BF2S Forums Thinking about writing a book

A witty book explaining atheism or religion in general is not going to sell well ... maybe a touch of humor but be careful, faith is not funny for those that believe ...

Other than that it sounds like something I would like to read

I skipped your first 4 stages.

JohnG@lt wrote:

On the various stages of atheism.

So far what I've come up with are:
1) Rebellion
2) Exploration of alternative religions
3) Agnosticism
4) Militant Atheism
5) Passive Atheism

I want to include personal stories from people who have made the journey, including how they arrived at the conclusion that there isn't any higher power out there. The plan is to make it witty and fun while providing real information. It will not be an attack book on religion, if anything it will help them understand that we aren't boogeymen.

I am actually dreading writing this because it may hurt my future prospects in business if it comes to light and it would essentially destroy my political ambitions. But, if I can help someone out there I think it's worth it. Thoughts?

I want Ed Norton to play me in the movie.

Varegg wrote:

JohnG@lt wrote:

Varegg wrote:

A witty book explaining atheism or religion in general is not going to sell well ... maybe a touch of humor but be careful, faith is not funny for those that believe ...

Other than that it sounds like something I would like to read

Well, it's not going to be a joke book... but I don't want it to read like a textbook

You know what I mean ... the reasons for someones faith or lack of faith is facinating so a mix of facts blended with live journals could work very well ...

I would explore several ways to write this, one is your take of course but you could also write a novel kind of story based around one character that doubts in both directions before making his/her final stand ... or a mix of the two ... to fill the character with more life you can blend in interviews with several personas ...

Anyways ... good luck if you undertake this venture

I'm not sure I could undertake writing a novel. I am an engineer and my mind works in lists and facts and all that other good stuff that makes the world go round. Writing fiction is not one of my strong suits

It could be a winner because most books dealing with atheism at the moment are of the militant variety.

Cybargs wrote:

lowing wrote:

JohnG@lt wrote:

On the various stages of atheism.

So far what I've come up with are:
1) Rebellion
2) Exploration of alternative religions
3) Agnosticism
4) Militant Atheism
5) Passive Atheism

I want to include personal stories from people who have made the journey, including how they arrived at the conclusion that there isn't any higher power out there. The plan is to make it witty and fun while providing real information. It will not be an attack book on religion, if anything it will help them understand that we aren't boogeymen.

I am actually dreading writing this because it may hurt my future prospects in business if it comes to light and it would essentially destroy my political ambitions. But, if I can help someone out there I think it's worth it. Thoughts?

I want Ed Norton to play me in the movie.

http://passionforcinema.com/wp-content/ … tory-x.jpg

He'd do an excellent job.

Don't hate, he did a kickass job in that film. He was also good in 25th Hour. And I liked his cameo in Modern Family.

Heil Norton amirite?

Anyway, I'm not sure if it's bad to do this or not (because it could subconsciously make you use someone else's style), but read Christopher Hitchens' works. He's an outspoken atheist, a great writer and a funny guy. He spoke at my school once. His daughter's hot too, I had a PE class with her once.

Who would read this book?

Would you be talking about atheism, or a lack of religion? They're not the same thing.

Try to get inside the head of exactly the type of person that would want a "broader understanding of" such a controversial topic like religion, and write to that. Or rather, decide if you want to write to that first.

Macbeth wrote:

Devil's advocate: What makes you a credible source that I should read a book about what you have to say about atheism?

Well, the 'five steps' I listed is the path that I followed to get where I am. I was raised in a Presbyterian (read: Born Again) Christian household and went to church every Sunday with my grandparents and mother. My father, whom my mother divorced when I was eight, was always either agnostic, atheist or just didn't care about religion. I never really got a straight answer from him about his beliefs. Anyway, I believed everything I was told and I would pray for my father to find god and even tell him so. Obviously, I was a kid and didn't understand that this was a hurtful thing to say to him.

Once my grandparents moved to Florida we stopped attending church and it gradually just fell to the backburner in my mind. I was always vaguely religious but didn't really put much thought into it. I entered the 'rebellion' stage once I hit high school (a Quaker high school). I was sitting in Ancient Civilizations class and realized that if history had happened a bit differently that we could all be worshiping Ra, the Sun God instead of God. From this point I entered the 'exploration stage' and this lasted for about a year. I even had Druid stamped on my dog tags because I thought it was a cool religion. After this period I skipped completely over the agnostic stage and went directly to militant atheist. I would walk out of the room whenever a chaplain would give an invocation at a military ceremony, I wouldn't rise in church, I would argue with Christians about the true meaning of Christmas etc. That's faded over the past few years and I didn't realize that I had crossed over to the 'fifth stage' until it clicked the other night in the car with my gf.

Whether this makes me credible or not, my story is not unique at all. From other people I have spoken to, these five stages are a good representation of the path they took. I'm not an outsider looking in and making assumptions, this is a story about my own experiences in my own life.

Dilbert_X wrote:

I admire anyone that brave.

However, if your potential market is passive atheists who have already made up their minds I suspect your print run will be short.
I f your potential market is practising Christians suggest you look up 'abortion clinics' and buy a vest.

How about creating a whole new religion a la L Ron Hubbard, there ought to be more money, and sex, in that. How hard can it be?

Why start from scratch? Could just convince people we're all living inside the Matrix and if we get enough believers we can wrest control from our machine overlords!

ghettoperson wrote:

Write a book about me. It'd be awesome a leaflet.

fixt