katster's closet

So you want to write rapturefic? I mean, you probably don't, but just in case, I figure I'd offer one quick thought. I may continue this series later, but I picked up a new book and the first page made me cringe a bit. So here is rule #1 for what not to do:

Do not name your Antichrist character Damien or Damon. I understand names are fraught with significance, but there's significance and then there's beating your reader over the head with a bloody hammer, and using that name appears slightly closer to the latter. Also, you might think you're being clever making your character Italian, with the whole Roman Empire thing, but really. It's been somewhat overdone, and yes, while I'm glad you can read a map and see that Rome is in Italy, wouldn't it be more fun to either use a country in the Roman Empire that isn't so bloody obvious or consider the whole Roman Empire thing symbolism?

...oh right, these are fundies, maybe the bleeding obvious is necessary.

Anyway, even with as much as the Left Behind books are trite and formulaic (as is the whole genre, really), the naming of their Antichrist figure as Nicolae Carpathia and the fact he's Romanian (which is still bloody obvious, but not as fracking obvious as Italy) shows that some thought was paid on the issue of names.

Speaking of which, one of these days, I need to doodle up an IN angel who happens to bear the unfortunate name of Damien. ;) But that's a story for another time.