Should writers preach through fiction? Be cautious when crafting cults, or when preaching on the sly.

Considerations for Fiction Writers – A Blog Series

Do you plan to write a cult into your fiction? Do you wish to teach readers about a belief system through fiction? I suggest considering a few things first.

I watch a lot of cult documentaries and the YouTube channel Cults to Consciousness, so I have a broad understanding of the harm cults can cause (1.). Humans can be persuaded to believe just about anything and it’s terrifying. I find such psychological manipulation an interesting subject, so I like to include fictional cults in my novels. My books are dystopias and political control is a common theme, so cult-like regimes fit neatly into my worlds. But before I crafted my first cult, I needed to consider some things.

What is a cult and how is it different from a regular religion? After research and contemplation, I came to the conclusion that the biggest different is the level of control and the amount of harm the belief system causes. Cult members are often victims of psychological, physical or sexual abuse. They can be separated from family, financially abused, or forced to do labor without pay, and it can be extremely difficult to escape a cult.

When writing a fictional cult, it’s important to consider if you want your cult to be associated with a real world religion. Religious institutions can be centers of comfort, community and culture. Faith can be an important part of a person’s identity and prayer can be a way to cope. So when I crafted my first fictional cult, I didn’t want it to resemble a known religion. In religions, leaders usually have good intentions, but in cults, leaders manipulate a group of people for nefarious reasons. To make it clear I was crafting a cult, not a religion, I made my cult-leader’s motivations transparent.

I had to take a moment to consider my own beliefs and how my biases might affect how I craft a fictional cult. I’ve seen the positives and negatives of religion, but I prefer to be as objective as possible on the subject. Albeit, I did use the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse crisis as a guide to how patriarchal systems of power make it easy for predators to get away with sexual abuse. I also took from Christian concepts of purity, but I didn’t want my cult to be a comment on a specific religion. So I took the time to make my cult stand apart from other belief systems.

I also had to contemplate the fact real people are victimized by cults and many victims walk away traumatized. I suggest being kind to your readers by including the victim’s recovery in the narrative. Also when crafting cult members, one should keep in mind that anyone can be lured into a cult. Even the most intelligent people can fall prey to a charismatic cult leader.

But perhaps, you want to teach your readers about a certain belief system. If you wish to use fiction as a way to change your readers beliefs, please consider a couple of things. Who is your audience? Are you meaning to persuade people with a completely different belief system? If a book is an obvious lesson on a certain set of beliefs, it’s highly unlikely someone outside that system will read the book. Secondly, most people balk at non-consensual preaching.

I read a beautifully written and captivating dystopian novel about white privilege, racism, homophobia, transphobia and ablism. I’m not going to name the novel because the author is not very famous and it doesn’t feel right to publicly pick on their work. But about half way through the novel, I started to feel like I was getting repeatedly hit over the head with the message that white folks must be diligent in checking their privilege. Even though I agree with the author’s views, the minute I felt preached at, I couldn’t enjoy the book anymore. So even when a reader’s beliefs align with the author, too much preachiness can drive readers away. I wondered who the novel was intended for and if the purpose was to convert people, because I was certain only folks who agree with the novel’s messages would be interested in the book. In the end, did the novel serve its purpose?

I know some writers like the idea of sneaking their views into fiction and preaching on the sly, but the reality is people aren’t dumb. They know when they’re being bombarded with an idea. But I believe there are ways to do it well. I think offering something for a reader to contemplate can make a novel more interesting. I enjoy books that show me another perspective, or help me understand a subject deeper. Wonder, by R. J. Palacio, helped me contemplate what it might be like to live with a facial difference, yet the story never made me feel preached at (3.). Wonder teaches kids empathy and to accept classmates who are special, yet the narrative is executed in a way that pulls readers in.

So should writers preach through fiction? I recommend letting go of using fiction as a way to convert people to a completely different belief system. Someone has to be searching for a new belief system in order to be open to that sort of literature. And there are an endless number of ways for people to learn such subjects on their own. But, as long as a reader isn’t coming from a drastically different viewpoint, I believe fiction can change a reader’s views. I think it’s important to lean heavily on the show-not-tell advice and to be careful not to insult your reader’s intelligence. Remember readers can tell when they’re being hit repeatedly with a message. I suggest avoiding crafting fiction with the sole purpose of pushing ideas onto readers. People want to read fiction to unwind and have fun, not to get a lecture.