Hi, My name is Don, I live in New Hampshire. About a month ago I got an idea for a book that I started writing. The basic idea of the book is about a 30 year old man who is deeply depressed and attempts to commit suicide. After the attempt, he's met in Heaven by.....actually, let me get a couple things out of the way first. I am an Atheist. But I think I'm a different kind of Atheist. I don't believe in God. But I do believe in Heaven, Angels, Hell and Satan. I just don't believe there is some all being up in the stars calling all the shots on who lives and who dies and who goes where in the after life. I don't believe the Devil is some horrible person who wants to watch the universe burn. I think Satan, Devil, Lucifer, however you want to call him, is more like a warden of a prison. That being said, I also think Angels are on rotation of who gets to be said warden of the prison. Also, those who go to hell aren't there for eternity, although to them, it likely feels that way. Someone like Hitler himself may be sentenced to 1000 years in hell, and where it's been about 70 years since he's committed suicide, he's only been in hell for about a day of his 1000 year sentence. Time moves much slower. Does that make sense? Okay, moving on. So after the suicide attempt, Connor (the books main character) is met in Heaven by Lucifer, Hell's current warden. Lucifer explains to Connor that there has been a major prison break in Hell and demons are on earth attempting to steal the souls of as many humans as possible to bring Hell to earth. So here's what lead me to this website. I've been studying religions and Angels. My initial thought was to create names of new Angels, fictional Angels if you will. But I don't want to slap religion in the face by naming Angels that aren't real. But by using the names of ACTUAL Angels named in various religions, I'll be changing the stories those religions have put in place. For instance, almost all religions appear to put Lucifer as an Angel of God who was cast down and is now the ruler of Hell with intentions to take over the world and only does bad, for instance leading Eve to bite the apple. In my story, that wouldn't be the case. I feel like it's a delicate subject. So I'm hoping to get some thoughts. I guess that's it. I hope it doesn't suck.
I think you should do whatever you want. Most people's faith isn't shattered by a work of fiction. And, those who would be offended by it aren't your audience, so don't try to appease them.
Thanks. I definitely have preference to using Angels that have already been named and changing there's stories to accommodate my own. I'm an Atheist mostly because I don't honestly believe any of these religions have it right.
Interesting concept. My only just started novel also has a religious context. Personally I would go creatively where you want with it. You can always change names once it's written if you want.
Welcome to Writing Forums, Don! I hope you find what you're looking for here, whatever your interests in writing. This forum aims to provide the best workshopping resources on the internet, and to that end we have a few rules which you should familiarise yourself with before you get stuck in. The main section of the site is the Writing Workshop, where members can post their writing in order to receive critique of their work. However, before we allow members to post their work, they must have met some basic requirements. Firstly, you must have been a member for fourteen days, and have made twenty posts on the forum overall (please note, posts in Word Games do not count towards this). This is so that members, when they post their work, have familiarised themselves with the forums and contributed to them (as well as hopefully learned something for themselves). Secondly, members must provide two constructive reviews of other people's work for each piece of their own that they wish to post. This is because we believe that the focus of workshopping should be equally upon giving reviews as receiving them, as they allow a writer to practice and improve their editing skills, which they can then apply to their own writing. Beyond the Writing Workshop, you will find that we have extensive forums for discussion of aspects of writing, as well as a community area for general discussion. We also run periodic short story and poetry contests, which are good for challenging yourself and expanding your skills. The requirements of the Writing Workshop don't apply to the contests, so new members are allowed (nay, encouraged!) to get stuck in and enter! If you have any questions or problems, then the moderators (myself, Lemex and Dante Dases) should be your first port of call. Any technical problems with the site itself should be directed to Daniel, the site administrator and owner. I would recommend you have a look over the rules so that you know what to expect, and what is expected. But aside from that, I hope you enjoy your time here. Banzai
I don't see how you'd be slapping religion in the face by naming angels that aren't real. Your premise is different enough from the mainstream that I don't think it would matter. My thought is that you'd be better off naming new angels, anyway. I think if you use "established" angels, and you want to give them new stories that are different from their established story, you should do a spin on their "story," either interpreting it in a different manner from what the common story is (kind of like Wicked with the witch's story) or acknowledging what the common story is and explaining that it is incorrect or some rumor or misinterpretation. Just write what you want to write, without worrying about what others will think. If there's something really problematic, you can work through that later.
I'm not a writer by any means, so I don't really understand how I could offer any critisizm? Really I was just sitting in my car one day thinking about my views on religion and how they vastly differ from everyone else and I call myself an atheist because I haven't found a religion that fits my beliefs. I just don't see how I could offer any help to current writers, which you all clearly are, when I have zero experience.
I don't understand why you joined a writer's forum, then. Also, I don't think you are accurate in calling yourself an "atheist." If you believe in Jesus, you would be in some sort of undefined or "other" category of Christian. If you don't, you would just be "spiritual" or "other," as far as religion. Atheists don't believe in the existence of any God or supernatural being. Agnostics are uncertain whether there is a God -- not necessarily convinced, but not denying it, either. I don't think your philosophy really fits either of those.
