How do your beliefs inform your writing?

[Terry Greer]

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]

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]

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]

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]

@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]

@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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

"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]

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]

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]

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.