Writing about the Bible in a Fictional World?

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  • #97047
    Katherine
    @mkfairygirl
      • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
      • Total Posts: 549

      @writerlexi1216

      Girl, I do not think it’s odd to have your fantasy characters reading the Bible. I’ve got a fantasy world as well and they read the Bible. Since the Bible is all over the world in multiple languages, it makes your fantasy world feel more “real” to the reader if you include the Bible in their world as well. In my novel the characters have a Bible in their native language.  And as far as the “real places/real people” in the Bible goes, maybe it’s a distant land for your characters? Kinda like how America was the “New World”,  maybe your fictional setting is another “New World”? This might work if the characters still live on Earth. I’m just throwing out ideas here. You can pray for God to give you the inspiration on how to work it all out for your novel. I wish you all the best as you are figuring things out!<333 🙂

      P. S. I think that is so AMAZING that one of your characters will find Christ!!!!!!!!!😀

      P. P. S. Everyone had FANTASTIC answers!!!!!🙂

       

      "It looks like a fairy world"~Meg from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
      Fall in love with Jesus

      #97048
      Anonymous
        • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
        • Total Posts: 1379

        @writerlexi1216

        Glad I could help, girl!

        #97057
        Alexa Autorski
        @writerlexi1216
          • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
          • Total Posts: 1011

          @mkfairygirl

          Aww, thank you girl!!! That makes me so happy to know you like the idea:) And *gasps* that’s an incredible idea to have it in another language!! Would you mind if I did something similar?? If not that’s okay!! That’s another great idea to have it be like a ‘New World’ or something along those lines… I hadn’t thought of that! 😀 Yes, I’ll definitely pray about it, but THANK YOU girl!!:) I thought it fit his character arc very well, so I included it.:)

          #97065
          Daisy Torres
          @daisy-torres
            • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
            • Total Posts: 691

            I love y’all’s answers!! I know I’m not the asker, but y’all are helping me too XD

            "It's easy to be caught up in stardust and whispers when reality is so dark and loud."

            #97075
            Grace H.
            @gh24682468999
              • Rank: Loyal Sidekick
              • Total Posts: 199

              Wow, I’m really thankful for this thread — I didn’t realize there were so many people out there doing similar things as me 😀 (although, really, as a Kapeefer I really should have seen it coming…)


              @writerlexi1216
              I guess I’ll just share a bit of my current WIP…my protagonist starts out in the “real world”, where she ends up getting sucked under the ocean for the purpose of saving someone she meets there. So in a relatively loose metaphor, the ocean is God and my protagonist is Christ, and the guy she saves is all of us lost souls.

              I wasn’t expecting it, but the Bible also appeared in the form of a cave full of glittering sea runes. I’m still hashing out how this is going to play into the story. I know a lot of people have already given you more specific advice and that what I’m doing is more of a loose metaphor than yours. But the way the Bible appeared in my story when I wasn’t originally planning for that to happen…I think that’s super cool, how our stories demonstrate our faith more than we realize.

              So there’s a less specific example for you (and the rest of us this thread is helping lol) 🙂 Good luck with whatever you do!

              It's g-h, 2-4-6-8 twice, three 9's
              literatureforthelight.wordpress.com

              #97077
              Gracie J.
              @gracie-j
                • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                • Total Posts: 1789

                @writerlexi1216 Welp, I’m late, so lemme cut to the chase.

                YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is totally PERFECT if you have the Bible in your book!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Honestly, I’m so glad and excited and happy that you would do that!!!!!!! It’s so disheartening to see Christian authors disregard God in their fantasy–so even if you just settled for parallels/allegories, that would still be awesome!

                But, no, I don’t think it would be odd at all!!!!! EEEE!!!!! I’m so excited just to think about Newton becoming a Christian!!!!!!! (Please tell me I’m thinking about the right book here! I mean, who else could you be talking about, right? XD)

                the resident romance ghost; last seen within the pages of a gothic novel

                #97078
                Alexa Autorski
                @writerlexi1216
                  • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                  • Total Posts: 1011

                  @gh24682468999

                  Aww, your story sounds absolutely incredible!!! I love the metaphors you’re using, it makes it so interesting and unique:) And especially how the Bible is portrayed–that’s just so amazing and it makes me want to delve deeper into your story!! Thank you for your reply and for sharing that–it was very helpful and very much appreciated!! 🙂 (By the way, I’m not sure we’ve officially met. It’s great to meet you!):)

                  #97079
                  Alexa Autorski
                  @writerlexi1216
                    • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                    • Total Posts: 1011

                    @gracie-j

                    Thank you, Grace, for this very helpful reply!!! 🙂 I knew that I wanted to interweave Christian elements into this story for that purpose, and maybe I can touch people’s hearts, even if it may only be a small way:) I try to write in deep, thoughtful life lessons for every one of my characters, so I thought it would be really special to write about Christianity, especially from the point of view from a previously un-saved person. And YAS, it is Newton 😉 Honestly, his turn to religion really comes from one of my side characters, who is a preacher, and there’s a very sentimental scene where Newton is in the church and decides to give his heart to Jesus. Oddly enough, I think Deek plays a significant role in Newton’s turn to salvation as well. Anyways, thank you for your reply!!:)

                    #97084
                    Abigail.M.
                    @abigail-m
                      • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                      • Total Posts: 1242

                      @writerlexi1216

                      Okay, first of all, I love this idea!!:D (And I know I should save this for later in the post but… it’s Newton?? 😀 OH MY GOODNESS, YES, THAT’S SO BEAUTIFUL!!! But I’ll get back to that in a moment:)
                      So I’m not sure if my thoughts on it are a lot different than everyone else awesome advice:)
                      I absolutely love what Joy said about the Bible being impactful in a story in a fantasy world because it could definitely represent God being in impossible places or reaching places you never thought He’d be:)
                      Of course, there are allegories, (which personally I’m a total fan of, but there are many great books that aren’t. And I’m an even bigger fan of Fortitude, so I’ll be its 1# fan whichever you choose:) I’m still undecided myself whether TSW’s Christianity will be portrayed through allegory or not.

                      But I think what’s the most important whichever is chosen is that the reader (whether they are a Christian or not), love the character/s so much that they won’t turn back and will want to root for them no matter what, (which you’ve already been doing fantastically with Newton:) There have been many Christain stories I’ve tried reading in the past that had great messages, but the characters were far too annoying or boring to even continue.
                      But when a reader likes a character so much; that character becomes the reader’s heroine/hero in a way. They talk about them as if they were real people, draw them, share them with friends, think about them, occasionally let a catchphrase slip out, become friends with them. And readers will indirectly draw inspiration from the character and whether they know it or not, aspire to be like that character. I mean what were cosplays inspired by? Or costumes based on characters? Or anything like that? And so it’s an incredibly powerful thing to have readers look up to characters and having Christianity, deep themes, characters representing things such as redemption will help readers look up to the right things:)

                      So yes, I know that wasn’t the most helpful and I’m kind of rambling on. But basically, I’m saying, this is such an awesome idea, Newton is just the awesome-est character I know, and I’ve never been as excited about a fictional character being saved and going through that journey as I am about Newton deciding to!!!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 I mean I honestly ADORE this so much you have no idea!!! The last time I was this excited about a character going into this incredible journey was the Pevensies!:D I’m not kidding!:) *shouts off the rooftops, “THREE CHEERS FOR FORTITUDE!!!”* Yeah, whoever invented the whole ‘three cheers’ thing was crazy, this novel deserves more than that:)

                      • This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by Abigail.M..
                      #97105
                      Gracie J.
                      @gracie-j
                        • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                        • Total Posts: 1789

                        @writerlexi1216 Oh, I’m glad I helped! Yes, that is a beautiful idea! And, oh, I can see it now! I love conversion scenes!!!!

                        the resident romance ghost; last seen within the pages of a gothic novel

                        #97151
                        Alexa Autorski
                        @writerlexi1216
                          • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                          • Total Posts: 1011

                          @abigail-m

                          Thank you, Abigail!! I’m so happy you like the idea!!:) And yes, it is Newton 😉 I thought it fit his character arc better than any other character, so that’s why I included it for him:) Yay, thank you!! And THANK YOU a thousand times over for this wonderful reply!! I agree–I love allegories, and thought about potentially including them to portray Christianity in my novel. I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to write that part. And aww, thank you!! Your words made me smile and warmed my heart–I’m so happy to have such a devoted fan!! And I think allegories would work beautifully in TSW!

                          And I love what you said next about how the readers need to love the characters most importantly. I never thought of things that way… but I’ll think about that! I see what you mean, though, about how poorly written characters can distract from the message, so thank you for pointing that out:) Wow, that makes so much sense what you’re saying, it really helped me see things in a new light and gave me a better understanding of how to write this subplot properly. I love writing powerful messages and having every one of my characters learn lessons so that the readers may look up to them as well, so thank you!!:) And no, that was incredibly helpful and really brought out some things I hadn’t thought of before! And thank you SO much for saying that!! I thought it fit Newton’s character arc to be an atheist-turned-Christian, and I’m so happy to know that you think it’s a good idea! (Newton has so many arcs that I can’t keep up anymore XD) So, all in all, the biggest ‘thank you’ EVER for all of your kind words!!! I mean, you have no idea how much that means to me!! 😀 Aww, THANK YOU so much!!:)

                          #97152
                          Alexa Autorski
                          @writerlexi1216
                            • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                            • Total Posts: 1011

                            @gracie-j

                            Of course you did!! Your posts are always incredibly helpful, and I really take note of your advice!!:) Thank you so much, I’m so happy you like this idea. I mean, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go through with it because I wanted to portray it as powerfully as possible and hopefully touch readers’ hearts by it. I had the idea of Newton going to a church and meeting with one of my side characters (who is a preacher), and decided that he was going to have a storyline involving his conversion. Any tips on how to write those scenes? I mean, I want to make sure I do it right, and I’m also not entirely certain when it should happen… I’m rambling now, excuse me XD

                            #97158
                            Katherine
                            @mkfairygirl
                              • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                              • Total Posts: 549

                              @writerlexi1216 You’re welcome, Lexi!!!!<3<3<3 THANK YOU!!!!!!!!😀 Of course I don’t mind!!!!!! Go right ahead and use the idea!!! I’m sure it will be FANTABULOUS in you novel!!!!!!!!❤️ Thank you!!!!! I literally thought of the “New World” thing as I was typing up my response to you.😄 You’re SO welcome!!!!!!<3333333 I’m glad I could help! 🙂 That’s AWESOME!!!!!!! I’m happy to hear that! And I can’t wait to read all about it in your novel one day!!!!!!!! 🙂

                              "It looks like a fairy world"~Meg from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
                              Fall in love with Jesus

                              #97162
                              Katherine
                              @mkfairygirl
                                • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                                • Total Posts: 549

                                @writerlexi1216 Oh my goodness, Newton is the one who turns to Christianity?!?!?! THAT IS SO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀😀😀😀😀 I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THAT IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhh, you story just gets better and better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like, after Deek I wasn’t sure that was possible! XD Girl, your characters, story, everything is incredible!!!!!!!!!! 😀

                                "It looks like a fairy world"~Meg from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
                                Fall in love with Jesus

                                #97314
                                Alexa Autorski
                                @writerlexi1216
                                  • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                                  • Total Posts: 1011

                                  @mkfairygirl

                                  Aw, thank you so much girl!!! <333 And yes, I’ll definitely include that in my story!!! You’ve been a huge help to me, so a thousand thank yous for your replies!! I love the idea of the Bible being written in another language… that would fit so well in my novel, so yes, I will include that!! 🙂 And yes, Newton is the one that converts to Christianity. I thought it fit his character so well, especially since he already has a redemption arc. THANK YOU!!!!!! Aww, that makes me smile so big, girl!!! I’m so happy you like the idea!!! XD I’m absolutely over the moon about the fact that you love Deek, ohmygoodness!! And thank you SO much!!! I’m extremely happy that you love my story so much, and I’m very grateful for your help!!! <33333333

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