A rather silly little revelation, but hey

[changeyourstars8]

So I've been concentrating lately on notes/general plotline for an upcoming novel (that I'm not planning to write for quite some time, but when the plot bunnies attack . . . yeah). It involves religion, in a 'war between God and the Devil' kind of way, and some people I know, including my husband, are worried about me seriously offending people if I wade into this particular topic.

Which got me worried about offending people. I've never really dealt with it that much in my books before, and there's so much information out there, and what if I got something wrong, and yada yada much worrying about something I don't even have an outline on yet. ((not to mention the fact that this would be assuming 1) It's any good when it's finished, 2) Someone actually publishes the thing, 3) It sells beyond my family/friends. ;-)))

And then I realized . . . it'd be a fiction novel dealing with religious themes. Of course it'd irritate somebody! So instead of worrying about it, focus on making the futuristic world created in it as realistic as possible, make sure things stay plausible in the confines of that world, and have fun with it.

Speaking of fun, caught The Daily Show yesterday, when Bill O'Reilly was a guest. Hee.

Speaking of fun, Part 2, Cleolinda's Movies in Fifteen Minutes book is basically available . . . more information about it in her lj. :-)

Comments

[rosevaughn.livejournal.com]

Think about it. What happened when the Da Vinci Code angered people?

Sales went up.

A movie was made.

Another book about it was published. "Breaking the Da Vinci Code"

Sometimes creating controversy is a good thing.

[allthelivesofme.livejournal.com]

Good point . . . but on the other hand, I don't want to try to create controversy just for the sake of creating controversy.

[rosevaughn.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying you should create controversy just for the sake of creating controversy. I'm saying just do what you've already decided to do. Write the book and don't worry about.

Once it's published, we can watch all the goofballs' eyes pop out of their heads and roll down the street.

It's your job to write the book. Let them create the controversy.

[allthelivesofme.livejournal.com]

*S* That comment reminded me of the movie Dogma-- I was reading some of what Kevin Smith wrote about the reaction to the movie . . . several religious groups boycotted it, but the funny thing was they hadn't even *seen* it. They'd just heard vague things about it being offensive.

So of course I went right out and rented it. LOL

[rosevaughn.livejournal.com]

That's the point. It's sane (if you can call it that...lol) like you and me, who see the hype that the people create. We get curious about it, then go spend money to see it. Which is exactly what they don't want.

So just keep going, and then in a few years, we can all reap the benefits and laugh at the people who can't appreciate good writing.

And do it while sitting in your huge mansion, drinking wine, eating the expensive chocolate, while sexy half-naked guys rub our backs. lol

[jadelynx.livejournal.com]

I think, unfortunately, there is no way to get away from offending people. However, the fact that you are concerned enough to want to be consistant and respectful will get you as far as you need to go and then the rest just has to be taken lightly.

My father has his PhD in theology and has studied both the Bible and Jewish history for too many years to count. When you get to the point of writing it and have grey areas you wonder about, feel free to send me snippets and I'll discuss them with him. He might be able to offer some advice or give you a thumbs up that you are on a good track. :)

[allthelivesofme.livejournal.com]

Coool. :-)

One of my friends (whom I haven't seen for a while now, unfortunately) has studied a bunch of different religions, and during a cast party we got into a huge discussion about creation stories, and how much a lot of them have in common (The flood that wipes out most of the world showing up in many of them, for instance) and that was a fun night.

Unfortunately, the only other time I really came close to a discussion like that was in Philosophy class, when our teacher started to talk about how Christianity and Judaism and Islam have quite a bit in common, especially in the early books, but before she could really explain, this girl threw a *FIT*. "My religion doesn't have anything in common with Islam! Quit saying that. It doesn't. If you keep it up I'm going to leave."

By this point I was like, "Fine, go," but the teacher instead switched topics. :-P

Meanwhile, I haven't even made it through the Bible yet. lol Getting there. But I am finding some really interesting essays about interpretation of different passages, both online and off.

For instance, I'd heard more than once from people that childbirth was painful because God was punishing woman specifically for Eve eating the apple. But the study notes in my Bible brought up another possibility-- that *mankind* itself was being punished for the sin of not trusting God, and the 'pain' referred to about childbirth was the pain of knowing that the child would now be born into a world filled with sin.

I love this stuff. lol