Practical Handbook

March 23rd, 2009 by Oskar Kennedy

In what I laughably call my “spare time” – when I’m not studying, looking for a job, or spending time with my family – I’m slowly putting together a book. It’s tentatively titled Practical Handbook For A Post-Religious Society. I conceived it as guidebook for a culture that has just realized that a majority of its citizens don’t have a strong supernatural belief. It seems to be a good framework in which to poke fun at all the weird and troubling ways that religion influences society.

I’m calling it a “book” in the same way that a hardcore pro-lifer can call a clump of undifferentiated cells a “baby”; that is, I say it while struggling mightily to keep a straight face. So far, it’s mostly a few pages of notes and a very few complete passages, in drafts so rough they could cause rug burn. Still, I think there’s the germ of a good idea there. If I can muster the discipline to wrestle it to the ground, it might even turn into a decent book.

I’m probably going to start posting excerpts once they’re in halfway readable shape. I figure you lot are collectively far smarter than I’ll ever be. Plus, I’m something of a feedback junkie, so hopefully you’ll be liberal with your opinions. You just have to promise to be straight with me. Praise is nice, but constructive criticism, sans sugar-coating, is far more valuable. Would you be up for that?

spread the panic!
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This entry was posted on Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 8:21 am and is filed under Practical Handbook, Site Info. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.


Discussion (9)¬

  1. Foo-Foo McKinley says:
    March 23, 2009 at 10:40 am

    I can’t wait to read them! And I promise I will be as critical as possible, and avoid any sugary nonsense that would do you no good (except a momentarily bloated ego).

  2. Jenn DiSanto says:
    March 23, 2009 at 3:55 pm

    I’d volunteer to be your editor if I thought you’d actually need one. Curse you and your superior editing prowess! :)

    • Oskar Kennedy says:
      March 23, 2009 at 8:07 pm

      I will probably need editing at some point, especially if I get to the point where I’m actually looking for an agent. Consider yourself having offered. =)

  3. ryogam says:
    March 24, 2009 at 5:38 pm

    My goodness, your kid is cute as…well, puppies wrapped in bunnies on a cloud of marshmallows! Must take after mom, huh?

    I look forward to reading whatever you post and offering my $.02.

  4. T Hand says:
    March 26, 2009 at 12:08 am

    I’ve heard a few authors- I can’t find the links, but I’m thinking specifically of Wil Wheaton- say posting snippets of what you’re working on is a very dangerous/disastrous thing, indeed. I know William Gibson does it, to some extent; but I also know he intentionally uses bits that give away nothing, and bits he’s already decided to cut out.

    Just be wary.

    • Oskar Kennedy says:
      March 26, 2009 at 10:30 am

      That’s something to consider. Do they say why they think it’s so bad?

      If the books shapes up the way I expect it to, it’s going to follow a fairly specific formula. A review of the ways that religion affects a particular aspect of society, followed by a speculative account of how it might change in a culture that has rejected religion. Lather, rinse, repeat, provided I can make each topic interesting/funny enough.

      I figure that I’d only need to post a few excerpts for folks to get a sense of how the formula works, and whether or not I can make it worth reading. I don’t know that there would be much to give away, other than how many cheap jokes I make per page.

      • T Hand says:
        April 2, 2009 at 6:28 am

        I think it’s supposed to be a negative feedback loop. Writing for a blog is different than writing a novel. It may change severity based on the type of book (a prose novel versus a philosophical or political book). I expect it’s essentially a novelist no-no, rather than a general no-no; but that’s just suspicion.