Basic Beliefs

Back in December I posted about the Religious Message intended with Swords of Fire. Basically, none is.

All the same, it is difficult to create a world like The Great Sea without including elements which many would consider religious. Foremost among these elements is the idea of creation, and a Creator.

It turns some people off completely. Others are drawn by exactly those elements. And still others (probably most) don't care one way or the other. It's just part of the story.

I suppose it is difficult for a writer to not impart his/her basic beliefs into their writing, even when writing outside their basic beliefs. My beliefs on good and evil are reflected in what I write, for when characters behave in a certain way they are written as "evil" characters. And when characters behave in another way they are written as "noble".

What is difficult - if not outright impossible - is to write God as a character in a story. I've seen it done on movies and television shows, and read it in various other works. NEVER is God's character believable. God is not petty. God is not stupid. God is not ignorant. God does not make mistakes. And God does not answer to us.

I suppose that is why the High King in Swords of Fire is never a physically present character. He is referenced, and perhaps even spoke to. But he never speaks back. Not audibly to the characters. Determining what God would say is not easy to determine, and so often best left unsaid in fiction. Besides, to make the High King a more present character in Swords of Fire would only increase the presence of religion, I think. And I would just as soon avoid that for now. I'm not qualified to write religion. Not yet.