Hello everyone. I'm trying to write a fiction story, and I'd like to draw from Christian themes. The main character dies fairly early in the story and goes to Hell. I probably won't stick closely to the Bible's physical descriptions of Hell for a number of reasons.#1 being that you have not read the Bible to even know what it is you are supposed to be referencing?? However, I would like to use other aspects of Hell to give the setting a more realistic feel. For example, what are the social dynamics of Hell? Social dynamics. SERIOUSLY?? There are no socical dynamics in hell. IF....IF you had ever read the Bible , you would know that there is FIRE and great loneliness because of the separation from God, the Creator of Life. That, in itself, is great torment. Are there conflicts in Hell (i.e. warring groups)? There are no conflicts: If you are there you will anguish forever. It is not open for discussion, ever. What does it smell like? not addressed in Scripture, but burning flesh is not an issue because physical flesh can only burn for so long before its....GONE! Where do people (or souls) reside?Hell if you die without a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ; Heaven if you have a relationship....and not just "I believe in God", because SATAN believes in God and He is NOT going to Heaven. Is there an hierarchy in the afterlife? There is heirarchy in both the kingdom of Heaven and the kingdom of darkness...which IF YOU HAD READ THE BIBLE, you would know. Do the people (or souls) have goals or desires? I suppose, so to speak: those in hell desire to get out and those in Heaven desire nothing but the presence of the Father, the Heavenly Creator...the One that loves them like no other. Can they fulfil these desires? Etcetera. No and Yes, respectively.
Naturally, there will be demons in Hell, and they play a big role in the story. So, if anyone is a demonologist, your input would be much appreciated. Not having read the Bible, you could not know that the purpose of demons is for tempting those that are not true to the Lord. You obviously do not have knowledge of the antics or characteristics of demons and you have also forgetten the FIRST RULE OF WRITING: Write What You Know. any Creative Writing course will engrain that into your brain!
Why would anyone that is NOT CHRISTIAN want to write about something they know NOTHING about?? You want US to do your research for you? Not happening.
You are young. But you must understand that if you want to be a successfull writer...and the field is VERY competitive...you must do your own research for which you will base the foundation of your writing upon.
question: WHY do you want to write a book??
LOL, wow, someone doesn't know the meaning of the word fiction.
You know, The Da Vinci Code departed GREATLY from orthodox understandings. I hear it was a best-seller. Imagine that! There is an audience out there OTHER than orthodox Christians. For people who are NOT orthodox Christians, this so called research you speak of (which is really just reading the Bible - sorry, but research never means looking into ONE book), wouldn't matter to them one bit. In fact, it would probably be a bore, seeing how the Bible DEFINED the Western World. What would matter would be the story, the characters and how they interact with one another, if they engage the reader, interesting setting, plot development, the development of the characters through the story - not the fact that it closely reflects biblical understandings.
LionEyes, don't let this person derail you into thinking that your age has anything to do with your writing ability. There have been many great classics written through the years by young authors. "Don't let anyone despise your youth." (Different context, but it applies.)
I'm looking for that video - I don't remember the name of it! (And I'm sorry for taking so long to get back to you.)
By the way, I have character sketches going for a religious-fiction novel I plan to write myself. (I would prefer not to give details. I don't know if CC has first-right copyright to what is posted - I know that sounds silly, but would you know FACEBOOK does! - but if they did, then for me to give details and then publish them elsewhere would be illegal. Of course, most places with copyrights will likely only sue if they stand to lose money from it - which in this case I doubt it.) Let's just say if what you have proposed so far would cause a raucous, then my novel would be absolutely toe-curling.
