Hello, Seekerville! It's good to be here today!
I don't know if this subject is one you've thought about at all, but it's been on my mind for the past several months/years.
The question, short and simple is: As a Christian author, should I write Christian fiction for Christian readers? Or is my call broader than that? Should I be trying to reach non-Christian readers with my stories?
Before we dive into this subject, let’s define a couple terms:
Christian fiction: Fiction that is written from a Christian worldview, includes a Christian spiritual thread, and leaves the reader with a sense of hope rather than doom.
Secular fiction: Fiction that is written from a non-Christian worldview, does not include a Christian spiritual thread (although it may include a spiritual thread from another religion,) and can leave the reader with either a sense of hope or a sense of doom and hopelessness.
Christian author: An author of any genre who is a Christian.
A bit of history
Back in the olden days (like fifty or sixty years ago) readers and authors didn't think too much about worldview. When I was growing up in the 1960's, almost every book that was available through our libraries and bookstores were written from a Christian worldview, whether the author was a Christian or not. Christianity was part of the culture of the United States, Canada, and Europe.
When I went to the library as a child and teen, I could comfortably read any book on the shelves (and I did!) But our culture has changed. By the 1980's we were beginning to move into the post-Christian era that we're in now.
One thing that happened during that shift is that Christian fiction books became a thing.
Do you understand how huge this was? Rather than Christian books being part of the mainstream fiction section in the library (Grace Livingston Hill was shelved with Joanna Lindsey, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss and Rosemary Rogers,) they were relegated to their own shelves.
For most readers, this was a good thing. A reader looking for Janette Oke or Beverly Lewis didn't have to sort through the hundreds of non-Christian titles to find them.
But I was, and continue to be bothered by it. Did we create a literary Christian ghetto for ourselves? Did we put up a fence that few non-Christians desired to cross?
Why would a Christian author write for non-Christian readers?
I have two thoughts about this question - -
1) A Christian writes Christian books.
Before I became a Christian, my thinking was upside down. I was an enemy of God and avoided anything that "reeked" of Christianity. Now, keep in mind that back then I thought I was a Christian, just not one of those Christians.
In college and for several years beyond school, I read some pretty awful secular trash - books that were considered to be the classics of the time. Authors you would probably recognize, but they were not Christians, and they didn't write from a Christian worldview.
When God started calling me to Himself, I searched for better books. Hawthorne, Dickens, Stevenson, Christie...I discovered a home in their stories. I reread the books of my childhood: Laura Ingalls Wilder, LM Montgomery, and Maud Hart Lovelace. I started developing a new worldview as I read these authors - a Christian worldview.
When God called me to be a writer, I knew that someday I wanted to write books that wouldn't be found in the Christian fiction section of the library - but that would resound with a Christian worldview.
2) The story needs to be told.
The gospel isn't only for Christians - it's for the world. The dirty, messy, sinful, cruel, lost world.
And the gospel needs to be told in bold ways (I'm thankful for strong preachers!) and in winsome ways - through stories. Romance, mystery, science fiction and fantasy - through all genres.
Conclusion
Some Christian authors are called to write for the Church - to encourage believers and help to strengthen their faith. Other Christian authors are called to write for the World - to introduce them to a Christian worldview in a non-threatening manner, through stories.
Anything a Christian writes will have a Christian worldview – it can’t be any other way.
This is what I'm attempting in my cozy mystery series, The Sweetbrier Inn mysteries. My characters are Christians, they go to church, and they live normal lives (well, as normal as you can get in a cozy mystery.) Somewhere in each book I bring up a moral question and give the Christian answer to it - murder is wrong; vengeance belongs to God; etc. But I try to weave those moral lessons seamlessly into the story. Never preachy. Never obvious.
Books for Christian as well as secular readers.
What do you think?
As a Christian writer, what stories has God called you to write? Is your audience Christian or secular?
And what do you think about my ideas? Agree? Disagree?
Leave a comment to be entered in a drawing for an e-copy of my latest release, The Case of the Artist's Mistake. US addresses only, please.
The Sweetbrier Inn is filled with guests, and the town is teeming with tourists who have come to celebrate Paragon Days, the official kickoff to the summer tourist season. But even before the festivities start, amateur sleuth Emma Blackwood stumbles upon a dead body. With no visible signs of violence, Deputy Cal determines the death is from natural causes, but Emma isn’t so sure. Why would a seemingly healthy woman drop dead? And what does the picture she was holding have to do with it? If Emma doesn’t solve this puzzle soon, a killer may get away with committing the perfect crime.
I think you are spot-on, Jan. While I think there are good intentions toward separating Christian and mainstream art---because this applies to movies and music as well as books-- in many ways we left the rest of the culture to fend for themselves and that is why we are seeing an appalling lack of wholesome, quality, spiritually-sound media anywhere mainstream today. Keep writing those great books, because we need them! And no need to put me in the drawing. I've got a copy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts, Glynis! And you're right about other forms of art. A separation between Christian and mainstream may be welcome, there is a place for crossovers. :-)
DeleteHmmm ... I think it's complicated. "The gospel isn't only for Christians - it's for the world. The dirty, messy, sinful, cruel, lost world." I completely agree with you. But I think it's easier said than done. If you get real enough to catch the attention of that dirty, messy, lost world, the Christian publishing side of the fence tends to shy away from what they may consider inappropriate or too risky. If you write enough truth for your work to be considered Christian, the lost world publishers pigeonhole it and dismiss it. I guess that is one big reason to appreciate independent publishing! I think both the saved and lost alike would benefit from more stories about a Jesus who is big enough to handle real life. I love it that you have this vision, Jan! Keep writing those cozy mysteries! I also already have a copy of your book and don't need to be entered in the drawing.
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts, Terri.
DeleteWalking this line would be difficult with most traditional publishers, but not all of them. One thing I appreciate about a good agent is that he or she can see the vision their authors are presenting to them and find the perfect publisher for the project.
Now to find that perfect agent... but for now, I'm happy indie publishing my cozy mysteries.
Interesting thoughts, Jan. I believe I write to encourage other Christians, but I do want my stories to be positive and offer hope to all. Love your comment about the characters’ lives in cozies being as normal as living with mysteries can be. :) Fun to see you writing in this genre!
ReplyDeleteI'm still writing inspirational historical romance as well as cozies, and those stories are geared toward encouraging (and sometimes challenging) Christian readers. I love my readers!
DeleteBut I'm having so much fun with the cozy mystery genre!
Good morning, Jan. Excellent question! I've wondered over the issue for years. My first stories for the secular market. Praise God those stories never sold!! Funny thing, the first contest I won was with a secular story. I was so excited, as were my friends and family. I worked years to win a contest, but almost in the same breath, the good Lord called me to write for Him. Huh? I was just gaining traction in the secular market and now I needed to write inspirational romance? Needless to say, I grumbled, but then set myself on the inspirational market and the rest of the story is too long to share here, LOL.
ReplyDeleteANYWAY, while I was writing for the secular market, a voice in my head kept saying "who cares? who wants to read this? what's the point?" Discouraging to say the least. I never did find the answers while I was on that writing path.
Which brings me to back to your excellent post. I found all the answers to all my questions once I began to give God control of my stories. I still have times where the words stop coming, but I realize now, I haven't prayed over the direction of my story. I lost the meaning I intended to reveal to the reader. The heart of my Christian romance.
Which then leads to the question, if we aim for moral truths in our books, what distinguishes Christian books from books written by "good people?" That is the question that continues to baffle me today. I'd like to reach all people of the world and point them to Christ, but in doing so, is moral truth enough? Is showing our characters going to church enough to distinguish the message? Do I need to be grittier and reveal the gospel?
Dear Jan! You opened a 55 gallon drum of worms!!
Audra, who is baffled over multiple subject matters, LOL!!
(Digging into that 55 gallon drum!)
DeleteI think the thing that distinguishes books written by Christians from the same type of stories written by "good people" is the work of the Holy Spirit in a Christian's heart. What flows from our hearts and minds onto the page can't be anything BUT Christian.
For example, when we were both young(er), the Lord of the Rings by Tolkien was enjoying a revival thirty-some years after it was first published (similar to the revival those books are enjoying today!)
During that time there were dozens of copy-cat stories written and published in the fantasy genre - but they were poor copies. Why?
IMHO, it's because the authors missed the key behind the timelessness of Tolkien's work...the Christian worldview. Those stories were "less" because of it.
So I guess my answer to your question is - "I'm not sure, but God knows."
And in writing books for secular readers, I don't think our goal needs to be to point them to Christ as much as to get them to start thinking about God as a moral compass (which is a 180° turn for most of the world.) The Holy Spirit can take it from there.
YES! I agree 100% . Books written by Christians bring a whole heart to the table.
DeleteWhen I ask God for help, I get it. My thoughts knit together and the words flow. Sometimes I look at the end product and think about the point I wanted to get across and wonder if I hit the mark. I'm not a "hammer over your head" type of writer. I think God uses the words I write - as a Christian - and sends in the Holy Spirit to do His thing.
Great post, Jan. Wonderful discussion!
-audra
A great question, Jan and definitely something that each author needs to answer eventually for him/herself.
ReplyDeleteI think of Christian authors who write for the general market - like Debbie Macomber and John Grisham - have given the secular world solid stories with a moral compass. I know if I pick up a Macomber book, I'm going to get a clean story. If I pick up a Grisham book, I know I'll get lost in the story world, that has a theme of justice and sometimes redemption (though some of the stories are gritty).
Then there are Christian authors who write clean fiction for Christian publishers without the gospel thread. (Thinking Thomas Nelson - traditionally Christian but seems to be doing more clean fiction these days)
And then, Christian authors writing Christian Fiction. :)
Wherever God has called us, that's where we need to be. He's given us the ability to write and He will open the right doors. Not all of us can be the eyes or the hands or a strand of hair. We're all part of the body of Christ working together to point readers - in the CF AND general market - toward Christ.
Thanks for the inspiring post! (no need to enter my name)
"Wherever God has called us, that's where we need to be. He's given us the ability to write and He will open the right doors. Not all of us can be the eyes or the hands or a strand of hair. We're all part of the body of Christ working together to point readers - in the CF AND general market - toward Christ."
DeleteYou said it perfectly, Lee-Ann!
I think each writer has to make that call (or determine the calling) themselves. For now, I feel called to write overtly Christian Fiction, however, I trust fully in God's ability to get my stories into the hands of those who need them/will benefit from them, and if that means someone who is not a believer, I'm cool with that. I don't rule out writing something else in the future, but for now, my calling is right where I am. :)
ReplyDeleteExactly, Erica! When we leave the what, how, why, and who up to God then He can use us where He has always planned for us to be, reaching the readers we're meant to reach.
DeleteI need to think on this but for the most part I guess I am for it. Not all of the media I consume is Christian and quite honestly, Grace Livingston Hill wrote for the secular and Christian markets so she could feed her two girls and keep up the house she bought and take care of her mother. I haven't tried it yet; I am still an aspiring writer, but I suppose it can be done. There are sweet and clean fiction markets now, thank goodness. Atheists and agnostics and people of all kind respond well to the Christian family values and miss them. Maybe if they read some clean, non-preachy fiction it will give them a small scoop of what an author is about and they will want to delve further in.
ReplyDeletewow, Jan. "The olden days"...was when I was in my twenties. Bummer
ReplyDeleteMany people will never enter a church except for a wedding or a funeral or read the Biblebut they will read a Christian fiction novel
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent question, Jan, and one which you seem to have solved gracefully! I strongly believe a Christian author is an author who is a Christian. And writing for the secular market doesn't mean one has to write Mafia or reverse harem romances. John Grisham (above) is a perfect example of a Christian who's brought many wonderful stories to market with themes of justice, redemption, and mercy. James Scott Bell would be another one. For myself, I want to write about real life in a way that a non-Christian could pick up one of my books and read it, and then say "I didn't know Christians ever dealt with that" or "I didn't know Christians thought that". I don't ever want to have pat answers but show the struggle and heartache we all go through. Because without God, how can we do real life?
ReplyDeleteNo need to put me in the draw as I'm north of the 49th parallel :)
Jan, I wrestled with this subject for a decade while writing and revising my first novel, Rise on Eagle's Wings, which will be released soon from Elk Lake Publishing. I wrote it to stir the hearts of non-believers who love a good story and lead good lives, but don't think they need Jesus or the Bible. From the first page, I intended readers to fall in love with my characters and eventually see these beloved characters being helped, physically and spiritually, by people who love Jesus. I would not have written the book if Jesus wasn't included in the end. I believe the story is gripping enough to hold the interest of non-believers until the time comes when Jesus is revealed. And, I've discovered that believers also love the story. For me, there would be no heart without God. After 10 years, I finally articulated my true purpose: "I write to stir the hearts of seekers and fortify the souls of believers." Jan, thank you for airing this question.
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