Religion. Now there's an easy subject.

Not really, but let’s get into it. That is to say very lightly. Continuing on the theme of philosophy, history, religion, and poetry to be a better writer, this subject like the others should be familiar to you as the writer.

It is a major part of society around the world, so if you are going to write a story that encompasses a certain religion, do some research. Learn about their beliefs, traditions, scripture, and some of the symbols they may pray to.

In my book, Look in the Mirror, my character, Ruth Murphy, is a devout Catholic. She has a strong faith, good morals, and compassion for other people. Her husband, on the other hand, Johnny, lacks all of those virtues. By being familiar with the Catholic religion I was able to reference scripture and beliefs she held dearly in order to contrast that with her husband during some of their personal discussions (and his challenges to her faith.) Having a certain knowledge, weather it is Catholic, Protestant, Methodist, or Jewish, will certainly bring credibility to your writing.

Learn something new everyday, it will strengthen your mind and your soul and make you a better writer.

Breaking News! History is repeating itself.

If you’re writing a book, chances are you will need to be familiar with history. The genre of your book, of course, will dictate to what extent you will need to know history.

If you are writing a character into your story and you have him fighting a battle in WWII, make sure you don’t have him born in 1938. If your story takes place during a certain time period, become familiar with that period. What was happening at that time? Who was the president? What cars were popular? How did they talk?

Having a broad knowledge when it comes to history can help you cope with today’s events as well. Harry S. Truman was quoted as saying, “The only thing new in the world is the history you don’t know.” Kind of makes you think.

The next time you turn on the TV and you hear, “Breaking News!” “Happening Overnight!” “A Bombshell in Washington!”, maybe you won’t be as shocked at what you’re hearing. You’ll know that what they are reporting-with their red banners- is not new but has happened before. Look to history to ease your anxiety. What caused this before? How did they solve the problem? Of course, be careful choosing the source of your information (can’t be too careful today).

Having knowledge of history will improve the detail in your writing. And, as an added benefit, it may reduce your stress level the next time you hear, “This is unprecedented.”

The philosophy of your characters

If you’re writing a fiction novel, your characters should possess a certain philosophy about life. It may be a virtuous philosophy, or not so virtuous. When you develop your characters consider their philosophies. What do they hold important to them? How do they conduct themselves in certain situations? How do they respond to stressful situations? How do they treat other people around them?

In my quest to learn philosophy, I was drawn to Stoicism. An ancient Greek and Roman philosophy which has long been considered the most practical of all philosophies. I discovered: Epictetus, Cato, Seneca, and the meditations of Marcus Aurelius to name a few.

My character, for example, Gus Bennett, possesses the four virtues of stoicism: courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom. I was able to define Gus better because I took the time to study philosophy. I’ve come to appreciate the wisdom of the ancients. Philosophy helps you to think with an independent mind, which is something we could use today. I’ll leave you with this from Seneca.

It doesn’t matter what you bear. It matters how you bear it.

The truly great bear it with grace, poise, courage, and discipline.

Do You Want to be a Better Author?

Here’s what worked for me. Learn as much as you can about: philosophy, history, poetry, and religion.

I read books. I read poetry. I watched lectures on YouTube, and in the process of doing all of that I discovered how important those three subjects are in life itself.

In future blogs I will describe in more detail how each subject area helped me in my fiction writing, and how I came to know myself better.

Follow Your Characters

I chose fiction for my first book because I wanted to tell a certain story. To make it even easier, I wrote a story around what I know… the fire department. I didn’t want to write a story about firefighting, I just wanted to use that environment to convey the real story.

Unless you already have a clear beginning, middle, and end to your fiction, try developing your characters. Good character development is very important. This way you can let them lead you.

In my book, Look In The Mirror, Gus Bennett has certain character traits. I would create situations in the story then think to myself, what would Gus do here. I would then write it that way. I followed my own characters and that helped develop the story and move it forward.

Powerful

I AM THE MASTER OF MY FATE:

I AM THE CAPTAIN OF MY SOUL.

Those two powerful lines are from the poem, INVICTUS, by William Ernest Henley. You may have seen the movie. When I committed to writing my first book I knew I had to expand my knowledge of many things. I needed to understand more about human behavior, character, self-discipline, and what the early philosophers taught. I knew I wanted to write smartly. I wanted to say the sky is blue without writing, the sky was blue. I turned to poetry, and I discovered it is way more than just; Roses are red.

INVICTUS speaks to the power of courage and the human spirit. The resilience of the human spirit in the face of extreme personal torment. I also take it as a reminder that we are all in-charge of our own lives. Today’s world is constantly telling us how to act, how to look, what to say, what not to say. Don’t surrender your fate, or your soul to anyone else. Do good in the world, but don’t be one in the herd.