What should I take into consideration in writing a novel as a Catholic?

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I plan on writing a fictional novel and I’ve been trying to contemplate my story line for the book. However, I did add some very gruesome scenes such as murder, suicide, abuse.

Would it be okay for me to include these things as a Catholic?
 
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Of course you may. You have artistic freedom. And novels don’t have to conform to Catholic morality.

If they don’t like a particular aspect of a work, people can just not read it. Don’t censor yourself.
 
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you should search for works of art that have been approved by the catholic church and saints and see their contents.The church and the saints know more about god then any of us.
 
Catholics should never glorify sin, regardless of the genre of their work. But sin is a fact of life and should not be disregarded. It’s often a catalyst for change and change is something that every novel should contain.

First, focus on writing the best novel you can. I second the recommendation of reading Stephen King’s memoir “On Writing” in order to get great tips on how to be a great writer, regardless of religious identification. Read everything you can in the genre in which you’re writing and see what works and what doesn’t. Develop your own voice, so you don’t sound like a knockoff writer. And then, your Catholic voice will come into play. If you want a great example of an author who writes “grittier” novels with a strong Catholic voice, check out Declan Finn, especially his vampire novels “Love at First Bite” series (he markets his fiction as Catholic horror and brings a VERY unique Catholic twist to his vampire novels… no spoilers here!)

Catholic Writers Guild has great guidelines on how to craft a Catholic novel. https://catholicwritersguild.org/
 
Brilliant thread! I have been contemplating this very question.
 
I would follow the Catholic Writers’ Guild on this. Stephen King’s On Writing includes non-writing information that detracts from the point of the book, like his drug problem. I know a lot of people think writing novels would be easy and fun. And while fun, they are not easy to do, especially for the beginner.

I would avoid current popular novels and read some Catholic authors pre-2000. Gritty is not important. Art is no excuse for gratuitous scenes of violence.
 
cjmoa said:
Would it be okay for me to include these things as a Catholic?
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Of course. Writing about sin is a far cry from committing sin.

Just make sure to write about something people actually want to read about, or else your book will just sit on the shelf gathering dust. Can’t go wrong with dinosaurs, pirates, savage jungle tribes and space aliens. Oh, and hula dancers. There is a surprising dearth of novels on this most fascinating topic. 😀
 
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Presentation is everything. Writing should be consistent with a Catholic and moral approach.
 
Flannery O’Connor was a practicing Catholic her whole life, and had some very disturbing stuff in her stories. However, they were all supposed to prove a point, it was supposed to show how Grace can work through the grotesque. I think it really depends on what your intention is. If it is to be shocking for the sake of being shocking, don’t do it. However, if it’s to teach an actual moral lesson, then by all means include it.
 
cjmoa said:
I plan on writing a fictional novel and I’ve been trying to contemplate my story line for the book. However, I did add some very gruesome scenes such as murder, suicide, abuse.

Would it be okay for me to include these things as a Catholic?
Click to expand...
Hi, I have thought the same thing, to write. So reading good novels, non fiction, by Catholic authors makes sense, right? one of my favorite, an amazing author is Michael D O’Brien. favorite here is Elijah In Jerusalem
https://www.ignatius.com/promotions/michael-obrien-novels/book-children-last-days.html
have you read any you can reccommend? pax
 
What about a murder mystery? I’ve never understood why there aren’t any decent Catholic police procedurals, for example, with a Catholic homicide detective relentlessly hunting for the evil murderer. The Father Brown mysteries on TV seem to be the only Catholic mysteries available right now, although there were some decades ago. .

If anyone knows of a current murder mystery series with a Catholic detective please alert us.
 
I think if the moral of your story is pro-Catholic, then it’s totally fine.

If the moral of your story is anti-Catholic, then you should reconsider the plot.
 
If you’ve read the Bible, especially the Old Testament, you will see that all varieties of human experiences are included: murder, rape, betrayal, suicide. However, they are all included to show us that God works in all situations.
Write what your plot calls for, but not just gratuitous violence for its sake. There needs to be a reason.
 
I was planning a semi-autobiographical novel about my time at Catholic boarding school. Only problem is I think it may come across as anti-Catholic and anti-clerical. I would not want to be guilty of scandal.
 
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