Religion, Faith & Culture in Writing

An enlightening conversation, which I took no part in, played itself out this particular afternoon in a minibus taxi. Two men, of no certain age or disposition, fiddled with topics ranging from the meaning of names to the culture of spirituality.

This reminded me of the common error that we writer’s make in discovering the characters that make up our stories. We treat one’s religion as an obstruction to their true selves, and in that single misconception we miss the point entirely.

There are indeed those whose religion is far from being their faith, but then there are also those whose faith alone is the culture that sustains them and will pass on to their offspring, God willing. In any case, as a writer, it is imperative that one develop characters in such detail that when the reader is introduced to said character the only flaws are human flaws not gaping holes of inconsistency.

Check your spelling. Check your grammar. But, most importantly check your common sense.

Namaste