How do I write a novel about Catholics and make it sound authentic...?

Question

...without going into too much detail about the religion side. My novel is focused on a village and the characters are all Catholic, some are nuns, a priest and a bishop. The novel is more about their tangled lives and the secrets they are hiding from each other.
As a non catholic I realise there is more to the religion than I know about, but like a lay person watching the film 'the nuns story' I want to write my novel along the same elk.
I don't have any catholic friends I can talk to in which to verify my story.
I really want to write this story so please no one tell me to write about only what I know. That would be boring to me and I'd never learn anything.
Thanks in advance.
Dawn73

Answer 1

visit your local catholic church so you get a proper image in your head of what it looks like,(help with describing when there in church)
iv found these sites about catholics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03449a.htm
http://www.culturalcatholic.com/hermitnun.htm
this is a good one it lists loads of saints and stuff about their lives
http://www.catholic-pages.com/dir/saints.asp


http://www.diversityworking.com/career/Clergy/Roman_Catholic_priests/Catholic_Priest.html
http://www.springerlink.com/content/wq0388627126555q/
www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idCategory=34&idsub=127&id=3669 - 75k -
http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/ooh9899/106.htm
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/04/11/news/catholics.php
hope these give you help and inspiration i would just advise you to be careful what you write as it may cause upset to catholics,im a catholic and personally it wouldnt upset me but my grandad would be.(he hates the da vinci code and thinks its blasphamas)

Answer 2

You say "without going into too much detail about the religion side". This is pretty much impossible; to be a nun, a priest or anything these days means the religion is central to your life; in past times this may not have been so.
I lived in an Anglican rectory/vicarage most of my adult life and I get very irritated by tv and books that get the most basic things wrong; even those who do their research get things wrong when they have never experienced life in a religious world first hand.
All I can suggest that might work is to make your central character or narrator an outsider in some way, an observer, so that any mistakes in reality can be explained by their ignorance or their misunderstanding. To have such a person come into a closed community in some way is known to have disturbing, if not catastrophic effects on the internal balance of the community; this may then explain perhaps nuns opening up to the glamourous(in its true sense, not the modern one) stranger who offers a window on the outside world beyond their own.

Answer 3

The quickest and easiest way to learn information is to go out and meet some people. Talk with them, and participate in some church organized events.

The key is keeping an open mind to all ideas; your characters won't be as authentic if you try to force ideas into them.

Arrange to talk with a priest if need be.

Edit: Huh, can't believe i almost forgot about the specific time period. You would really want to do research on other main events occuring at the same time and see the catholic view.

If the story is gonna take place more than 50 years in the past, I would hit the books pretty hard.

Answer 4

Yo9u can't write about what a Cahtolic's life is like any more than you could write about anything else you don't know.

You say you want to write about their tangles lives and the things they are hiding....hopw can you know any of this IF YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THEIR FAITH?

As a Catholic, I could come up with some story lines that might play into your thinking, but there is no way anyone could ever communicate all the nuances involved without a lifelong knowledge of what it means to be a Catholic- or close relationships with nuns and priests....close enough that they share thoughts that random strangers would never be privy to.

Answer 5

Call up your local catholic church and meet with the priest. Tell him you want to know more about monastic and convent life in the period you are writing about. Ask him to recommend a scholar who would be willing to correspond with you or some books to research. Even better is to speak with a priest or nun at your local Catholic school, but try the priest first.
You may want to hit some catholic forums and put out a call to some amateur scholars to fact check and recommend books.
Depending on the era you are writing about, unless they have studied the time period or have family in the priesthood/convent they probably don't know that much more than you.
What you want to be concerned about is the accuracy of how you are portraying life in that era for nuns in particular. If you're going to get called on accuracy for something I can almost guarantee that's what it will be.

Answer 6

Here are some suggestions that may seem radical, but you sure would gain some good insight...

1. Interview some clergy members from your local Catholic Church or nunnery.

2. Enroll in a catholic school or join a catholic church.

3. Read the catholic bible, old and new testament or do research at your local library or on the net.

4. Go to classes in preparation for converting to Catholicism.

Answer 7

History books--or at least history of Catholicism books will be helpful.
You would want to know exactly what nuns, priests, and bishops do (or did, depending upon the year your story is set). You would want to know how they dressed in whichever year your story is about.
There are different 'orders' of nuns, you would want to know which order your nun is from.

You could ask questions in the Religion & Spirituality category, directed specifically to Catholics, for some further information.

Answer 8

Why are you writing your novel with an elk? As a lapsed Catholic myself, I don't remember seeing many elk in church. I know they are desperate for recruits to the faith but isn't that going too far.

Dear me, do you mean 'ilk?' The expression is usually 'of that ilk'.

You might need to think about this sort of thing if you are going to right a novel! An understanding of simple English will take you a long way.

Answer 9

If your main characters are nuns, a priest and a bishop, you have no choice but to learn a fair amount about the religious beliefs that each of them are so committed to. Their religious beliefs will dictate their interactions with others, their reactions to different scenarios and their mindsets in general.
As a Catholic myself, my faith plays into my everyday life and guides me. It would be impossible to write a story about me and not understand my faith. It would be even more the case with a nun, priest or bishop.
I'm interested to hear that you have chosen these characters and wish you the best of luck, but please understand our faith in order to not misrepresent it.

Answer 10

It is called research. Go to the library. There are many books on Catholism.
I cannot believe you would attempt a novel with no basis for knowledge.
I am a Roman Catholic and not judging you.
Research and knowledge is the basis of all books.

Answer 11

I suggest you write about something you know about.

I have read many books about Catholics written by non-Catholic authors. Almost all get something important wrong and I find it hard to get past that point.

Don't even get me started about the Da Vinci Code.

I would not consider writing a book about a Jewish, Muslim, or Episcopalian village much less answering any questions of depth about them.

With love in Christ.