Some Christian authors I have spoken to feel a heavy weight of responsibility to reflect Christ in their storytelling. With this in mind, they pray earnestly for guidance from the Holy Spirit before they even contemplate writing a fictional book. Some tell me they wait a long time before they get the inspiration to write; others scour through the Bible for their inspiration; while still others start to put pen to paper as soon as they get the initial idea. How wonderful it is that every writer is unique and that no two people on the earth and throughout history have ever been exactly the same. Viva le difference! And so it is with their writing. Whatever genre they are writing in: picture books for very young children, books for slightly older, primary school children, teens or adults, their stories will be infused with Christian messages which align with their purposes for writing their fiction.
But how do these writers balance their spiritual messages with engaging narratives? And can Christian writers reach secular audiences as well as Christian audiences? How do they write authentic fiction when they are deliberately trying to weave themes like Christ’s love into their fiction?
I would argue that all fiction consists of the basic components of plot, character, setting, point of view, theme and style. So, first and foremost, authors need to be true to their craft. In this blog, I will briefly discuss each of these components of the story, in turn, to show how to write authentic faith-based fiction:
If you want to create a gripping, compelling plot, structure is key. Introduce an intriguing ‘hook’ early on in your story, so that your reader will want to know how the story develops.
Introduce a view of problems which need to be solved, perhaps a small problem, a bigger problem and still a bigger one, leading up to a climax. If the climax is dramatic enough, the reader might be surprised; it could pique his/her interest and encourage him/her to continue reading. You can easily introduce a moral dimension into your plot. What is at stake for your characters? What are the consequences for them if they perform well/badly? How will their actions affect other characters in the story like their friends, relatives or even their ‘enemies’, i.e. the antagonists who will try at every turn to block them from achieving their goals.
Authentic characters are essential to any story, and strange as it may seem, are often compilations of people you know or have met. To write realistically about people, it is helpful if you have experienced many of the character traits that you write about in your fiction. Some of these character traits will emerge subconsciously – you may even be writing about yourself – the characters will, in some ways, behave as you would in a particular situation. And if you do write about a ‘saintly’ character, a character who behaves in a Christ-like way, you will be reinforcing biblical values and weaving Christ’s love into your writing. Despite including your saintly character in your book, you can still make him/her authentic by giving him/her some flaws, so that your character doesn’t seem too good to be true. And if your characters are attractive enough, Christian and secular readers alike could be attracted to your book. Of course, your antagonists can be devilish characters, who will provide a foil for your ‘good’ characters, thereby increasing the interest of your book – with the added bonus that your ‘good’ characters will be challenged to overcome and to persevere, especially if obstacles are placed in their paths.
Each of these components is important to consider if you wish to write compelling fiction. Describe your setting so well that your readers will imagine they have been to the place; if you choose the more manageable third-person point of view, your story will likely flow well, and you can then incorporate your theme, for example, into your dialogue: what the characters say to each other can be particularly revealing regarding the theme. And as for style, just write in the best possible way that you can.
With all these story elements in place, your Christian-based story is likely to sound authentic and will hopefully appeal to Christian and secular audiences alike.
So, happy story-telling!!