ethical, caring people who live by traditional standards even if they don't attend church.
I read a couple of mystery series where the heroines are practicing Catholics and where religion plays into their lives and their plots. One woman, for instance, had loved a man twenty-five years previously, they spilt and married poorly and lived with these spouses for many, many years until the heroine's husband dies and the hero decides he can't take any more of the alcoholic wife and asks the church for an annulment. They don't get together at all until the church grants it. This is a subplot through three or four of the early books and has nothing to do with the mysteries.
So, yes, I think religion can play into a book just fine as a part of who your characters are and what makes them tick and if it's a firm part of who you are, why shouldn't you include it? Your church scene in Stolen Fury sounds charming. Maybe you can recycle it into another book and end it with a gun fight!
Lisa -- a friend of ours quoted someone yesterday (I can't remember who he attributed the quote to.) It went something like this: "What other people think of you is none of your business." It's almost impossible to live a life that meets with 100% approval, and as long as you stand behind what you write, the rest will follow. It's very likely that the people who will be offended by Pagans and Wiccans will not read your books just as those put off by vampires don't read those books.
I think Alice is right, Lisa. I think there will be people who choose not to read about pagans for the same reason they choose not to read about vampires or werewolves or serial killers. You can't please everyone. You CAN write a kick-ass book that emotionally appeals to many people. That's why books about vampires and werewolves and even serial killers appeal to people. Because there's something in the characters that's common to everyone, regardless of their individual beliefs.
I say go for it!
LOL, Alice, about recycling that scene and ending it with a gunfight. Oh, the possibilities!!! But in the end...who knows. It may never work with another character. I think that's my point here. Bringing faith into a book may work for certain characters, but not for others. In the end I let the characters dictate what gets written. ;)
I like your friend's quote. And so very very true.
Heavy post. lol.
I haven't included any faith in anything I've written. Most faith I've come across in books simply makes a past reference to the protag's upbringing and whether or not faith had a positive or negative impact on how they live their life. Which I believe is the role of faith in one's life. It is one of the many facets of a person's character that shapes their decision making and actions.
I did judge inspirational for the Golden Rose one year and found it comfortable even though I hadn't read it in many years. I used to read quite a bit of it in high school. Guilt or redemption or forgiveness are frequently strong themes in those books.
Kendra -- I think guilt, redemption and forgiveness are strong themes in all fiction!
Both my parents were brought up in strict religious homes. One catholic and one protestant. They both worked 6 days a week at town jobs and we farmed/ranched 200 acres. Sunday was a work day on the place. If a friend asked us to go to church no matter which church we were allowed to go, but we weren't forced to go. My husband and I didn't mind if our kids go to church with friends. So religion isn't a huge thing for us, but both our girls, the oldest especially, have made it a big thing in their families. And I admire my friends who have a strong religious connection.
I think when you give that element to a character you are being true to who they are and showing the reader more about them. If you aren't writing for the inspirational line, I think you don't want to beat people over the head with the topic, but I do think it is integral to what made a character who they are.
And Lisa, I have always had a fascination about witches and while I wouldn't read a vampire book, I would be curious about a book with witches. I liked the trilogy Nora Roberts wrote that had witches in it. And I like that in a way they are organic chemists.
Writing historical- faith was much stronger in the whole of the nation in the time period I write than it is now.
Great thought provoking topic Eli!
I agree with Alice, Kendra. Guilt, redemption and forgiveness are central themes to many books in any genre. I definitely use them in mine as well.
I liked Nora's witch trilogy, too, Paty. Might be a good one for you to read, Lisa, to get a feel for how other authors have handled the topic. (Though yours obviously will be very different.)
And Paty's comment about religion and history got me thinking more about this paranormal aspect. I think the issue of faith has hit me more as I'm writing this paranormal series. Whenever I read paranormal I'm always trying to figure out how their world works in comparison to our Judeo-Christian view in western society that has shaped our legal codes and morality for the most part. Esp. when talking about immortality and afterlives and living and dying and where souls go or don't. So yeah, Kendra, probably heavy, but on my mind more and more as I delve into this second book.
Very interesting topic, Eli!
I don't mind religion in a book if it is part of the character and is important to who the character has become or how they will grow. However, a book that is "preachy" will get the old bounce off the wall from me.
I also think there is also a huge difference between religious and spiritual.
In my second book, FEATHERS ON THE FLOOR, the four-year-old twins believed strongly in angels. There are also hints of angels throughout this book.
I also have a single title book plotted and partially written where the heroine is a minister, as was her mother. I haven't finished it previously because I didn't think I had the skill as a writer to do it justice. Now that I would feel comfortable finishing the story, it will have to wait until after my nine-book series.
And one of the books in my series has a priest as a hero.
So, yeah, I'm fine with faith-based elements in books as long as it fits the character. Have fun with your world building!
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