At work, there's a song that plays that has the lyrics "I don't wanna go to heaven if I can't get in."
I kinda love that. I overheard a few days ago some women complaining about how it made no sense. I assume, from where we live, that they were referring to the fact that ANYONE could not want to go to heaven. The lyrics I think that they missed were "Everybody got a problem with the way I live," and "'Cause I'm no criminal/I'm not your enemy."
It's a song about the freedom to believe what you wish. That's what the United States of America is founded on, no? To hear a song like that called "ridiculous" just... irritates me.
So, how does this tie in to writing? Simple. Religion.
It may not play a large role in your book, it may not play a role at all. But you have to have SOME form of religion. Often, as in our own world, there are multiple religions. How do they get along? Are they constantly fighting with each other? Are a couple characters of differing religions? How does that affect the way they interact with each other?
Sure, it could seem like a small thing. And in fact, I think, in many books, it's overlooked. That is a travesty. It can make a book seem more REAL, to have the characters believe in something, but it's often times only used if it's central to the plot. (Such as in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time Series.)
In fantasy, many characters have magic. But it often goes unexplained as to where this power came from. Often we aren't even given theories. In our own world, how everything came to be is unknown for certain, but EVERYONE, religion and science, have theories. Why do so few characters in books ever question?
Anyway, that's my little rant for the day. Just something to keep in mind while you're writing. What do your characters believe in?
My characters are normally too focused on the plot to worry about what they believe in, religion wise. I'm always talking about morals and what not and did briefly mention religion in two novels I wrote in the beginning of the year.
ReplyDeleteI think so few characters question because they're focused on what just exploded (literally sometimes) around them.
Most people don't bring up religion as an introduction in real life. Normally a person only finds out about another's religion when a function at church (or what not) is mentioned. Many of my friends from High School never asked what I believed in and I never asked them. It just never came up.
I guess I kinda mangled what I was trying to say.
DeleteI don't mean that it has to play a large role, but you, as the author, need to know WHAT the characters each believe in, and why.
That doesn't NECESSARILY have to be religion, but SOMETHING.