Having taken tentative steps back toward writing, I got into a conversation with a friend about a story he wanted to write, but for which he had not the first idea in starting. It is an instance where he actually really wants to see the book written, but does not need to write it himself, so he gave the idea to me.

It is related to research in which he has been involved pertaining to Flood Era settlements. Not thesis research. He's been in touch with archaeologists, and they have actually found artifacts based on his recommendations and research. We had a great conversation that was essentially a three hour information download on his research. It was absolutely great. He wants to share more of his findings with people—it is so exciting to get to know the Lord through discovery of His world—but he thinks it would be better written as fiction. In addition, he doesn't want some aspects of the information to get people into trouble, or draw too much attention to certain archaeological sites.

Anyway, he gave me the story, and I am eager to work with it. The struggle is that I don't have a very good idea of where to start with it as fiction. It will need a plot, a genre, and characters, but that proves tricky. I don't like archaeological thrillers, and the last thing I want is for this to bear any resemblance to a Dan Brown novel. I don't want it to fall flat and just sound like more made-up conspiracy theories just for the sake of undermining the Gospel.

Another struggle I have is not wanting too much to blur the lines between history and fiction. I like to read history because it is things that actually happened. I don't want to have to go back and unlearn things because I learned history from historical fiction and not history. I also want to respect the fact that the people involved really lived and are not simply the playthings of my imagination.

There is plenty of room to wreck a story like this, so I want to pick through the development carefully, but I wondered if anyone might have ideas to help me brainstorm through initial development? Any outlandish scheme works. Sometimes I just pick out a single word or two and end up striking it rich.

The best way to answer this is to play 20 questions.

First question: Do you want the story to involve Noah and the biblical narrative, or would you prefer to steer clear?

Well, I really can't avoid it if I want to do it justice. That is going to be a question of whether I refer to them vaguely, or make them active characters. I like classic literature, and it often has active narrative that does not go too far into the character's head and emotions, and mostly describes the situation as it goes on. I do like that, but I don't know how well it would go off with a modern audience. I suppose that then asks the question, "Are the things or the people the more active characters?" I don't want to neglect the people, since it is through them that the story is really told, but I don't want to fictionize them too much.

I suppose I will have to have them be central characters, but it will take a lot of work to set them up as they should be, and not cast them in light of modern culture.

Twenty questions is a good idea. Thanks!

Okay, let's pretend that you're sold on focusing the story around the biblical characters--for now--and keep that in mind with these questions. (I got two this time. )

1. Do you want to set the story pre- or post-flood? That is, are you interested in writing a "prequel" of sorts that stops right before the flood (or with the flood as the "epilogue" so to speak), or are you wanting the flood to be a main pivot point of the plot?

2. Are you interested in getting into the Jewish and rabbinical lore and teachings around this story?

Both. There are some significant things that happen on both sides, but I don't know how much I'll interact with what happens on the ark.

Yes, if I can see how they actively play into the research and archaeology surrounding the event. I don't want to throw it in for the sake of fantasy historical fiction. I also don't want it to have too mystical a fantasy feel to it. Any legends involved, I want to be woven in naturally.

Sounds good. The reason I ask about the Jewish and rabbinical teachings is that you have to be willing to do some research, and you have to be willing to handle some material that can be "shocking" or even "offensive" to mainstream Christians. Even if you don't get into some of the more obscure mythological aspects of the Jewish lore, some of the "morals" that the Jews take out of the Torah are different than what most Christians were raised on, so for readers who haven't done any kind of Jewish study or been exposed to that kind of teaching, it can be a bit of a splash of cold water at first.

However, I would personally recommend starting there for two reasons. The first is that some of the rabbinical teaching is incredibly old. It's been passed down for generations, and some of it is very likely sourced from fact (or at least it was, generations and generations ago like one long game of telephone). Even though we have no way of knowing what's fact and what's not, it's still a good source of inspiration.

The second reason is that the Jews approach the Torah very differently, so they often take different "morals" out of the story. Getting into even some of the more modern Jewish teaching on the Flood can give you a lot of ideas for different angles to pursue with the story, morals, and character arcs. This would be a great way to get your creative gears working and also help you create a more layered story with more depth. Anyone can write a Sunday school rip-off where the only point is "Don't be evil, and listen to God when He tells you to build a boat." There's a lot more we can take from the story than that, and the rabbis have already done a lot of that heavy lifting for you.

Oh, I guess there is a third reason. Another reason to look into the Jewish studies, as well as the original Hebrew if you can, is that the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. Like any historical document, we can understand it better if we can understand the context in which it was written. Looking into some teachings and word studies can help you understand the Hebrew word play, nuance, and writing conventions that went into the story--things that are obvious to a native speaker but get lost in translation to English--which will give you more material for your story while remaining as true to the source text as possible.

All of that to say, you don't have to base your story strictly off of Jewish teaching, but I think it would be a great place to start. Do some research and see what they're preaching. I think you'll get some ideas that will really get your creative juices flowing and help you figure out what angle you want to take.

Yeah, I'd recommend Rabbinical teaching as well. Had to look into a bunch of that for a paper in my Jewish Lit class, and like Aubrey said, there's definitely some crazy stuff in there. Fascinating things, but definitely drives home that Judaism and Christianity are very different, which hearing from a local Orthodox Jew also pointed out.

Without the information and research you're working from, I can't give a ton of ideas on brainstorming, because I won't have the same data touch-points that are meant to be included.

Drawing from archaeological and historical research though, I would likely lean more towards a historical family epic. Not really much concern about teaching false things about history either, because we don't know anything from before, during, or even immediately after outside of what little is mentioned in different Scriptures. Almost everything will be speculation based on scant, probably unwritten evidence.

Thematically, I can see the gradual degradation of society as experienced by one family working really well. In a way, a lot like apocalyptic fiction. Not the zombie kind, but a build-up to a natural catastrophe could be easy enough to turn into a story.

That's true. I have been in the process of some research, but realistically, the more research I do, the more this story will tell itself, which is my usual aim with a story. I like layers of story, but I don't want to throw in too much lore for the sake of lore. I definitely want any connections I make to feel bonded together. I guess given the purpose of the story, I don't have to freak out too much if I keep in mind Lewis's quote about originality. I just have to stay in the books.

I saw this awhile ago , but didn't have a chance to really look at it and think about it. Anyway, my main comment is about you saying you didn't know what to do concerning characters, and I saw you told Ltg. Hansen that you wanted to do both pre and post Flood. Think about the worldview you want your character to have. If you want them to have a Christian worldview you're pretty limited with pre-Flood characters. Maybe that's a dumb or overly-obvious comment, but I thought I'd through it out there. This sounds super cool, so good luck!

Well, it depends on what you mean by a Christian worldview. Yes, they're not going to have the same context we have, living after Jesus's earthly ministry, but they had the protoevangelium. They knew there would be a Savior coming, not that they expected Him in their lifetimes. They had a sacrificial system that pointed forward to the Blood of Christ. They certainly can't be singing hymns written by Charles Wesley, and they won't be able to quote Paul or even Moses, but they know God. There is still the basis for the same worldview from a very different cultural context. I just don't want it to be something where the personalities take too much liberty with the people that really existed and might have been exactly the opposite. I don't want the personalities of the characters to overshadow the plot, but I also don't want them to drive the plot to the point where the story would fall apart if the fictional elements were changed, if that makes sense.

That makes sense and sounds super good. I can't wait to hear more about the story

Thank you.

This sounds incredible, especially as it is inspired by real archeological sites! One of the things which has fascinated me the most is the difference the longer lifespan before the flood would have made on culture, and people as individuals. For instance, give George Washington an 800 year lifespan and he'd only be in his 280s now. Marco Polo and Robert the Bruce would still be alive today. (Obviously assuming they lived to old age.)

And 70-year-olds say you can't teach an old dog new tricks! They were just starting out in life back then. Did wisdom stick around longer, saving communities from decay? Perhaps. But think of the depravity people can sink into in the short years we are in the earth today. That gives a frightening aspect to the world before the flood, especially as people's thoughts grew continually evil. People were much nearer perfection, they lived much longer - what a tool that must have been for both good and evil.

Questions:
1: Would you give information on actual discoveries, but in fictional locations to protect the sites?

2: Are you planning on paralleling modern and flood-era stories (for example, have someone in flood era using an object or being in a location, and then having people discover it in modern day), or are you focusing on one or the other?

Yeah. My cousin (once removed) was just telling me about how my great-grandmother got saved and was trying to witness to her mom who was in the occult. She started at twenty-three and died at ninety, but wouldn't listen. Based on some of the examples, and being somewhat aware of other occult practices, I don't want to imagine what hundreds of years of hatred toward God would be like. Most of those generations would have known Adam, so there is no pretending God doesn't exist, when the first man is there to tell you otherwise. It's just outright hatred and rebellion.

Old dog new tricks debunked. I'll have to tell my older colleagues that when they're being stubborn.

For the story, I want to try to make the distinction between what is fact and what is fiction. For the story, style might get tricky there, but for the archaeological aspects, I think I'll give specifics where I can, but be vague if I can't. Saying, for example, "two miles due east" or "further south" as the need arises.

I think I might do a narrative for the ancient portions, but have the modern and archaeological information be written like newspaper clippings or journal entries. Maybe have characters mentioned, but no one about whom we get much information. Those pieces might be kind of short, while the narrative chapters will be longer. I also really like the idea of interspersing Scripture and pertinent writings of the early church fathers to further build the contextual timeline throughout the ages.