If you use the imagery, there has to be a reason for it, I think. Doesn’t make it impossible, you just have to decide why they wear crosse, etc, and it has to be a good reason.

All: the writing prompt reminds me of Orson Scott Card’s Short story “Holy.” If you haven’t read it, I recommend it as an example of worldbuilding.

I grew up reading a lot of science fiction, especially Asimov/Heinlein time frame, and one thing that alway bothered me was the extreme anti-religious preachiness that a lot of those authors would indulge in. Every time it came up in a book, I was instantly thrown out of the story and brought back to reality. I never got to the point where I stopped reading an author for it (even with Pullman’s HDM, some of his other stuff is still enjoyable), though it does make me more careful about reading their work because I know I might have that same reaction again.

Anyways, I love this podcast, and I look forward to reading Dan Wells’ work when it comes out. I’ve been enjoying Schlock and Brandon’s books (even though my library here does not HAVE ANY), and I just re-read WOT to prepare for the last book. I love the fact that you all seem to have such fun making them, and each one makes me laugh as well as learn something new.

That’s a great idea, Thanks!

I was very intrigued especially by this episode because I, like Eliyanna, am an atheist. For that reason, I generally do not include any sort of religious themes in the things I write (I’m unpublished at the moment), and when I do, I try very hard not to let my biases interfere.

However, I thought about it from the other side, and I have a suggestion for believers–of any religion–that might make it easier for you to write more effective atheist or agnostic characters/cultures.

Most people who are believers believe in only one religion. If you want to write an atheist or agnostic, think about how you feel about any religion that you don’t believe in.

For instance, how do you feel about Zeus? Odin? Coyote? Quetzelcuatl? Are you tolerant of people who do believe in those gods/mythos? How would you react if you were removed from your culture and thrown into one where everyone around you followed what you felt was a false religion?

Anyway, just some thoughts.

I really enjoy the podcast, guys. I’ve taken more notes–in the car with my digital voice recorder, at work on my computer, at home in my notebook–than I have listening to any other podcast.

Keep up the great work!

Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t do all sorts of other worldbuilding (like Tolkien did). Just that most readers won’t care about the world if the story isn’t running in the foreground.

Also, I think this comment applies to ALL genres.

If you’re writing a Western, one powerful way to complicate your story is to look for the conflicts in that setting. Heck, the setting is usually where the main story problem comes from. Same with thrillers, adventure, SF. If you’re writing a romance, you’re looking for the conflicts that can complicate the situation. Many such conflicts can come from culture, geography, etc.

You can take that to characters as well–look for ways to develop characters that cause conflict.

Eliyanna,

Have you read any of James Maxey’s stuff? He’s a solid athiest who grew up Christian and is quite anti-religion. However, you should see him use religion in his stories. It’s very, very interesting. He’s got two novels out and two shorts on Intergalactic Medicine Show online. You might want to check him out.

I suppose it’s the escapism aspect. If you read as a form of escapism, then dragging such heavy issues into a real world context sort of defeats the point, doesn’t it?

I’ve read through all his books and liked the story itself, but… I’ll never buy another done by him, because of the sermonish themes that pervade through out each book.

The simple fact is that religion, and particularly the Catholic religion in Medieval Europe, was in many ways a repressive, unjust force. The fact that someone portrays it that way in a book doesn’t necessarily mean they’re biased or dislike the religion. Not every story with an evil or stultifying caricature of Catholicism is a _His Dark Materials_.

All,

One of the things that I think it’s most important to remember is to distinguish between religion as part of the story, religious themes in a story, and preaching to the reader.

I absolutely hate being preached at. There’s a well known web comic (no, not Howard’s) which has an evil female character who’s been, at least in part, redeemed from her wicked ways. During her redemption process, she was staying with a holy man. He talked to her, which I have no problem with, but the author took the opportunity to footnote the holy man’s comments with long biblical quotations which effectively broke the fourth wall and were directed at the reader, since clearly the characters within the strip never saw them. I found this highly offensive. If I want to attend a sermon, I’ll go to church, thank you. Yet earlier in the same strip, the protagonist decided not to engage in sex with his girlfriend until after marriage. This occurred during a story arc, it was entirely in keeping with the personality of the protagonist, and I didn’t find it offensive at all. It was just part of the story. Religion in a story doesn’t bother me. Preaching at me is a sure-fire way to lose me as a reader.

Finally, not all religion in a story is overt. Gene Wolfe is a devout Catholic and his works are full of religious themes and allusions. Sometimes, the religion is blatant and part of the plot. (The Long Sun series concerns a generational starship where the inhabitants have forgotten they’re on a spaceship and have come to worship the computerized avatars of the ship’s creaters.) Other times, you may not even realize that it’s a religious issue that’s underlying the story if you’re not both reasonably well educated and a careful, observant reader. He’s excellent at approaching religious issues from a secular angle, and I’ve never felt as though he were preaching at me.

It’s like, ya know, not that there’s anything *wrong* with that.

Ha!