So I came up with a story idea, but I have this overwhelming problem. I'm afraid people may not understand or it'll be offensive. Granted everything may possibly offend, but it's so not my goal. Any ounce of factual research or guidance you can supply would be great. I'm a younger writer and the story is based off heavy topics. Most everything in my story idea can be changed, nothing is set in stone. Everything I include below is just where my idea processing is at the moment. In summary what I have so far is, a fatherless adolescent male, between seventeen and twenty, deals with life in an American Colonial cult town. He and a companion get into trouble and it results in an accident that burns down a neighboring cabin. Because of the way he was born, a totally normal sun-poisoning condition the Reverend and townspeople pin on transgressions, and the way he was led into trouble by the rougher boys he hung out with, it was especially a bad look for him to be involved. He confesses these things to his mother as, he is totally indoctrinated into the cult beliefs. (Their beliefs are strict, old-world Christian views, but the Reverend manipulated tradition for power.) An altercation happens between the MC, Edgar, his mother, and the Reverend when the townsfolk pin the blame on him and his companion, whom he believes is dead. His mother mysteriously dies the next day and he believes it was the cult leader or a high member. This is never confirmed or denied, but it launches him into a revolt. Now the problem is, the story is already very debatable due to religious aspects. It is NOT a religious commentary, whatever people draw from religion from the story I hope not to influence at all. I'm very much removed from religion, but not against it in the slightest. Edgar is the protagonist, but the over-arching twist of the story is that, unlike what people would assume, he didn't want to escape the oppressive beliefs of the cult. He wanted to "perfect them." I.e. His mother taught him many values that were in line with their interpretation of the Bible, but not their cult. He wanted to create his own... well, basically his own cult. However, he sought to eliminate punishment for sin by death, slavery in the community, etc. It is especially muddled because... Edgar's group becomes comprised of, in his own words, "sinners." His best friend is a drunk and recruited rebellious folk. Another questionable and very possibly removed idea would be to have witchcraft practitioners join because they would otherwise face death if the community discovered them. In a debate with his mother Edgar wanted to know why it was righteous for the Reverend to sentence two allegedly homosexual men to death without proof and considering it was no better than murder. I thought perhaps I could add a sibling or two from these men's family to their group, as well as attract other closeted people. I'd also like to have a prominent former-slave join their cult. Edgar himself is a disturbed individual, his mother was his world and he viewed her as a religious idol. The closest thing to reaching Biblical perfection. That was his goal. It created a problem in himself where he had to question his own faith, whether he was following the faith for himself or because it was his mother's. A final problem I struggle with, but will somewhat cover in the end. People would be afraid to join Edgar's rebellion whether they agreed or not because of the power the Reverend has. Each family has no proper land or farm, the community is based off providing not an economy. So if they escaped the cult, they escaped certain survival. This is a lot of rambling, but final things to remember. A. My personal beliefs are not really present in either religious group or characters. B. The religious views present are NOT my opinions about modern or past religious groups. For all I care, if it seems less troublesome, I could found the cult's beliefs off a totally made up religion and not base it on anything. C. Opinions from LGBTQ+ and people of minorities would be super great. I don't want to shy away from handling the individual struggle of such people in my story, but I don't want to do it poorly so any opinions on how I should present those characters struggles would be great. (I am personally bi, but it's near impossible to offend me so my spectrum of what may and may not be offensive is different for me). D. Basically any help, ideas, or opinions would be great. x_x
Hi there. I think you should go for it. Unless you´re purposely offending someone in specific, to write a story should not be reason to trigger anyone. Now, reality is, some people can get triggered by anything, so the best thing you can do to minimize the risks is simply to make an initial disclaimer, and point the topics you will write about, so they are able to ignore your writing before it´s too late. Beyond that, it could be useful for you to define to whom are you writing. It is a personal project? You want to sell it? It´s a merely academic project? That would help to know where to present your work, and gives you an idea of the probable answers you will get. Now, if you want ideas or review about the plot you made on this post, I suggest you to participate into the Workshop thread, get acquainted with other people´s stories, and when you fulfill the requisites you´ll be able to post a draft of your tale, if that´s what you want. There, a more insightful critic could be made, and surely someone will give you at least his opinion on the matter. Hope to see your work soon.
Okay, so, a few things... Given the when and the where of your story, let go of the word cult. Not for PC reasons, but for reasons of indulging anachronism. Most colonial towns in the very early years of what later becomes the U.S.A. would seem frighteningly cultish to modern perception, but not to those who actually lived at that time. For them, they would just be Christians of a more orthodox lean. Purge the word cult from your mind because the 2018 engagement of that word is going to color the way you engage the story, and you've already said in your post that you're not trying to slam anyone or anyone's beliefs. In that spirit, let it begin with how you yourself approach the story. To your questions: A. My personal beliefs are not really present in either religious group or characters. B. The religious views present are NOT my opinions about modern or past religious groups. For all I care, if it seems less troublesome, I could found the cult's beliefs off a totally made up religion and not base it on anything. So, again, letting go of the word cult in order to free yourself to engage more openly, embrace the fact that there is no way to talk about religion - even a fake, made-up one - where people don't read some sort of pointed message into it. This is true for most of what we write, no matter the topic. It's a thing you have to learn to accept and work with because there's no getting around it and there's no point in either shying away from what you want to write, or, conversely, getting butthurt when people read things into it that weren't what you meant. Be brave. Write it. C. Opinions from LGBTQ+ and people of minorities would be super great. I don't want to shy away from handling the individual struggle of such people in my story, but I don't want to do it poorly so any opinions on how I should present those characters struggles would be great. (I am personally bi, but it's near impossible to offend me so my spectrum of what may and may not be offensive is different for me). As a gay guy, these are my thoughts, and assuming what you're telling me is that the two fellahs you describe are in a romantic relationship: There's a universe of difference between what happens to a gay person in a story and how you, the writer, make me engage that gay person in the story. They are two seperate things. Horrible tragedies can happen to the two poor fellahs you mention, tragedies that would be correct for the time and mindset of the people in the story, and you the writer can still - if it's the goal you want - present those two guys to me in a way that is sympathetic, thoughtful, insightful and in the end, satisfying to read. And I know for a fact that they are seperate things because the reverse can also happen. I've mentioned this before in the forum, but I think my most unfavorite handling of a gay character ever was Thomas the Gay Footman in Downton Abbey. The story starts in the 1920's, in an English country home, and pretty much everyone knows Thomas leans towards boys and the whole of Downton Abbey is only a smidge less tolerant than a very liberal neighborhood in 2018. That makes no sense, and it comes off as deeply disingenuous and fake and appealing to a progressive attitude of the audience rather than to the real life that guy would have actually led in that time and place. I hated it because it was so fake and smug. And I'm as gay as the day is long. No lie. True story.
Go for it. From your description, it sounds like a cautionary tale about what can happen when someone corrupts spirituality with power, which is a positive thing for you to write about religion, not a negative one. If someone finds that offensive, they're looking to be offended, because your story could actually be seen as protective of religions who don't go all batshit crazy and cultish. I wouldn't even bother with the disclaimer, honestly. ETA: A couple of scenes I'm writing in my current WIP are far worse and there will be no disclaimer. (In my WIP the Christian aunts are offended a Jewish person helped plan their sister's funeral, so they highjack the funeral from the daughter.) A similar thing happened with the hardcore Christians in my family, so if someone has a problem with it, tough.
What point do you want to make with that story? I can't figure out what it is about. If you put the whole story into one sentence, what would that be?
If I put the events of the story into a sentence it would be: Edgar rebels against a pious leader in hopes to show the people a better way to faith, in honor of his mother. I feel like what I'm attempting to get across, the theme I suppose, is the lesson that would have saved Edgar: Never allow yourself to get lost in the beliefs of others or you will live your life bringing glory to them as opposed to the God you seek. * It's a theme that can apply to many things, replace his search for God through the lens of his mother with your goal of... being a painter for example. You can emulate another painter all day long, but you'll be just a copy and lack true passion for art while being infatuated with that painter. No one can 100% say what the road to success is. (Apologies if that metaphor was straight up bad.)
I think it sounds pretty good. It's not the same at all, but "The Path" on HULU is a pretty good example of working religion, cult, and philosophy together into a show. They largely avoid the kiss of death most things of this type suffer from - the author not having a grasp of religion or philosophy. If the characters believe in some kind of shallow strawman belief system, the book won't hold water. I think you should go for it, just make sure you really get a feel for the religions (fake or not) that you're portraying. The deeper your knowledge, the more legit the interactions with it.
If your purpose is to tell the story then don't worry about offending anyone. Those easily offended need to get over it. I like the concept and I think you have a lot to say. There is even room for a back story. I will volunteer to be you beta reader when you're done.
Ah! That may be awesome, it'll be a while for me to get to that point. A few months ago I really delved into being a writer and I made this giant world and it got too much for me very fast. I had maybe 4 chapters done, (2 ended up being deleted because I decided to change so much later,) when I was like, oh I'll do beta reading. That did not help, or work... at all. If you're around when I do beta for this story, if I really stick to it... then I'd love to be able to recruit from this site.
It seems as if you are ambivalent toward religion, but your MC can't be. That will be your biggest hurdle. You need to keep your own feelings about religion separate from your MCs feelings. It might be best to have the character be a zealot. That way he just has to do the opposite of what you'd do.
Yea that'll be a fun challenge, I thought I included something more about it in the actual post. I look forward to it because even though I am not religious, agnostic basically, I am surrounded by a religious family. I hold respect for it and see how their faith acts for them. My train of thought is, "It doesn't matter what I believe, all that matters is that the religion they follow is real to the character." So there has not been and will not be a point where whether God exists or not will be a thing. To them it is all very real, so it simply is.
The main issue that I see with this story isn't touchiness, but research into the historical facts. It seems to me that you'd have to do an immense amount of research into religious beliefs of the time and place, but also into what counter-beliefs might plausibly exist. You'd want those counter-beliefs to be pretty surprising, but not unthinkable. That's a pretty delicate dance.
Had I asked you the same question @DeeDee asked (give me your story in a sentence), this is the kind of answer I would have been seeking. It's the rudder. Notice how it's a seperate thing from the plot or characters because, as you already stated, it can be applied in widely varying circumstances. It's good that you have this because this is what will help you avoid the things that are concerning you, and it's also what will bolster your courage when you find - through the writing of your story - that you do stray into territory that you hoped to avoid, but which the story demands. As you write, think of it as a point on the horizon. The story may need to tack around dangerous shoals, but is it still headed in that direction?
Apologies if I did not understand the meaning of this, I thought it meant... if the story does need that deeper, or touchy subject matter to be explained or tackled head- the stuff I am mostly afraid of- can I handle it? I feel way more secure doing it now because of input. If my interpretation of your comment was wrong, correct me please.
Go for it write it your not going to please everyone some people will like it or love it. Some people will dislike it or even hate it.
Nope, not what I meant. I meant it only as an illumination of the purpose of having the kind of answer you did provide. I’m sure you can handle writing anything. It’s just words and they are yours to control. I meant only that having this answer, this point on the horizon to guide you, you don’t need to fear sailing away from the shore (the safety zone), and can sail the open ocean.
I say go for it. The worst that can happen is that it can help to make you better at your craft. Most of what I write will never be seen by others, so writing is fun for me. Nothing hanging over my head about others for the most part.
(Ace, homoromantic, neutral/male identifying.) I say go for it. I think touching on subjects like this are necessary and I think you have a pretty good premise going. However, I'm a pretty laid back individual and the only thing I don't like to read is rape and heterosexual sex scenes so my opinion's a bit biased.
Yes, I agree with this. I don't have a problem with your basic story, but it does sound as if you've chosen a time and place because you need a strong religious colony as a setting. However, @Wreybies point about 'cult' being an anachronism is very well taken. If you want to write the story using a 'religion' but making one up, so as not to offend anybody in particular, that might be good for other reasons as well. You could set the story in an imaginary (but down-to-earth) country, or town, or whatever, and not offend historians either! You could take what you need from New England Colonial history, but maybe make up a part of the country that doesn't actually exist. That way you wouldn't need to stick to facts. OR ...you can do thorough research about an actual time and place, and you just might discover facts that would make your story even stronger. I've always maintained that research gives you ideas, rather than constricts ideas. Learning something you didn't know before always opens new avenues for story development. I would not worry about offending anybody. If you're an openminded, non-bigoted individual, you are very unlikely to write something that's bigoted and closed-minded. Do your research and write the story that YOU want to tell. There will always be somebody who doesn't like it. Get used to that. It will happen.
I agree! I really did some think time after reading Wreybies post because it was a great point. My story has over 5,000 words on it at the moment, but it still exists in a very changeable form. From all that alone I ceased using the term cult to apply to it, I've decided to think up a name for it and I've founded its origin. I drew from my research and fascination of actual modern cults as the beginning point was... the founder, (the town is now led by his son), took people from his church and led them into the wilderness so they could form a simple way of life that pleased God. So it drew on the all too common theme of isolation for power. I separated their beliefs from their methods.
Churches splitting off from one another over a disagreement about doctrine or how it's applied is really common, when you look at all the different religions that do this all the time. So that's perfectly plausible, whether you do it with a real setting or an imaginary one. Good luck with your story! It sounds like you're willing to tackle difficult issues, which, in my mind anyway, makes great story fodder. You might surprise yourself with the conclusions you come to about the whole thing, as the story unfolds for you.
Write it. I found nothing offensive in your ideas at all. I am a straight male atheist who has nothing but contempt for organised religion so personally when i was reading this i was imagining The Reverend (who you should always refer to as The Reverend even if you reveal his name) as a traditional antagonist to be overcome at all costs and for me i would love to read how he met his grisly end, ideally at the hands of the community/ a mob?
I can see how this story has potential and I can see concerns and risky elements. This depends on the intentions you have behind the story, it looks like it could be misinterpreted as a veiled criticism. It sounds like grey and grey morality - people who are outcasts or immoral vs a cult. You could go several different ways as some religions, such as the Abrahamic Faiths, have similar views on the same subjects. Like what you're doing with LBGTQ, I think if you're going to get people's perspectives, you should do the same and get opinions from people of the religion you're using since you said you're striving not to cause offence. As a Christian myself, if you're going to derive from Christianity, I would be happy to provide information; what would you like to know?
I've been raised around Christianity all my life and seen it in several forms. I even study a religious high school course. On one hand, my mother's "Christian" beliefs disgust me and they're beyond hypocritical. On the other, the beliefs of my other family members are good and basically wholesome. I've made this such a big part of my story that a bunch of people can read the same book and get such different interpretations. I myself have opinions on it all. A main point is that I think people pile too much under the title of Christian. I think a Christian should solely be someone who believes in that god. Yet I see Christian becoming synonymous with pro-life, anti-homosexual, etc. People shouldn't shield individual politics with religion, although I think to some extent we all fall victim to that mindset. Maybe I have in this post for all I know. I respect your offer and on the basis that one of the greatest problems around opinions in general is that people only discuss opinions to talk about their own without listening to other's, if you think your Christian perspective could be useful I'd be happy if you shared.
