R.M. Archer's Blog, page 22

5 Tips for Writing Strong Description

My brain decided to flip-flop Monday and Tuesday this week, so… this is late. Because yesterday didn’t feel like Tuesday (and apparently I didn’t consult my calendar yesterday). But here we are with a new writing post.

Authors tend to fall into approximately four camps when it comes to description in early drafts. 1) Too little description; everything is dialogue or action. 2) Too much description; we’re overwhelmed by the detail of every blade of grass. 3) There’s the right amount of description… but it just sits there and looks pretty. 4) The magical people who can actually write fantastic description on pretty much the first try (believe it or not, I know people who fall into this category). I usually fall somewhere between too little description and flat description… which is really frustrating since I know the principles for description and when I’m editing description is one of my strong points. But what are those principles?

1. Make Your Description do Double Duty

Description ought to do more than simply describe the setting around your character (although that’s an important thing). Description can be a great way to show a character’s mood, or to show a little quirk of theirs, or to otherwise hint at something else or impact the scene you’re writing. For instance, a tea kettle could be a handy scene prop, but you don’t want to just say that there was a kettle on the stove. Maybe show it whistling, and show how your character’s mood impacts their reaction to the whistling. Is your character already agitated, and the whistling sets their teeth on edge? Or does tea remind them of long talks with their grandmother, so it makes them smile?

You can also help set a scene’s mood with the broader points of a setting. For instance, does a bright sunny day match or contrast with your character’s current mood? How does that impact the overall tone of the scene? Is there conflict between the character and the setting? Or does it emphasize their existing mood?

2. Describe What’s Relevant

You’ll generally want to make sure that the reader gets a clear picture of the setting where your scene takes place, but that doesn’t always mean such thorough description as we think. You’ll want to consider what’s really crucial to the reader’s understanding of this place and what can be filled in by the reader’s imagination. Is the paint color a key part of the room (it might be), or can you mostly focus on the desk or the bed or the table? In an outdoor setting, the characters could be surrounded by a forest, but the kind of trees the MC is surrounded by might be less important than the mud they’re squelching through.

3. Pay Attention to POV

What is or isn’t relevant should be informed, at least in part, by POV. What would the POV character notice? Maybe the wall color is important in one scene, because it’s bright yellow and it surprises the character, or it’s their happy place. (Or maybe they hate yellow and think it’s ugly, but they put on a brave face for the friend who owns the room.) Or maybe the character doesn’t notice the walls at all, but they notice the stuffed panda on the bed because pandas are their favorite. Or the typewriter on the desk, because they love the vintage look it gives the room.

4. Use Strong Imagery

It helps a lot–not only in description, but throughout writing–to use active verbs and evocative imagery. So instead of saying “The walls were yellow, the curtains were white, and there was a vintage typewriter on the desk,” you might write something along the lines of:

“Stepping into the room was like stepping into bright sunlight. White curtains rippled in a light breeze, nearly brushing across the vintage typewriter on the desk, and my eyes lit up. I rushed over to finger the keys, already imagining their clicking in my head.”

This description could maybe still use some work, but it’s already way better than just telling the reader what everything looked like. The “telling” version is too still and too blank. There’s no character involved, and no movement. So try to incorporate some movement and your POV character’s personality (per the previous point) into your descriptions as much as you can.

5. Setting Should be Interactive

Setting should be more than just a backdrop. While setting the scene for your characters, think about how they might interact with their environment. I touched on this a little bit in the first point with the weather, how there might be conflict as the character is frustrated with good weather during their good mood, or it might elevate their already great mood. Or the character in the bedroom with the typewriter, when she rushed over to finger the keys. Or, let’s go back to the tea kettle from the first point. If the character appreciates the teapot’s whistling, she might give it a minute and then go to serve tea. If the character is already irritated and the whistling is too shrill, they might march over and slam the kettle onto a cold burner to stop the noise.

Interactive settings not only reveal your setting organically, but also help to reveal character, expose backstory, etc., which… pretty much brings us full circle. ;)

Which description camp do you tend to fall into? Which of these tips was most helpful? Do any books stand out to you for their excellent description?

October 2020 Wrap-Up

Writing

I got sooo little writing done in October, as far as primary projects are concerned. I have, however, been able to focus on my Deseran worldbuilding a lot in the past couple weeks, which has been really fun. In fact, it’s been so fun that I decided to change my November plans and focus on worldbuilding instead of The Half-Elves, since I was struggling to get into The Half-Elves in this season. I do still plan on working on The Half-Elves at some point in the not-too-distant future, but November isn’t the right time.

I do also plan on diving into the next round of Calligraphy Guild edits this month as I strive more purposefully toward a tentative publication date for that (which I’m really excited about!) So I’ll be trying to work on both of those and building up a foundation for future books also set in Deseran.

Reading

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Tom Sawyer, Detective by Mark Twain
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
1776 by David McCullough
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

As I mentioned I might at the end of September, I gave into the eerie vibe with a lot of this month’s reading. I also (re)watched The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. This combination led to my reading several classics I hadn’t gotten to yet, which I quite enjoyed (with the exception of The Invisible Man, which wasn’t so much my cup of tea but which was still well-done).

I didn’t expect to enjoy Dorian Gray as much as I did; it was a great blend of disturbing and fascinating, given the themes explored, and the prose is beautiful.

A Natural History of Dragons is my new favorite thing and I need book two ASAP. The writing style and the genre are such an unexpected mix, but they work so well, and I love the Victorian-era-inspired fantasy world; it’s a great retreat from the usual.

Honestly, I didn’t dislike anything I read (to completion) this month.

I haven’t finished The Quick yet, though, which I started early on in the month. It’s a prime example of why books should have content warnings. XP The worldbuilding is fascinating, but the character relationships… aren’t my favorite. I’m about halfway through and my completionist side (which is using the argument of “this stuff only pops up occasionally and then it’s done for several chapters”) is warring with my “reading should be enjoyable” side (which is using the argument of “BUT IT POPS UP UNEXPECTEDLY AND IS RUDE”) over whether or not to DNF it.

I’ve also started Synapse by Steven James, after a lot of media on AI came up and I became intrigued to see the topic explored from a Christian standpoint (I have Daeus Lamb to thank for the book recommendation); and I’ve started on my complete Sherlock Holmes collection, which I’m enjoying quite a bit.

Other

I’m taking a gap year (or possibly two, depending on how things shake out), but I’m spending some of my time doing self-led academics and this semester’s focus has been on early U.S. history and civics, which has been surprisingly fun. I’ve never been one to enjoy civics (too much politics involved), but the series I decided to use does a good job of focusing on the function of government and how it ought to run (from a biblical perspective) and it’s helped me to better understand why I believe what I believe about government and solidify my views. And I’m really excited to dive into next month’s set of history books, which are focused on some of the values the United States were founded on.

I also have a budding side project that I’ve been focusing on more in the past week or two, which I’m excited to keep working on. No specifics yet, since it’s still in very early stages, but this survey might give a bit of a hint:

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Plans for this month

Calligraphy Guild edits
Worldbuilding
Budding project
Studying
Reading (not sure what yet, although the books I’ve started already will hopefully be finished by the end of the month)
Assorted other writing endeavors

How about you? How did your October go? Read any good books lately? Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this month? Are you ready for the elections to be over? lol I’d love to hear from you! ^-^

Writing Fiction as a Christian – Author Panel Interview

The time has come! As announced last week, I’m wrapping up my series on Christian fiction with an interview with a handful of other Christian authors! I had the privilege of hearing from Miranda Marie, Mattie May, and Brian McBride (Angela Watts was unfortunately unable to make it), and I’m super excited to share the interview with you today! I hope it’s an encouragement and maybe teaches you a little bit more about different perspectives on Christian fiction and the experience of writing and publishing fiction as a Christian. Enjoy! :)

More About the Authors

Miranda Marie

Miranda Marie is 23 years old and lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota. She began writing when she was about 10 years old. Because she was dyslexic, reading was very difficult for her. Finding writing easier, she lost herself in worlds of her own making.

In 2015, she was diagnosed with a rare, disabling genetic syndrome called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Due to the restraints put on her by her health, most of her time is spent working on her writing/artsy endeavors and talking to her friends and family.

She participates in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) every fall, where she wrote and reworked Azalei’s Riders and Azalei’s Strategy (published May 10th, 2017). She enjoys the community there, where she met many of her friends.

She has a fascination for turtles, as she believes they are basically mini dragons with built-in armor. She enjoys collecting turtle jewelry and knickknacks.

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Mattie May

Mattie is a Christian teen writer. As soon as she could read, a desire to write her own stories was kindled. She was always taught the importance of history, and soon her love of writing and history were combined into historical fiction.

She lives in central California with her family, chickens, ducks, two German Shepherds, and too many cats.

When she’s not writing you can find her playing her harp or the piano. You can often find her getting attacked by animals of unusual size, a.k.a. her sweet dogs.

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Brian McBride

It all started in a small town in the Pacific Northwest – Oregon, to be precise. Nestled in the heart of a valley, surrounded on all sides by towering pines, Clatskanie was home for the first sixteen years of my life. It was there, where thunderstorms told of adventures and mountains whispered legends, that I grew to love the power of a good story.

​After three long years, I independently published my debut novel, Love and the Sea and Everything in Between. Prior to its release in November of 2018, it won the 2016 Wattys Award hosted by Wattpad. Since its release, it’s been the recipient of a Reader’s Favorite 5-Star Review as well as a finalist in the Reader’s Favorite 2019 Awards and won the Eric Hoffer Award in 2019.

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Angela R. Watts

Angela R. Watts is a Christian author who writes bold, revealing young adult fiction. She has written stories since she was old enough to hold a pen, and thanks to homeschooling, that drive to write was nourished. She published her debut novel, Seek, a contemporary thriller, in November 2018.

Angela’s latest project, The Infidel Books, is a dystopian/post apocalyptic thriller series. Angela enjoys breaking annoying dystopian stereotypes and giving readers lots of heart, action, and thought-provoking topics. Emmanuel, an Infidel Books short story prequel, is a bestseller on Amazon.

Angela lives at Step By Step Sanctuary, Tennessee with her family, dogs, cats, fish, and horses, but with Gypsy and Norwegian in her blood, she tends to travel. If she isn’t traveling, or dreaming of traveling, she’s probably drinking hot tea or coffee, painting, or watching The Office.

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How to Encourage Christian Authors

Now that we’ve talked about the different types of Christian fiction and their unique benefits and I’ve hopefully encouraged and challenged you Christian writers in your own writing, I want to recommend some ways that we Christian authors can build up others in the community, because I think it can be something we neglect either because we don’t think about it, we don’t know how to do it effectively, or we don’t see the importance of it. (Or we’re just socially anxious and terrified they’ll be annoyed with us, but… that’s its own issue. ;P)

First, why is encouraging fellow Christian writers important?

Maybe this is obvious to you and I don’t even need to discuss it, but I want to lay it out first anyway. Encouraging Christian writers is important because Christian fiction is important. How will we have meaningful Christian fiction if we’re not encouraging Christian authors?

It’s also important simply because Christian authors are… Christians. We’re called to encourage our spiritual brothers and sisters, and if a fellow Christian happens to be a writer then that’s an area in which you can encourage them.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. – Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. – 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)

Now… how are some practical ways to encourage a Christian writer?

Understand why they write what they write

Maybe you’re a “clean” author who doesn’t understand how anyone could write “raw” fiction in good conscience, or maybe you’re a non-writer who has a friend who writes fantasy and you don’t understand how that’s edifying. Before jumping straight to conclusions, strike up a conversation. Ask them why they write what they write. Ask them about some of the conceptions you have about it and see if they can clear things up. In some cases, they’ll have clear answers and you’ll gain a better understanding of the purpose of writing; in other cases, you might help them solidify their reasoning. And keep in mind that “Because I enjoy writing it” isn’t inherently a wrong answer. “Fun” and “meaningful” aren’t mutually exclusive; it depends on the context.

Asking questions like this is also likely to strengthen your relationship with the writer as you discuss something that they’re likely passionate about and that can help you not only understand their writing, but also their beliefs and thoughts in general.

Encourage them to write what they’re passionate about

If an author is really passionate about an issue, see if they’ve considered working it into their writing in some way. Sometimes it’s not something we want to write about, and that’s also okay, but sometimes we don’t think to tie certain issues in with our writing. Sort of on the flip side of this, if an author is already writing about something they’re passionate about, don’t discourage them! If an author you know is passionate about fighting human trafficking and is handling that tactfully in their writing, encourage them in that. Just as we need diversity of writing styles and genres, we also need diversity of themes. God has given each of us passion for different issues and different areas of service, and I believe Christian stories should reflect that as well.

Offer accountability

There are a couple of ways to do this. First, there’s simply encouraging them to write consistently. If you know an author friend is trying to write a certain amount of words each week, or they’re working toward finishing a certain draft by the end of the month, or whatever, consider checking in periodically to see how writing is going. (You might want to ask beforehand if the author would find this helpful or if it would bug them, and maybe establish how frequently they would welcome check-ins.) These check-ins don’t have to be anything fancy. Just “Hey, how’s writing going?” Although you might then hear them ramble about what plot hole they’ve been struggling with, depending on the writer. Such ramblings don’t usually require anything other than a sympathetic response; the recipient often serves as a sounding-board for the author to talk through the problem or let off steam.

If you and an author want to get a little deeper into accountability, you could consider discussing the author’s reasons for writing (in general, or their particular category of stories, or their current project) and checking in on that larger goal periodically. I know that I personally can lose sight of my reason for writing a particular story, or I can forget (far too easily) to pray over the story and the writing process and keep my focus where it ought to be. It can be helpful, sometimes, to offer to remind an author to pray over their work, or to remind them of their purpose in writing a certain book, or whatever you mutually decide on.

And these things can be consistent, on a set schedule, or you can just reach out randomly and ask how writing is going. I know it means a lot to me for people to express interest in my work, and I expect the same is true of many authors. Writing can often be a solitary job, so having the opportunity to discuss it with someone can often be a nice change of pace.

Offer general author support

I wanted to use this post to primarily highlight encouragement semi-unique to Christian authors (though most of this can be applied to any author), but Christian authors are also just… authors. We need the same kind of support as any other writers do. For some tips on encouraging authors in general, check out these articles.

Let’s chat. How do you feel most encouraged, as a Christian author? What’s your biggest struggle when it comes to encouraging Christian authors? I challenge you to reach out and encourage at least one Christian author this week.

Next week I’m doing something a little different. I’ll be interviewing a handful of Christian authors to hear their views on writing as a Christian, why they write what they write, how people react to what they write, and more. This will be totally new for me, but I’m really excited and I can’t wait to hear what these awesome authors have to say! The included authors will be Mattie May (author of Everlasting Gold), Miranda Marie (author of the Fire Rain Chronicles and the Whispers of White duology), Angela Watts (author of Seek and The Infidel Books), and Brian McBride (author of Love and the Sea and Everything In Between, Every Bright and Broken Thing, and Sons of Slaughter).

Preptober Prompts Day 10 – 2020

It’s the last prompt of the week! Drumroll please…

Who are the great heroes who have shaped your storyworld?

Lorcan and Valda (the Elfbournes’ parents) have been fairly instrumental in the shaping of The Hylands. They’ve already driven out King Julen once, and they’ve helped banish discrimination against faeries in The Hylands.

Valda’s father Willian helped defend The Hylands from Julen’s father Cordier; he died in battle, but not before he’d nearly secured victory and his men were able to finish pushing Cordier back.

There was also an older Lorcan, King Lorcan’s namesake, who was a renowned hunter and earned himself a constellation. (The following excerpt is completely unedited and I’m struggling with narrative voice in The Half-Elves, so… it’s not necessarily pretty, lol.)

Shael smiled a little and pointed to an archer constellation not unlike Orion back home. “This one is Lorcan, named after a Hyland hero of legend.”

Sarabrina looked up at Shael, hoping he’d expand on the story.

“King Lorcan was named after him, too, from what I understand.” Shael looked to Twilight for confirmation and she nodded. “According to legend.” Shael turned back to Sarabrina. “Lorcan was a great hunter. He was able to feed his entire city with a day’s spoils, and there were some who wished to make him their chief, but he refused to take the position. He loved the wild too much and didn’t wish to be encumbered by civilization.”

Sarabrina couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face at the joy of finding someone else who casually used extensive vocabulary.

“Lorcan was so great, in fact, that he caught the eye of Eloren Damerel—the First Dewin—who happened to have a problem with an overpopulation of Vollak in Thienid. That’s on Titania. Eloren, who had mastered inter-dimensional travel in his magical studies, came to The Hylands to enlist Lorcan’s help.”

Shael opened his mouth to continue, but Sarabrina held up a hand to stop him. “Hang on. What are Vollak?”

“They’re a primarily Titanian species of bipedal, wolf-like creatures. They’re really nasty to deal with, from what I’ve read, but they’re fortunately not found on Arken except in the most wild areas of Katar.”

Sarabrina nodded.

“Lorcan agreed to help with the Vollak problem, and saw it as the greatest challenge of his hunting career; he’d grown kind of bored of the ordinary wildlife around The Hylands. So he traveled back with Eloren. He spent two weeks trimming down the Vollak population in the woods of Thienid, but near the end of his hunt he spotted a golden stag. Immediately, he knew that this, not the Vollak, would be his greatest hunting achievement. He tracked the stag for five weeks before he was finally able to snare it. As Lorcan approached to kill the deer, he hesitated. The eyes almost seemed human. But he continued with his intent and killed the stag.

“Immediately, Eloren appeared in a rage and reprimanded Lorcan for his deed. The golden stag was creature protected by the Dewinen’s magic, and there were strict guidelines surrounding its death. Eloren immediately cursed Lorcan to wander Titania like a wraith for the rest of his days, but his exploits were so praised that Eloren gave Lorcan the blessing to be remembered in the stars after his death despite his error. And so, we have the archer constellation today.

“Or at least, so the legend goes.”

Don’t forget to follow Evelyn for next week’s character prompts! :D

Who are your world’s heroes? Are they as noble as they’re portrayed to be? What changes did they bring to your world?

Preptober Prompts Day 9 – 2020

Ooh, this is a fun one.

How do different characters view your core setting differently? Are any of those views accurate?

Saria views it as a magical fairyland. After all, she’s ten and she just found out she’s a princess. There is magic, and the people of The Hylands tend to be pretty cool, so she’s not entirely wrong, but of course nothing is quite as rosy as a fairytale.

Leafman doesn’t give a whole lot of thought to the setting itself, actually (although he misses things like electricity), because he’s too busy thinking about how miserable all the people are. (They’re not.) But, though he’d never admit it, he does find the capital rather charming and inspiring, with all sorts of pleasant, colorful characters in it.

Sarabrina finds The Hylands fascinating. She’s read so many books and imagined places like this for years, but to have a fantastical world like this actually exist? It’s full of things to learn, whether that be horseback riding or new constellations or how magic works or just how to live without electricity and indoor plumbing. On the other side of the coin, however, The Hylands are decidedly foreign to her and rather intimidating, and she’s not sure how much she should trust before she knows their history. As far as the capital is concerned, she finds it far too boisterous and chaotic and thinks it should have more order. Which is somewhat accurate, but there’s truly more order underneath it all than she understands yet.

Elk sees the capital more-or-less as it is. It’s loud and busy, but everyone is going about their own business and has no intention of interfering with anyone else doing the same. As far as The Hylands in general, he doesn’t even know what he thinks of them yet. He’s observing, he’s forming opinions… but he hasn’t stopped to think about them and thus mostly feels apathetic toward The Hylands as a whole. Once he gets in tune with his thoughts, he’ll realize he feels quite at home and the people around the castle are already like family to him.

What are your characters’ opinions of your setting? Do they have differing opinions about governance? How certain issues are handled within communities? Even just the people living there?

Preptober Prompts Day 8 – 2020

Does your story bring any permanent changes to the world in which it takes place?

Originally The Half-Elves ended in a war between Parenna and The Hylands, which would have brought permanent casualties to both sides, may have altered the landscape where battles took place, and would have torn an even wider rift between the two kingdoms.

For this version, however, that ending is rather implausible. So… Ah! This is a rather silly thing, but Elk introduces football to The Hylands, which catches on as a fun pastime. I’m sure there will be other, more significant changes that I just haven’t planned out yet, since this is still a significant conflict even without the full-out war. I’m curious to see what those changes will be!

How does your story alter the world in which it takes place? What are the long-term after-effects?

Preptober Prompts Day 7 – 2020

Today’s prompt is all about multi-cultural influence:

Have outside cultures impacted your story’s core setting? How so?

These prompts are making me miss Deseran, because Aleruus is so much less dynamic. XD I mean… King Julen influenced King Lorcan and Queen Valda to ship their kids off to Earth for safe-keeping while Julen was trying to conquer a bunch of stuff, so the royal children were gone for ten years. And Thienid can be thanked for the Dewin, several of whom are currently stationed in The Hylands. Although neither of those are really… cultural. Um… King Lorcan decided to hire a faerie high steward, which is rather akin to Teradel?

Nope. I got nothin’. :P Someplace in Kersir would have been so much more interesting for this prompt. XD

How about you? Have your cultures intermixed, or are they still young and unique?

Preptober Prompts Day 6 – 2020

What’s the biggest change your storyworld has seen?

Well… it’s seen a lot of nations fall and spring up. But the creation of The Dewinen was probably the biggest change. Magic-users didn’t have a systematic way to learn about their powers before Eloren Damerel created The Dewinen, so there were a lot of unskilled magic-users running around making messes. Then The Dewinen were established and skilled magicians were assigned to certain places around the worlds to oversee magic academies and the like so that magic might not run so rampant and dangerous. That change is probably the biggest, if only because it affects both planets.

How about you? What events or changes have most significantly altered your storyworld?

Encouragement & Challenge for the Christian Author

A couple of weeks ago I discussed different categories of books written by Christians, and last week I laid out some reasons Christian fiction is important. In this post, I want to provide some encouragement and maybe even a little bit of challenge to those of you who are also Christian authors, regardless of what category you write.

For the “Clean” Authors

Thank you for writing quality books that are safe for all ages. Thank you for exploring deep themes without venturing too far into the specifics of the dark. Thank you for providing witness to Christian values through your works.

If “clean” fiction is what you’re called to, keep doing what you’re doing! We need fiction that’s “easy” and “feel-good.” We need fiction that can be appreciated by both young folk and adults. We need your writing. Keep it up. Keep learning about the craft. Keep improving your work. Keep striving for quality, working not only unto men but also as unto God.

Consider your purpose in writing. Don’t sacrifice depth for cleanliness, if a theme would be better served with more detail. And don’t grow too easy in your content levels and grow shallow in your themes. May our work never be considered “idle babbling”! But hold fast to prayerful conviction and keep serving the Church, glorifying God, and ministering to others through meaningful and approachable books.

For the “Raw” Authors

Thank you for fearlessly exposing the works of wickedness. Thank you for opening eyes to hard issues that need to be seen and addressed. Thank you for using realistic content to minister to people and to spread truth and to ultimately highlight hope and light all the brighter in the end.

If you’re called to be “raw,” be fearless! We need fiction that’s real. We need fiction that’s honest about both darkness and light. We need fiction that reaches out to unbelievers where they are and is honest about brokenness and healing. Keep it up. Keep strengthening your craft. Keep improving your work. Keep striving for quality as you work both to reach men and to glorify God.

Consider your purpose in writing. Be careful to show the light even stronger than the dark. Be careful not to slip into detail for its own sake. But hold fast to prayerful conviction and keep ministering to readers, glorifying God, and revealing truth through deep and sometimes gritty books.

For All Authors

It’s my prayer that all Christian authors, regardless of where on the spectrum we fall, would grow in our knowledge of God, first and foremost, and our understanding of His purpose for our writing; would grow in their knowledge of the writing craft, so that the quality of our work might contribute to more effective storytelling; and would strive to build up others in the Christian writing community, regardless of where we stand on the “cleanliness” spectrum.

I also want to challenge all of you to consider what your passions are outside of writing and to consider working them into your fiction, if you don’t already. If there’s a topic that God has placed on your heart, a cause that you fight for in your day-to-day life, why not combine it with your God-given gift of writing to bring more awareness to it and to write stories that are even more uniquely yours? While obviously it’s not always appropriate to combine the two, I do believe that involving our God-given passions in our writing can lead to richer and more meaningful stories.

“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.” – 1 Corinthians 12:4-7

Just as our interests and gifts are used for the edification of the Church in classically “spiritual” matters, I believe those interests are also what will lead to a rich diversity in Christian fiction and, ideally, a body of work that ministers to people of all kinds, should we focus on nurturing those interests and encouraging one another in the writing that we’ve each been uniquely called to do.

And that sort of encouragement is what I’m going to talk about in the next post. Until then, keep pressing on.