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Stray feathers: Postscript on Orientalism
http://memory-theatre.blogspot.com/2012/04/postscript-on-orientalism.html
Occasional thoughts on writing imaginary religions. Monday, April 16, 2012. I don't often write about my own work here, but the post on orientalism. Put me in the mood to discuss some practical worldbuilding. Not long after I started as a columnist for Royal Archivist Publishing. I was given the job of writing the Guidebook to the Wàiguó Liánméng. An overview of one of the setting's major factions. I started with only a rough sketch. Rather than give in to the temptation, I chose a different starting poi...
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Stray feathers: Building Religions 25: Peter Berger
http://memory-theatre.blogspot.com/2012/08/building-religions-25-peter-berger.html
Occasional thoughts on writing imaginary religions. Sunday, August 5, 2012. Building Religions 25: Peter Berger. This isn't the post on asceticism that I promised; that will have to wait until I can do a little more reading and dig up some good sources. In the meantime, I'd like to present another sociological interpretation of religion, namely that found in Peter Berger's The Sacred Canopy. Now, here's the religious side. The meaningful order ( nomos. Finally, it's worth noting that Berger believes thes...
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Stray feathers: Building Religions 19: Joseph Campbell
http://memory-theatre.blogspot.com/2012/04/building-religions-19-joseph-campbell.html
Occasional thoughts on writing imaginary religions. Sunday, April 1, 2012. Building Religions 19: Joseph Campbell. The long break between posts happened because I wanted to reread Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Recommended I look at Campbell for this installment of Building Religions because he remains influential in some circles. There's Christopher Vogler's popular adaptation of The Hero with a Thousand Faces. For use by screenwriters, The Writer's Journey. 2 The call to adventure.
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Stray feathers: Building Religions 27: Priesthood
http://memory-theatre.blogspot.com/2012/08/building-religions-27-priesthood.html
Occasional thoughts on writing imaginary religions. Thursday, August 16, 2012. Building Religions 27: Priesthood. A little while ago, my friend Mike. Asked if I'd go into a bit more detail here on the varieties of priesthood and how they might be used in created worlds. Since I'm always willing to take requests, here's my answer. To unpack that: by religious specialist,. I mean a temple, or at the very least an altar. Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom). View my complete profile. Mystery Writing is Murder.
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Stray feathers: Building Religions 18: Mysticism, part 2
http://memory-theatre.blogspot.com/2012/03/building-religions-18-mysticism-part-2.html
Occasional thoughts on writing imaginary religions. Monday, March 19, 2012. Building Religions 18: Mysticism, part 2. Having a definition for mysticism doesn't do much to help you incorporate it into your stories, unless you're planning to write The Untold Adventures of William James. This week, I'll cover some examples of the kinds of experiences that have traditionally been called mystical as well as a few ideas on how you might use mystics in your creations. Rumi, "A Garden Beyond Paradise". 31 On the...
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Stray feathers: Building Religions 28: Asceticism
http://memory-theatre.blogspot.com/2012/09/building-religions-28-asceticism.html
Occasional thoughts on writing imaginary religions. Friday, September 7, 2012. Building Religions 28: Asceticism. We get the English word asceticism. If you're creating your own fictional religion and are considering including an ascetic branch of that religion, then it's that attitude that you need to consider. What sort of worldview encourages and supports asceticism? There are two further academic perspectives on asceticism that I'd like to mention briefly. The first is Peter Berger. I've never been s...
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Stray feathers: Building Religions 31: Esotericism
http://memory-theatre.blogspot.com/2013/01/building-religions-31-esotericism.html
Occasional thoughts on writing imaginary religions. Tuesday, January 22, 2013. Building Religions 31: Esotericism. I've written a few things. The belief that the cosmos is, however much it may be seen as being constituted of separate parts, better understood as a single organism. The Neoplatonic and Stoic notion of the anima mundi,. And a new relationship with the world. So what can you do with all of this as a worldbuilder? Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom). I've never been satisfied with the advice in...
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Stray feathers: Vimanakatha: Introductory Thoughts
http://memory-theatre.blogspot.com/2013/05/vimanakatha-introductory-thoughts.html
Occasional thoughts on writing imaginary religions. Monday, May 20, 2013. That said, I should mention some of my influences when writing Vimanakatha and explain some of my decisions, so that you can make the best possible choices for your own games. The Mahabharata. Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom). View my complete profile. Mystery Writing is Murder. Moving to a new site - visit Dive into Worldbuilding, the Blog! Christmas Gift Ideas For The Talented Writer In Your Life.
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Stray feathers: Building Religions 26: Secularization
http://memory-theatre.blogspot.com/2012/08/building-religions-26-secularization.html
Occasional thoughts on writing imaginary religions. Thursday, August 9, 2012. Building Religions 26: Secularization. To recap my last post: according to Peter Berger, the functions of religion are to legitimize social institutions, provide continuity, and create meaning by connecting the human nomos. With the sacred cosmos. The second half of The Sacred Canopy. By this definition, secularization involves three changes: in the power of religious institutions; in the influence of religion on cultural symbo...
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Stray feathers: Building Religions 29: Handling the Dead
http://memory-theatre.blogspot.com/2012/11/building-religions-29-handling-dead.html
Occasional thoughts on writing imaginary religions. Friday, November 2, 2012. Building Religions 29: Handling the Dead. Tell me how you die and I will tell you who you are. Here you have two practices—embalming and cremation—that, while they have similarities to other well-known ones, only took hold in a culture in the midst of other large-scale historical changes. If you're building a world and choose to examine funerary rites, ask yourself, "Has it always been this way? If not, why not? Based on these ...
