Reflecting on What I Write
In a newspaper article (The Dominion Post, July 26, 2014) Robbie Collin, of the Telegraph Group, features “Fifty Shades of Grey” and writes that “the million strong book sales suggest it must be doing something for someone”.
What does that mean, for me, as “a novelist and a Christian”? In this post I give a very personal position, and one not intended in any way to express a view of any Christian faith. The question is deliberately phrased and should not be confused with “a Christian novelist”.
If I was “a Christian novelist” I would be writing Christian literature. My path as a writer has not, however, developed in that direction. Even in “A Halo of Strawberries” (written with a strong pro-life theme) my secular writing experience prevailed, determining the genre of the story.
Some readers might think that puts me in Satan’s sway or means that I’m abusing a talent God gave me. I hope they aren’t correct.
In my opinion, it’s not so much what you write about (within limits that erotica exceeds) but how you write it that matters.
So, I’m not going to avoid creating characters that are fully human (good or evil) or tell stories that don’t reflect the world at large, filled as it is with the godly and the un-godly.
What I am going to do, as a Christian and a novelist, is avoid jumping on the secular bandwagon in popular fiction.
I’m not going to bring out books with lurid covers, for one thing, or otherwise blatantly use sex to attract readers, as some writers do.
In a story, I’ll reflect the nature of sex, because that is part of the humanness of the characters, but I won’t make it graphic or gratuitous. In literature, I am old-school and think sex is best hinted at and largely un-described.
As a Christian and a novelist I’m also going to avoid giving the appearance of a society where there is a universal lack of morality over sexual relationships. I’m not, for example, going to give the impression in the book I’m writing that all young teenagers engage in sex. I’ll be quite clear, and quite accurate, in saying that some young teenagers do.
As in my last two novels (“Green Expectations” and “Green Machinations”) I may have characters to whom religion and morals matter – not common in secular literature. I’ll try and include at least one moral theme or subplot that stands up against immorality or argues for social justice in the modern world.
As a Christian and a novelist, I’ll try and avoid including extreme violence (as found for example in ”Game of Thrones”) and I’ll curtail graphic descriptions of violence. Nor will I concentrate on the seedy side of modern society.
There is some violence in my novels (“Relinquished” for example) because that reflects the world as it is, but I’ll try not to glorify it or use it gratuitously.
Now, all that does not come easily to a writer in the modern day. It goes against the prevailing flow in popular fiction. It is so easy to fall into the trap of having characters that seem to endorse self-indulgence and have no conscience.
Sometimes in my books (especially the first two) I could have done a better job of balancing good and evil. I’m not saying that any of my attempts are perfect.
My approach may lose me some readers, or fail to attract those who don’t see it my way, but at least I have tried to be true to myself and have sought to retain integrity as a novelist and a Christian.
www.thomaswdevine.com
What does that mean, for me, as “a novelist and a Christian”? In this post I give a very personal position, and one not intended in any way to express a view of any Christian faith. The question is deliberately phrased and should not be confused with “a Christian novelist”.
If I was “a Christian novelist” I would be writing Christian literature. My path as a writer has not, however, developed in that direction. Even in “A Halo of Strawberries” (written with a strong pro-life theme) my secular writing experience prevailed, determining the genre of the story.
Some readers might think that puts me in Satan’s sway or means that I’m abusing a talent God gave me. I hope they aren’t correct.
In my opinion, it’s not so much what you write about (within limits that erotica exceeds) but how you write it that matters.
So, I’m not going to avoid creating characters that are fully human (good or evil) or tell stories that don’t reflect the world at large, filled as it is with the godly and the un-godly.
What I am going to do, as a Christian and a novelist, is avoid jumping on the secular bandwagon in popular fiction.
I’m not going to bring out books with lurid covers, for one thing, or otherwise blatantly use sex to attract readers, as some writers do.
In a story, I’ll reflect the nature of sex, because that is part of the humanness of the characters, but I won’t make it graphic or gratuitous. In literature, I am old-school and think sex is best hinted at and largely un-described.
As a Christian and a novelist I’m also going to avoid giving the appearance of a society where there is a universal lack of morality over sexual relationships. I’m not, for example, going to give the impression in the book I’m writing that all young teenagers engage in sex. I’ll be quite clear, and quite accurate, in saying that some young teenagers do.
As in my last two novels (“Green Expectations” and “Green Machinations”) I may have characters to whom religion and morals matter – not common in secular literature. I’ll try and include at least one moral theme or subplot that stands up against immorality or argues for social justice in the modern world.
As a Christian and a novelist, I’ll try and avoid including extreme violence (as found for example in ”Game of Thrones”) and I’ll curtail graphic descriptions of violence. Nor will I concentrate on the seedy side of modern society.
There is some violence in my novels (“Relinquished” for example) because that reflects the world as it is, but I’ll try not to glorify it or use it gratuitously.
Now, all that does not come easily to a writer in the modern day. It goes against the prevailing flow in popular fiction. It is so easy to fall into the trap of having characters that seem to endorse self-indulgence and have no conscience.
Sometimes in my books (especially the first two) I could have done a better job of balancing good and evil. I’m not saying that any of my attempts are perfect.
My approach may lose me some readers, or fail to attract those who don’t see it my way, but at least I have tried to be true to myself and have sought to retain integrity as a novelist and a Christian.
www.thomaswdevine.com
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