Writing from a Religious Conscience
You don’t have to write about religion
so long as you write religiously
A novel or fictional short story does not have to be about religion in order to be considered a book of religious and family value. This pretty much applies to
Jewish and to Catholic and Protestant fiction writers. What is important is that the over-all
story has sound family value.
Such a book can treat a sensitive subject matter in a
responsible manner. Murder, deceit, adulterous impulse, war and more are covered in the Bible. Think of the story of King David setting up Uriah to be killed so David could take
Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife.
Of course, a novel can include religion, Church, Synagogue and Temple. I’m just pointing out to aspiring authors that they can write on anything they wish. There is no requirement
to make a story specifically about religion in order to pass the test as a Christian writer, a Catholic author, or as a Jewish novelist.
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and his trilogy, Lord of the Rings are samples of a Catholic writer presenting a struggle of good vs. evil with no mention of a
deity or church. The Man Who Got Even With God, (Raymond Flanagan, OCSO; aka M. Raymond) on the other hand, is about faith, church and G-d. It’s been out of print for some years, but used copies
abound on the internet. The story is of a late 19th century man with a ferocious temper that needs to get even with every bad deed. He flees from his father’s tobacco farm and from G-d
and Church. The story concludes with a moving and motivating reconciliation.
My novels have a Catholic (and general Christian) setting. The characters range from quite religious to those who are anti-religious or neutral in faith. These books also give
respectful acknowledgment of the Traditional Indigenous American faith customs and belief system.
The two short stories presented as examples in the pages of this guide does not mention faith or religion. Yet, they handle serious issues for people of faith: domestic violence,
abortion, crime victim, and one’s unexpected moment of looking life and death in the face. The authors are people of faith. Readers of practically any faith tradition and those readers
who do not consider themselves particularly religious (or as atheists) can relate to the stories’ dilemmas and religious or core basic humanitarian instinct.
(Ref.: Story 1 and Story 2 in this page’s index.)
Your feedback is appreciated:
I am open to the input of other experienced or novice fiction writers for this section of my HawkDancer.com web site. Feel free to email me. Click the “Contact Me” or copy this email
address to give me feedback: yoshua@hawkdancer.com
______________________________________________
← Note: The complete Writer's Guide
menu is on this page, left column. Each section of this writer's guide has an icon button that will bring you back to this page
so that hyou can select another section or lesson. Let me know if this is helpfull. I appreciate corrections or advice on these pages.
I welcome the prospect of other authors, publishers or book sellers to write an article for this Writer's Guide.
Today is: month/day/year U.S.A. Eastern Time zone Date
Using this guide
I have about eleven pages of this HawkDancer.com web site dedicated to aspiring authors.
A button on each page can return you to the writer’s index on this page
enabling you to work your way through these lessons or discussions.
These are my thoughts on writing for the largest audience in the nation, and the world. That is, those readers who enjoy morally sound writing. Good, clean stories, of course, need to be well
written, and engaging. These kinds of writings will also sustain a far longer active literary market.
I will add pages regarding style and tools for better writing. The order of words and confusing relationship of a subject to multiple-choice objects or receiving characters is a common
concern. The heavy use of pronouns and strung on conversations between multiple parties can also misdirect the action in your story.
These items can and are used, but new writers should be aware of how best to use these things.
Example:
She told him that he was irresponsible.
The three pronouns make it unclear who “he” is at the end of the sentence. There are ways to treat this. Is “he” the same person as the one identified as “him?” Alternatively, is “he” a
third party?
Four pages are dedicated as a writer’s guide. Another four are short stories. Three more are of related interest to new authors.
Short Story 1 “Fishing Hole” and Short Story 2 “Lorraine” listed in the menu of this page are two sample stories I use for most of these discussions.
____________________
The Birch Clump Villager is suspended untill Jannuary 2012. It will then take on a digest format (8.25 x 5.5). Guest authors are welcomed. Email
me for details.
The Birch Clump Villager is suspended untill Jannuary 2012. It will then take on a digest format (8.25 x 5.5). Guest authors are welcomed. Email
me for details.
story has sound family value.
Such a book can treat a sensitive subject matter in a
responsible manner. Murder, deceit, adulterous impulse, war and more are covered in the Bible. Think of the story of King David setting up Uriah to be killed so David could take
Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife. 
← Note: The complete Writer's Guide
menu is on this page, left column. Each section of this writer's guide has an icon button that will bring you back to this page
so that hyou can select another section or lesson. Let me know if this is helpfull. I appreciate corrections or advice on these pages.