# How do your beliefs inform your writing?



## Mindfire (Apr 13, 2015)

I'd just like to open discussion on this issue. I've been thinking recently about how my own beliefs and opinions bleed through into my writing, and I'm wondering what thoughts others might have on the matter. Do you notice the same thing happening in your work or the works of others you've read? What did you think of it? How do you react when to stories influenced by beliefs you disagree with? Does it generally make the story better or worse when this happens? The floor is open.


----------



## Garren Jacobsen (Apr 13, 2015)

My beliefs greatly affect my writing, albeit in ways I don't realize. I am a member of the LDS faith, or Mormon. I have moderate political views and believe in being balanced in addressing arguments of any kind.

My faith shows up in subtle ways. I write about justice and mercy quite a bit. Specifically how mercy and justice cannot exist without the other. In fact, I often have this juxtaposition of having both one thing and its opposite at the same time because there is "Opposition in all things." (_See The Book of Mormon_ 2 Nephi 2:27). I also borrow symbols that were first show to me via my faith: like mists of darkness (representing sin and straying from the path), great and spacious buildings (representing pride and vanity), and other things. Although, I don't use these terms explicitly.

As for my political views and balanced approach, any time I write about a controversial subject I treat each side with fairly equal weight and try to present the best arguments for each. Granted I have a slant and my MC follows that slant, but I still try to make it apparent that the other views are not unreasonable or even evil. Most of the time the proponent's actions are bad, but not necessarily their ideals.

That's basically how my beliefs creep into my writings. There are more ways but I lack the time and most lack the attention span for much longer posts.


----------



## TheCatholicCrow (Apr 13, 2015)

The thing that comes to mind first is The Scarlet Letter. I LOATHED that book - perhaps because I'm a fan of the vigilante trope. The whole time Hawthorne tells you what you're supposed to believe and who to empathize with. He doesn't leave any room for the reader to form his/her own opinions which very irritating. (For the record, her cuckolded husband was the only character I cared for- go figure.)

That book always stuck with me as a sort of "how not to write". I try to insert some of my beliefs into my writing but I usually tend to be more subtle about it. For every character that holds my beliefs, I'll add one that does not (a stay at home mother and a Feminist, a Libertarian and a Socialist etc.)  

IMO a little goes a long way.


----------



## Caged Maiden (Apr 13, 2015)

Ah, I've thought of this before too.  I'm not sure whether we're talking religious beliefs here, or moral ones, but I think my own beliefs do work their way into my writing.  I'll give a few examples in a bit, but first I wanted to talk about beliefs in the art of fantasy writing. 

So, we have an interesting genre in which to explore beliefs.  By that, I mean we make up an entire world, or we alter the real world in such a way that the details are mostly our own.  Sure, we can draw from history, other literature, or even people we know in our real lives (or tv), but we're basically the gatekeepers of what makes it into our worlds and works.  If I want a religion that is modeled after the Catholic Church, I can slap a new name on it, change a couple things, and bam, I have a new religion that worships a newly-named god(ess) and various saints or demigods under him/ her.

Same thing for morality.  In my worlds, I tend to deal with issues that exist in our real world.  Things like parent-child relationships, lovers who quarrel, infidelity, unrequited feelings, self-esteem, loyalty, deep friendship, keeping secrets (or spilling them), doing what is right, honesty, honor, nobility, social standing, etc.

To explore those things, I use a number of vehicles.  I guess it's time for some examples, because I love examples and feel they speak louder than verbose theories.

In one story, I mention homosexuality.  Now, my personal beliefs are that people are what they are.  If you are a man, attracted to other men, why should I be bothered or feel it's unnatural, or presume to tell anyone how to live their life?  So in this particular story, my MCs go to a city and the male MC mentions the (homosexual) mayor often throws lavish parties, to keep citizens happy.  He mentions that while homosexuality is technically illegal in the city, it's sort of a thing people turn a blind eye to (even with city officials), unless the city's funds run low, at which time, fines are levied against the populace who are more outrageous in their conduct (in a wide scope of behaviors, not simply their sexuality).  Basically, it's fine if you're homosexual, but you might be fined if you draw an inordinate amount of attention to it.  Later in the story, a rival accuses him of being homosexual (in a rude way), and the MC brushes it off, not offended until the rival instead calls his female companion a whore.  At that point, he's livid and offers to meet his rival outside to settle the matter.  

I guess what I did there was to draw attention to my personal beliefs (that my MC shares) which is that homosexuality is natural and people should not be insulted to be called gay, but calling a lady a whore is just plain rude.   (that sounds funny now that I analyze it)

Anyways, I deal with all kinds of real-world things, and my personal beliefs work their way into the stories, but not as what I'd call a "message".

I have a character who has a brother-son (she was raped by her father), and the story isn't about her father and what a jerk he was, it's about how she relates to her son, who she blames for the reason she's 28 and unmarried and alone.  Later in the story, she learns that her grandfather (their guardian), has intentionally turned away suitors because he was afraid she would leave and take the boy away from him if she ever married, and he wants (selfishly) for his grandchildren to live with him forever (because he sent his own daughter away and she died before he could reclaim her...so now all he has is his granddaughter, who looks just like her mother).  I think it's important to not focus the writing of a story too deeply on a "message" or moral standpoint that might be difficult for readers to accept.  By that I mean it'd be hard for me to write the story about the character's young life and have her father as a character.  Readers would find the relationship distasteful, but are more likely to accept that it happened in the past and relate to the character who has led a sort of tragic life.

In another story, I use religion and a particular institution as the "antagonist".  I didn't want the story to look too much like The Reformation, (or the bashing of any sort of belief system) but it in essence is very similar to our real-world history.  In my world, I made the two religions coexist side-by-side for centuries, but recently, the "church" is trying to topple the more pagan religion.  Instead of having their morals very different, I made the more Catholic-like church (only because it's the richer and more demonstrative in its architecture) call the other organization blasphemous because they worship not only the three gods, but the divine portrayals of humanity.  Basically, the more pagan church considers all people divine, not just the rich ones.  I felt that made it less about religious beliefs and more about social reform, which is the theme of the story.  I even tried to change the names of titles, so rather than "cardinal" or "bishop" I have words like "savio" (sage, for the pagan religion) and "vescovo" (which I think means bishop in Italian).   I personally don't have any religious beliefs that resemble dislike for any particular religion, but I do believe all people have the ability to be "divine" and no religion ought to tell them they're unworthy.  I tried my best to make this a story with fake religions, rather than a thinly-veiled personal take on my dislike for any particular religion--which it absolutely isn't.

I try to consider historical viewpoints of people in our real world when I write, and maybe it's just that I'm in love with history and how people lived long ago, but I think our modern world is often limiting in its variations in certain ways.  Why shouldn't I be allowed to take a Greek viewpoint on homosexuality and a Celtic take on marriage, and a Viking view on slavery, and a Medieval European sort of chivalry, and a Renaissance Venetian idea of social structure?

I think in writing, our duty is to create worlds that inspire and characters that captivate, and whether we include our personal ideals and values into our work, reader respect should be a consideration, because if we don't respect readers and we sway into the indulgent, the readers will speak very loudly in the form of bad reviews and perhaps outright outrage at our writerly faux pas.

I'll continue to include myself into my work, because honestly, I don't know how not to at least hold somewhat true to my actual take on the world and issues.  I hope every writer does the same, because YOU are your most genuine resource for creating authenticity.


----------



## Tom (Apr 13, 2015)

I'm not sure how much my personal beliefs influence my writing. I'm a Christian, but I don't write overtly Christian themes or parallels into my stories. I incorporate my beliefs about souls, redemption, mercy, and other Christian ideas, but that's about it.

One belief I include in my writing is the idea that humanity is above all else. Sure, we may be flawed and broken, but we're also the highest beings on earth and God's masterpiece. I hate anti-human themes in literature. That's one of the reasons I absolutely loathe the Twilight Saga. Humanity is belittled, mocked, and even preyed upon like animals. The MC cannot wait to shed her humanity, going so far as to state after she becomes a vampire that she can picture both her faces: "Hideous human and glorious immortal." If you are human, you are weak and inferior, and vampires are your rightful overlords. That...just...makes me want to kick something. 

Same with the Inheritance Cycle--the elves are So Much Better Than You (and know it), and humans are dumb, superstitious cavemen still wallowing in the dirt. Just...gah. I read the books at fifteen, and that was the first statement at which I balked. After that I started wondering what, exactly, I was reading, and that opened up a whole new can of worms...

I love humanity, for all its flaws, and I try to show that in my stories.


----------



## Gryphos (Apr 13, 2015)

I would definitely say my beliefs influence my writing. I doubt I could avoid that happening if I tried.

One thing I've always despised in various stories is a permeating sense of cynicism and nihilism. Especially recently, you get a whole lot of stories of people being dicks to each other, showing no kindness or love, and then whining complaining about how "the world is cruel" "good people don't get anywhere in the world" "survival of the fittest, bruh". So, in my stories I inject a sense of the world being, actually, quite a lovely and beautiful place.

I also end up injecting a fair amount of my own socialist beliefs into my work. This perhaps comes to a peak when one of my characters has a backstory of breaking into a parliamentary building and punching every single Member of Parliament in the face as protest against their corruption and lack of a substantial welfare system, only after giving speech condemning capitalism.

And then there are more general beliefs like how glorious human ingenuity is, the importance of leaving a mark on the world regardless of the absence of any afterlife, the view that capital punishment is a hideous and inhumane concept, etc.

I don't think inserting your beliefs int your writing is a bad thing, so long as you don't end up sounding in-your-face preachy, and still manage to tell a good story. As to whether I could read a story which presents views I disagree with, ummm, to a point. Some disagreements I could easily overlook if the story was still good, but some I wouldn't be able to look past. If a story contained blatant right-wing libertarian views, I wouldn't be able to read it, and would probably end up destroying the book and regretting spending good money on it.


----------



## WooHooMan (Apr 13, 2015)

I've noticed I tend to throw a lot of little Hindu traces in my writing but I doubt too many readers would notice - mostly stuff concerning rebirth and the value of spiritual/metaphysical knowledge.  I find that stuff tend to be pretty universal, which is why it seems to work in any story.

Beyond that, I'm basically in the same boat as Gryphos (anti-nihilism/pessimism/preaching/edgy crap but okay with most other things).  I'm on the opposite end of the economic spectrum but I'm cool with a book expressing economic/political beliefs that aren't my own.  In fact, I find the outspoken socialists write better fiction than outspoken capitalists.


----------



## X Equestris (Apr 13, 2015)

I'm a libertarian Christian, but I don't, and have no intention of, bashing you over the head with my views.  I include some themes about free will, redemption, faith, and merit, but that's about it.  And I like to leave questions involving those themes open ended, so that others can draw their own conclusions.  

On the point about other authors' beliefs in their work, I don't mind, so long as you don't beat people to death with it.  And it extends beyond writers whose views you disagree with.  I may be a libertarian, but Ayn Rand's fiction kind of grates on me sometimes, as she goes off on long winded author filibusters.  She would have been better served forging her ideology in nonfiction, and from what I have heard and read of her essays, they are much better, as you aren't trying to tell a story in an essay.


----------



## Feo Takahari (Apr 13, 2015)

There are a lot of things I could say about how Utilitarianism influences my writing, but the most prominent is that I don't really care about "good people" and "bad people" so much as "good actions" and "bad actions." A lot of fantasy takes virtue ethics to the point of tautology--she has a lot of virtues, so she's the good guy, and he has a lot of vices, so he's the bad guy, and she'll always be the good guy no matter how much horrible stuff she does to the bad guys. For a Utilitarian, he can be an antihero if he does more good than harm, and she can be a villain if she hurts other people in the name of justice.


----------



## Tom (Apr 13, 2015)

Gryphos said:


> One thing I've always despised in various stories is a permeating sense of cynicism and nihilism. Especially recently, you get a whole lot of stories of people being dicks to each other, showing no kindness or love, and then whining complaining about how "the world is cruel" "good people don't get anywhere in the world" "survival of the fittest, bruh". So, in my stories I inject a sense of the world being, actually, quite a lovely and beautiful place.



Agreed. I don't like cynicism and nihilism. I often think a book I'm starting will be good, only to discover that either the tone or the characters are "edgy" and "cynical". Cynicism frustrates me, because it turns a blind eye to all the good in the world and concentrates on the bad. I hate the characters who complain about the state of the world--has it ever occurred to them (or the author) that it's better to actually try and _change_ the problems they see in the world, rather than sit in their ivory towers and angst prettily about it?


----------



## Ophiucha (Apr 13, 2015)

I think, to an extent, _all_ of my beliefs have an affect on my writing. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes without even thinking about it. I don't think I'm even aware of all the ways all of the little beliefs I have likely affects my writing.

For instance: I think daffodils are ugly. I barely think about them, but if I'm at a point in my story where I need to pick a flower for my MC to have in her bouquet, I'm probably _not_ going to pick daffodils. That's obviously a rather mundane belief, but it's something I never think about that still could change how I wrote a scene. It is very likely that there are political and moral beliefs I hold with the same disregard or lack of thought that influence how I write, things that I'm unaware of entirely that could suggest a certain leaning to a reader who cares deeply about an issue. Unintentional, but a possibility.

Some beliefs I am aware affect my writing, but I don't intentionally include them either. I'm not religious. That isn't particularly important to me anymore; I'm not dogmatic or Dawkinsian in my atheism. But the only main character I've written who _wasn't_ an atheist was an actual historical figure, whose story relates to him being excommunicated from the Catholic church. I've never been religious, so it just... doesn't occur to me? I'm more likely to think 'what is her favourite novel?' than 'does she believe in a God?' while creating a character, so they just sort of end up being atheists.

And sometimes, my beliefs are part of my writing process. I'm a feminist, 4 out of 5 of the novels I've got in the works have female protagonists. One of them is intentionally evoking the themes and history of the feminist science fiction subgenre. Another deals with gender roles in a fantasy world. Even the story I wrote that is about a man, I actively avoid sexist tropes that would have easily fit into his story (the story opens with him waking up from his first night as a werewolf - how typical would it be to have had him see his dead wife torn to shreds with her blood under his fingernails, with her fridging his motivation for the rest of the novel?).

As for how I react to stories influenced by beliefs I disagree with, I've certainly liked stories that have political messages I disagree with (_Ender's Game_, Heinlein). And I've loved stories that, though perhaps not outwardly political, were clearly not taking a feminist approach to writing female characters. But I'm never going to like _Atlas Shrugged_. There are a few Lovecraft stories that are _way_ too racist for me to appreciate the purple prose and eldritch horrors. John Ringo is so hamfisted in how he write his beliefs that I'm rolling my eyes too often to actually finish reading any of his books.


----------



## WooHooMan (Apr 13, 2015)

This thread makes me want to read a lot of you people's work.  I guess I'm just a very theme-oriented reader.


----------



## Chessie (Apr 13, 2015)

Awesome and interesting thread! What's funny is that when I read fiction, I rarely think about the author's perspective on life unless it's a seriously vulgar and obscene piece of work which thank goodness, I have not read much of.

I love stories about humanity, broken relationships, and miserable people. Of course these can all be explored outside of the fantasy genre but I think specifically in fantasy (and science fiction) there are abnormal tools that can be used to drive our characters over the edge. 

About the only thing I won't cover in my stories is rape and child abuse of the sexual nature. People are complex and I love writing about the dark to light aspects of humanity. I'm a Christian also and fascinated with people who are saved, meaning those who God calls out of terrible circumstances into His loving light. In real life, I love listening to people's problems, sitting with them in their feelings, and watching people find strength to move through life's crap into a better place emotionally, spiritually, & mentally. I see my characters in this same way. My beliefs don't rule my work because the work has its own agenda and life.

My goals with writing are about touching people's hearts and entertaining them, so I'm not afraid to write about something I see as morally wrong or even gray in order to further drive a story. I don't think a work needs to be necessarily violent in order to be dark either. Do my spiritual and moral beliefs shape my writing? Not really, but my life experience certainly does. My spiritual beliefs are separate from my work for the most part.

The way I see it is that artists use their art to explore crevices of their lives they can't explore on their own, or delve into the "what ifs" of human experience. That's completely a different thing than how I live daily.


----------



## MineOwnKing (Apr 13, 2015)

Sometimes I need to give a little more depth to a character and my beliefs kick in. I try to avoid it or only use it in dialogue, never in author narrative.


----------



## cupiscent (Apr 13, 2015)

I imagine that, much as Ophiucha outlines, my beliefs are more apparent in the things I just don't even think about when making story choices. For instance, I'm mostly a universal syncretist in religious matters (I don't think the system whereby people come to a relationship with the divine is the important thing) and therefore often religion either just doesn't show up in my stories (I belatedly came up with world-building reasons why there was no religion in my last novel) or is decidedly not monotheistic or a looming edifice (my previous novel had "guiding spirits" that weren't quite gods in the centre of religious practices). I admit, I prefer to see non-faith-based reasons guiding behaviour.

Given what you've all seen of me on these boards, I'm sure it comes as a surprise to no one that considerations of gender parity, equality, roles and power relations are things that often appear in my work.  (You can also see this in how I write romantic developments in my work.) I also, as a social-justice-aware Australian, find myself continually interested in exploring themes of multiculturalism, but also colonialism, imperialism and the effect these have both on native and invading populations.


----------



## Guy (Apr 13, 2015)

Of course my beliefs seep into my writing, just like my life experiences do. It can't be completely stopped. I'm Pagan, so this naturally colored my efforts to create religious beliefs for my characters with themes of duality and that light and dark, positive and negative are vital and inseparable. I'm libertarian, so that colored my efforts to create a political system they live in. I suppose these also pop up in my themes of self-reliance and natural consequences. As long as the writer doesn't bludgeon the reader with them, all is well.


----------



## Penpilot (Apr 13, 2015)

I don't think my beliefs, or lack of them, inform my writing at all, at least not consciously. I don't really identify with any group, but if pressed to label myself, I'd say I'm an atheist.

When I write, I don't do it to advance an ideology. But I do try to explore ideas and questions relevant to everyone regardless of belief. My story in the Iron Pen Anthology was a fantasy story, but when you boiled it down, it explored the cost of heroism, which IMHO when applied to a modern world translated into what would one sacrifice to do one's job, regardless of the job's importance. The ending passed no judgement on the choices made, but I hoped it made the reader wonder what they would do when confronted with the same situation. 

As for other people's works. I'm open to anyone's works as long as they're not hammering me with their message, and the story is told well. A poorly told story is a poorly told story regardless of if I agree with the beliefs it explores.

When I was in university, I took a lot of philosophy courses. I was required to understand many different ways in which people looked at the world. I didn't always agree with a view point, but it was interesting to understand how others thought about things.

To me one never knows the strength of one's stance on a matter until face with the strongest arguments from the other side of things. If all one ever faces are strawman arguments then one's stance isn't worth much.


----------



## skip.knox (Apr 13, 2015)

Caged Maiden's examples point up an important distinction here. When someone speaks of beliefs, a natural reaction is for the conversation to drift toward religious beliefs. But there are plenty of things we believe about the world. We believe the scientific method is reliable. We believe in Newtonian physics (even though we know there are other models). 

Perhaps more relevantly, each of us have beliefs--maybe it would be better to call them assumptions--about how humans behave. How they behave in love, how they get revenge, how they hate, how they desire. These things tend to have an effect on how we construct our characters and how we have those characters interact. IOW, what we would call a "believable" character. 

Beliefs enter in other ways as well. Some people believe certain kinds of people (race, gender, sexuality) are underrepresented or wrongly presented in our genre (or are over-represented), and make plot and theme choices based on that. Some believe a sub-genre needs an advocate. Or that a plot device should get used or should never get used.

Even my profession affects my writing. Most obviously, I'm a medieval historian and I write historical fantasy. Surprise! More to the point, my study of history has led me to certain conclusions about how societies work, how governments work, even to some observations about human nature. Were I not a historian, I'm not sure I'd have the same set of beliefs.

If I add all of that (and more) up, I'm almost drive to the converse question: is there anything in my writing that is *not* driven by or at least affected by my beliefs?


----------



## Waz (Apr 13, 2015)

I would argue that's it's impossible for a writer's beliefs to not filter into their stories. Even someone who's agnostic or atheistic still has beliefs about how life should be, morality, eventuality, justice, etc. If an atheist writes a story with a god or gods in it, their theological reasons for doubting in god are likely to show up in the characteristics of the god they portray.

The way we dispose of villains, they way relationships grow or fall apart, and the things we identify gray areas in morality (the things we let lovable trouble makers get away with). All of these things are shaded by beliefs.

The melding of beliefs and story is important to me because I use stories to wrestle with topics like self-determination, humanity, and theodicy (the philosophical question of how evil could exist in a world created by God). These philosophical and theological topics spark ideas that become embodied in my stories, almost like expanded versions of fables or parables. In short, my story ideas ignite while listening to philosophical debates. When someone asks a question that makes me think deeply, I not only wrestle with the question, I create stories that portray that struggle and eventual answer.

I'm a Christian, so stories with a more overt lesson come across like C.S. Lewis. Other stories are less overt, with undercurrents of the themes and worldview, but it's secondary to the story (like J.R. Tolkien). The goal of my stories is for all readers to be excited, surprised, and thrilled, and for some readers (the ones who like digging to deeper levels) to discover intriguing concepts and ideas. I don't feel like one of my stories is complete unless it has multiple levels of depth.


----------



## Mindfire (Apr 13, 2015)

I'd just like to say that I didn't mean specifically religious beliefs. Political or other categories of beliefs are fair game. Just curious about beliefs in general.


----------



## Terry Greer (Apr 14, 2015)

I think its impossible to avoid your beliefs (religious, social or otherwise) affecting your work.

I'm an atheist - I doubt everything until I'm shown proof - or evidence, and I've always found it hard to believe that religion is ever taken at face value. My protagonists often meet this head on - and a recurring theme is how fact and history get warped and incorporated into belief systems.

This isn't to say that I take a stand on morality being firmly on one side or the other - it isn't. My stories tend to show that morality is not correlated with any particular belief system. People in my work can be good or bad irrespective of what they believe. But I do tend to have more doubters and rational people in my fiction (on all subjects) than most probably do. 

I find it easy to explore social beliefs such as society structure, politics and gender, and building worlds, planets, cultures, alien bilogy and ecologisty and extrapolating science all come really easy and fun. But I do find it very hard to write about religion being real (even in a fantasy setting) as I find that stretches fantasy to breaking point for me. I can believe/accept anything in fantasy - but not the existence of a real deity - unless I'm writing something satirical. 

I try to keep any 'propaganda' element of my beliefs out of my stories - as I hate seeing points of view (on either side) pushed heavily in a story I read, so I'm very conscious of this - but I'm not sure how effective I am - that would be for a reader to decide.


----------



## Mythopoet (Apr 14, 2015)

As an interesting aside, do you know that J.R.R. Tolkien never consciously tried to include his beliefs in his writing? It seems odd since there have been several whole books written just about exploring the religious symbolism and philosophy of his books. He's one of those very well known openly religious writers. After publication he called LOTR a fundamentally Christian and Catholic book, but did not himself pick up on much of the Catholic symbolism others found in the books until it was pointed out to him. According to him it all must have happened at a subconscious level, flowing from him naturally simply because his belief was an even bigger part of him than his creative work was. 

I think of myself as similar to Tolkien in that regard. I am also Catholic and my beliefs are a big part of me. For that reason I can't quite manage to invent a fantasy world without a Prime Mover though I've tried for years; Nothing else makes sense to me. I have managed to place the Prime Mover even farther in the background than Tolkien's Eru is. I think my religious and philosophical beliefs will always play a big part in my writing. Though I am fortunate in that I have always, since childhood, been interested in learning about the beliefs of other cultures and places. I find it fascinating to explore all sides of a question and to try to look at the world through other viewpoints. A big part of my worldbuilding is using various beliefs and philosophies of ancient cultures (especially Egypt) as the foundation for how my world works. I like to dig down and try to understand how those peoples actually thought about their world and their place in it. 

So I'm sure my beliefs will come through in my writing just as Tolkien's did, but more often than not when I'm making an effort, I'm making an effort to understand and explore different beliefs than mine.


----------



## Devor (Apr 14, 2015)

I don't know why, but every time I glance at this thread I find myself inclined to make a bad joke about having an ax to grind that I don't really have.

The guy in my signature, G. K. Chesterton, writes about religion, and one of his quotes reads something along the lines of, "On just about any subject I believe what the majority of people throughout time have believed."  I'm sure I butchered it and made it sound arrogant or something.  But in context, he was talking about things that are sometimes considered "Christian themes," like forgiveness or compassion.  He considered these things to be human, not in any way unique or different about Christianity.  He didn't like when Christians tried to "claim" them, instead of focusing on the (wonderful) things which really are unique to Christianity.

I agree with him.  On just about any topic, I certainly feel as though I believe what most people believe.  That may be hard to stomach as I sometimes probably look like I disagree with everyone about everything.  But I don't think my beliefs are all that unusual or strange, so I honestly have trouble answering the question.


----------



## Mythopoet (Apr 14, 2015)

Devor said:


> I don't know why, but every time I glance at this thread I find myself inclined to make a bad joke about having an ax to grind that I don't really have.
> 
> The guy in my signature, G. K. Chesterton, writes about religion, and one of his quotes reads something along the lines of, "On just about any subject I believe what the majority of people throughout time have believed."  I'm sure I butchered it and made it sound arrogant or something.  But in context, he was talking about things that are sometimes considered "Christian themes," like forgiveness or compassion.  He considered these things to be human, not in any way unique or different about Christianity.  He didn't like when Christians tried to "claim" them, instead of focusing on the (wonderful) things which really are unique to Christianity.
> 
> I agree with him.  On just about any topic, I certainly feel as though I believe what most people believe.  That may be hard to stomach as I sometimes probably look like I disagree with everyone about everything.  But I don't think my beliefs are all that unusual or strange, so I honestly have trouble answering the question.



I think most of the time it's hard for people to see how similar we all are once you get past specific terminologies and quirks of the way our cultures have taught us to think. Sometimes you need to put things into the right words to connect the dots. I think that's one of the primary reasons for story. Stories are able to connect people in a way that real life can't.


----------



## Feo Takahari (Apr 14, 2015)

@Devor: I think you might not be giving Christianity enough credit. To draw an analogy, Christianity also has some of the rejection of materialism found in Buddhism, but it hasn't been emphasized in the same way Buddhism does. I've seen believers in other systems distance themselves from, or even attack, the Christian approach to mercy. I'm not a Christian myself, but I love that part of Christianity and think a lot of people underestimate the power in it.


----------



## Devor (Apr 14, 2015)

Feo Takahari said:


> @Devor: I think you might not be giving Christianity enough credit. To draw an analogy, Christianity also has some of the rejection of materialism found in Buddhism, but it hasn't been emphasized in the same way Buddhism does. I've seen believers in other systems distance themselves from, or even attack, the Christian approach to mercy. I'm not a Christian myself, but I love that part of Christianity and think a lot of people underestimate the power in it.



That might be true, I don't know.  I'm not really prepared to comment on the nature of forgiveness in Buddhism.

There's a little more to Chesterton's philosophy than what I went through, like the idea that different cultures have - for want of a better phrase, "Idea fads," that go back and forth and counter one another, sometimes masking what it is that people as a whole really believe.  He argues that while the learned scholars of the cultures want to compromise, and remain tame, and utilize control instead of passion, Christianity as a whole embraces all of the passionate ideals, but draws a line which makes that possible, like the cliche "Hate the sin, love the sinner."  Along that line, you can scream all you want about demanding justice for a murder, or plea forever for mercy on the killer, so long as you don't say the murder was okay, or that the sinner is unforgivable.

He's an odd writer, and reviewers sometimes point out that you can agree with just about everything he says and still not be a Christian.  But because I really agree with all of this, I very much feel that all of the passions people have really have a point, and that I can embrace them freely, and let them engage with one another, and not feel as though I'm compromising my own beliefs.

Huh.  I suppose that answers Mindfire's question.


----------



## Chessie (Apr 14, 2015)

To answer Mindfire's question outside of spirituality/religion, I will say that as a woman, I like to write about women coming to empowerment...whatever it means for that specific character. I think women are not represented enough in fantasy (it's getting better though). But by that I mean issues with self image, motherhood, relationships, what it means to be a woman in general. 

We are warriors in our own ways--all of us--women AND men. I don't subscribe to the female power movement because I respect the balance that both genders bring to this world. This is truly where I say that my beliefs shape my literary creations. I write mostly from a female pov (men are SO much easier to write though) and my protagonists typically are broken women that find their purpose and value in life outside of swinging a weapon, meaning it's not what makes them powerful. I do enjoy a kick ass warrior woman in my fantasy every now and then but that's not the way I roll in my own stories.

I see the diversity in our world as an advantage, too. I like to explore other cultures, ancient ones, other systems of spirituality or mythology, and how different cultures existed in their times. So I don't write a straightforward European style fantasy. It's mixed in with other cultures and I draw a lot of inspiration from my home & life in Alaska.


----------



## Russ (Apr 14, 2015)

My beliefs definately colour and guide my work.

But since I have many more questions than firmly held answers, my work, I hope, poses more questions than it answers.


----------



## Tuxedo Mark (Apr 14, 2015)

I'm officially Roman Catholic, but I've also been into Wicca for ten years, because I find the idea of worshiping a young, beautiful goddess much more appealing and cool. However, taking a cue from the eastern approach to religion, I've simply declared the Lady and Yahweh to be the same being; it's just that the ancient dudes in ancient times dude-ified Her out of a sense of insecurity.

This has worked its way into my stories. My characters are nominally Roman Catholic, but they question or outright dismiss certain dogma (most notably the concept of Hell, which they find abhorrent). In one of my series (near-future Earth), three characters become warriors of the newly-revealed creator goddesses. In another series (pseudo-medieval fantasy), most people worship creator goddesses.

In addition, all of my female MCs are either lesbian or bi. It's not called attention to, and it's not even apparent early on. It's just how they are.


----------



## Trick (Apr 14, 2015)

As a Catholic of Irish descent, I have some pretty deeply held beliefs that definitely affect my writing and a lot of verbal family history, fish stories included, that color my tone. I am somewhere between a Libertarian and a Constitutionalist but really, just the term Conservative suits me fine though I think I vary from that term on certain principles. Governmental oppression often enters my stories because of this, I think, but also because of my ancestral history and how little people know or think about the devastation wrought on Ireland by England and the suffering the Irish Immigrants went through in America. Many races and peoples have been oppressed etc. throughout the ages and I think they all deserve part of the spotlight; thus, my work often shines a spotlight on the oppressed. They don't have to reflect the Irish per se, simply one peoples' oppression of another. 

My religious beliefs don't often end up in my work directly because, IMHO, fantasy is fundamentally escapist and because I believe my faith is reality, it doesn't feel right in my work. Some morality principles, grey areas and philosophical quandaries have ended up there but not always on purpose. Usually not in fact. I tend toward dualities when it comes to deities, if not full on polytheistic pantheons. I like how they reflect the world without being, for me, of the world.


----------



## Garren Jacobsen (Apr 14, 2015)

As it concerns universal beliefs I think at levels of generality everyone agrees that we need to be nice, kind, merciful, just, etc. The differences show up as you get into specific application of the principles. 

Take for example the idea of charity. Most people believe it's great to be "charitable." However, we don't really agree on what the term means. Some consider it to be giving stuff or services to those in need. However, according to my faith charity is "the pure love of Christ." (_The Book of Mormon_ Moroni 7:47. So, whenever I hear of charity I think of the pure love of Christ. This of course entails providing for a person's physical needs, but also providing for their spiritual needs as well. But even still how this works among Mormons is different. I'm a bit more laid back, which I suppose you wouldn't guess judging by my recent religiony posts. I apologize if they're annoying btw. So I don't go up to strangers, save when I was on my mission and had a name tag, and share my faith. When I do share my faith it's either like this as a factual discussion generally devoid of bearing my testimony of Christ and my faith. The only time I go that personal with people is in rare instances where I feel such sharing is warranted, which would be when asked, at church, or when participating in a missionary lesson. (For those wondering that is when a young 18-20 some-odd year old guy in a shirt and tie is sitting in your room with a guy like me an we're talking about the Mormon faith's basic doctrines.)

Another example comes from politics. Most Americans think freedom of speech is great. How they apply it is different. Some believe hate-speech shouldn't be allowed. Others, like the SCOTUS, believes it should be allowed. It's quite the spectrum when you think about it. So while I agree to a degree with that assessment, the problem I have is that it doesn't seem to control for the specific applications of these general principles.


----------



## TheHeroOfCanton (Apr 15, 2015)

"Politicians use facts to tell fiction. Writers use fiction to tell truth." Ideally, our views are always a part of our writing, the trick is not to get preachy, but instead try to paint the most honest picture of your worldview as possible. Great discussion!


----------



## Vanya (Apr 17, 2015)

I'd have to say my beliefs are definitely in my works. That's mainly because it has a role in my books that help to guide the characters.


----------



## Tuxedo Mark (Apr 17, 2015)

It occurs to me that I forgot to mention politics in my previous post. While, in general, I consider politics to be a bunch of crap, I do tend to be liberal, so my stories reflect that. In my "Vampire Killer" series, my MCs don't carry guns. Most of my female characters are lesbians, and two of them (in a fantasy story that I'm currently writing) are engaged.

That said, I'm also currently writing a cyberpunk story set in a society that, while it does outlaw capital punishment, is more than willing to house convicted murderers and rapists together and leave them to fight it out, allows the police to use torture and brute force, and denies all sorts of freedoms to convicts (such as giving prisoners only food that their religions prohibit them to eat). Universal health care is offered, but, in emergency situations, certain types of people are given preference over others.


----------



## Jabrosky (May 7, 2015)

I don't believe I'm the least bit unusual for this, but my worldview, beliefs, and personal tastes permeate everything I create, whether in the form of writing or visual art.

My settings are always based to one degree or another on how I wish things could be or could have played out. When it comes to settings of mine with more historical flavor, I like to take even the tiniest seed of historical truth or possibility, plant them into my world, and let it grow into a portrayal of that subject that's both recognizable and yet unique. For example, I'm very fond of mixing influences from cultures that I see as related but most others don't, or portraying real historical cultures and people in a way that's unconventional and yet plausible, or at least calls attention to a connection I see that no one else does. And then, of course, I populate my settings with character archetypes, cultures, and creatures I think are totally awesome.

As for the more thematic aspects of writing, that's something I am not so confident in communicating. There are certain themes that resonate within me more than anything else, but I've found it next to impossible to express my feelings with the fullest honesty without setting off the wrong social tripwires. We as writers are encouraged to spill our whole souls onto the page without restraint, but the ones giving that advice out almost never take messed-up weirdos like me into account.


----------

