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Home » Craft

Craft

Edgy Christian Fiction

By Steve Laubeon January 31, 2022
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A number of years ago the question of what is appropriate to include in Christian fiction was asked, and I wrote much of what is below as a reply. Recently, this issue jumped back into conversations with the release of the film Redeeming Love, based on the bestselling novel of the same title by Francine Rivers. (Some reviews of the movie, not the book, that wrestle with the debate can be found linked here: The Gospel Coalition, Plugged In, MovieGuide, and blogger Mike Duran). Thus I thought it appropriate to revisit this post.

Note that there is a considerable difference between the visual medium of film and the imaginative medium of print. This is not a discussion about filmmaking or visual media; I’d like to limit the discussion to novels in written form. Please keep the conversation inside this specific category.

Comments from the original post have been left intact to help aid our community discussion.

__________________

In Christian fiction, how do we balance keeping the message strong and not watering it down while still wanting to reach readers beyond Christian bookstores or churches?

This has been an ongoing discussion ever since Christian fiction became a significant part of the publishing landscape in the late 70s to early 80s.

The issue as it has been presented to me is this: “Why can’t there be ‘edgy’ Christian fiction?”

My answer stays the same and comes in the form of a couple return questions: “How does one define ‘edgy’?” And “Who defines it?”

There are three main areas of dispute: (1) sex, (2) language, and (3) violence.

(1) For some readers, any sort of sexual tension, even sensuality, is off limits. Even the description of a woman’s or man’s body could have limits. But for others the threshold is much different. They think books that would get a PG-13 movie rating or even an R are acceptable. Bedroom scenes, body-part descriptions, etc., are all fair game.

(2) For some readers, any sort of coarse language is off limits. But others say the lack of coarse language is unrealistic and therefore should be used all the time. But that begs the question of what constitutes “coarse.” (In movie ratings, albeit a different medium, the use of the f-bomb as an expletive, between one and three times, will be enough for the PG-13 rating. But, according to this article, if it is used as a verb, one time, the movie will receive an R rating.)

(3) As for violence? How much “blood splatter” is considered too much? What about description of the aftermath of a terrible car accident? What about head shots by a gun? What about war novels? What about suspense or thriller novels? Should Christian fiction instead all be “cozy mysteries” where you don’t see the dead body?

I love how one Christian writer used “language” without using it. In his novel Flags Out Front, Douglas Wilson writes a scene on page 181 where it reads, “He dumped out two buckets of cuss words onto the carpet, and then spent a good ten minutes kicking them around the room with his cowboy boots.”

In that example, there is obvious coarse language being used but; I didn’t have to read the words. Plus, the description of the tirade is funny but still gets the point across without diving into a cesspool of offensive language.

There is a market for clean fiction. There is no disputing that.
The problem is defining “clean.”

I was recently asked why novels are not rated like movies. The answer is evident. Who would decide what is “clean” and appropriate for an 11-year-old? Or a 16-year-old? If it were one group, they might say “no boundaries” while another group might declare everything off-limits. Current debates in America between parents and elected school boards for public-school education is a case in point.

I’ll let you draw your own conclusions from my thoughts. Feel free to discuss below.

Please read some of our other posts on this topic:

Real Life Is Edgy – Dan Balow

The Grand Canyon of Crossover Writing – Dan Balow

Eat, Drink, and be Merry – Tamela Hancock Murray

What Makes a Christian Book Christian? – Part 1 – Karen Ball

What Makes a Christian Book Christian? – Part 2 – Karen Ball

What Makes a Christian Book Christian? – Part 3 – Karen Ball

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Category: Craft, Creativity, Language, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Creativity, Edgy, Language

Books Are Signposts Along the Way

By Steve Laubeon August 16, 2021
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By Steve Laube

The novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, is a series of stories linked together in the small town of Macondo in South America. It is surrounded by a swamp and thus is known for its isolation.

One day the town was infected by a plague which causes insomnia. The people of the town were not unhappy at first …

Read moreBooks Are Signposts Along the Way
Category: Art, Craft, Creativity, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Creativity, Signs

The Story We Bring to the Story

By Steve Laubeon June 7, 2021
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by Steve Laube

With all the discussion about the craft of fiction and the need to write a great story there is one thing missing in the equation. The one thing that is the secret to great fiction. And it is the one thing the writer cannot control.

That one thing is the story the reader brings with them to their reading experience. As a reader I have the life I have lived, the people I’ve …

Read moreThe Story We Bring to the Story
Category: Art, Craft, Creativity, Steve, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Reader, story

Diligence Is Rewarded

By Steve Laubeon September 28, 2020
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by Steve Laube

The ease of today’s social media communication brings a casual layer to the task of writing. Careful composition is trumped by the need for speed. For most “throw away” emails and posts that is the new normal. But it should never leak into the business of writing, either in craft or in delicate communication.

The other day I received an email query/proposal. There was a very …

Read moreDiligence Is Rewarded
Category: Book Proposals, Communication, Craft, Pitching, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Communication, Craft, Diligence, Writing Craft

He Said. She Said.

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 14, 2020
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A blog reader recently left an excellent comment on an earlier post:
Tamela, fiction workshop presenters taught me that the best word for “said” is “said”–that others only tend to slow down the reader’s eye. I’d appreciate a discussion on this.
While I don't know the workshop presenters in question, what I can guess they meant is to avoid substituting creative verbs for "said" as a tag. For …

Read moreHe Said. She Said.
Category: Craft, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Grammar, Tamela, Writing Craft

Letting Go of Your Babies

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 13, 2020
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One of the worst mistakes writers can make is being too possessive of their words. They fight for each adjective, adverb, and conversation tag.

My early writing suffered from too many words. I once wrote an artist didn’t “really” understand the difficulties of making a living in his profession. The editor kindly cut all instances of “really,” “just,” “so,” “very,” and other weak words …

Read moreLetting Go of Your Babies
Category: Book Proposals, Craft, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Get Published, Writing Craft

Floating … Floating … Gone …

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 23, 2020
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Writers conferences and blogs talk about this topic often so I don't pretend to be breaking new ground with this post. Yet I still see some floating body parts and cliches creep into otherwise great stories. No, I don't mean murder mysteries depicting a stray arm floating in a river. I mean much gentler fare.

Yes, floating body parts offer the reader -- and writer -- shortcuts. But relying on …

Read moreFloating … Floating … Gone …
Category: Craft, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Grammar, Tamela, Writing Craft

Tag, You’re It!

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon December 12, 2019
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One of the most common habits I see burdening stories is overemphasis on conversational tags, which goes hand in hand with not making good use of action tags. Here's an example I just made up:

"No," she exclaimed. She looked at the the pot of stew bubbling the stove and saw red juice splattering. She began to stir.

Unable to resist multitasking, I demonstrated several bad habits in the above …

Read moreTag, You’re It!
Category: Craft, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Dialogue tags, Grammar, Tamela, Writing Craft

C.S. Lewis on Writing

By Steve Laubeon October 28, 2019
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by Steve Laube

On June 26, 1956, C.S. Lewis replied to letter from an American girl named Joan with advice on writing:

Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else.
Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.

Read moreC.S. Lewis on Writing
Category: Craft, Writing CraftTag: Craft, CS Lewis, Writing Craft

Always Be Learning

By Steve Laubeon October 7, 2019
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During the Summer of 1978 the #1 hit on Christian radio was the classic “He’s Alive” by Don Francisco (click here to listen). That same Summer I attended a Christian music festival in Estes Park, Colorado and decided to take a class on songwriting being taught by Jimmy and Carol Owens. I settled into my chair near the back of the room with notepad ready.

Just as the class was about to start a …

Read moreAlways Be Learning
Category: Conferences, Get Published, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Conferences, Craft, Get Published, Writing Craft
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