Gabby,

Thank you for writing this well-crafted and important article. So many of us Christian writers get lost in the balancing act of depicting authentic evil vs. an authentic redemptive story where the hero must find a way to overcome their internal villains as well as the external ones vested in his or her downfall. I think you’ve hit on a main point many of us miss when we try to avoid offending potential readers. Our job as Jesus followers is not to avoid offending people. In fact, Jesus did offend the people intent on serving their own evil and selfish interests under a mask of public piety. Romans 9:33 & 1 Peter 2:8 confirm what was prophesied of Jesus, The Messiah in Isaiah 8:14, characterizing Him as a “stone of stumbling” and a “rock of offense”. Not to suggest that He went around trying to offend and cause people to stumble, but that His unwavering adherence to uncompromised truth naturally offended all those with a vested stake in promulgating lies that gave them prestige and the honor that belonged to God. Many people will be offended by truths that are not watered down. How they receive our seeds is truly not our particular responsibility, for we are merely to faithfully and lovingly pursue truth, even if its path leads us through dark valleys under the shadows of death and sin. Truth will offend those who love darkness more than they love the light that can lead them out of the shadows. God is the Lord of the Harvest and only He can determine the condition of the soil that will receive the seeds.
I think you are dead on correct when you point out that sin must have a consequence that emerges, even in a fictitious tale. God’s construction of the universe shows that all nature abhors a vacuum. Darkness is not a palpable thing, but the absence of light. Evil is not a thing, but merely the absence of Good or virtue. It is when we push the light and the good away that we experience these things we have labeled as something in and of itself. Depicting dark and evil then becomes a description of absences, (e.g. the vacuum that all the created good, so labeled by God in Genesis, that yearns to be rid of. See Romans 8:20-25)
The consequences for evil are an assurance to all who witness its inevitable coming that God’s creation still pursues the good of its first declaration. The unwavering truth is that evil must have a consequence that has to be seen, otherwise we cast doubt on the Justice of our Creator. For those of us who receive the Grace and Mercy of God, we recognize that our ultimate consequence for sin was taken and poured out on the only truly innocent person to walk the face of this earth, other than Adam and Eve before the Garden Fall-the man Jesus Christ of Nazareth. As a race, we are born under the bent of Adam and Eve’s sin, our eyes turn away from our Maker to the waves of the world’s fleshly distractions, allowing the separation that causes those abhorrent vacuum embolisms to bubble within us. Philippians 4:8 begins with the admonition to set our minds on things that are true and honest. So this is what we must do. Even in fiction, we seek a depiction of truth and honesty, wherever it might lead, and consider age appropriateness for what audience we are targeting. Parents of small children for the most part seem to generally understand this concept when assessing what truth their children are mature enough to handle and process emotionally. God in His wisdom does not tell us all that is ahead of us, for He knows what we can and cannot process as well. (See 1 Corinthians 10:13)
As you correctly state, Christian writers should be cognizant of their calling to be “Ambassadors of Mercy”, but we must also acknowledge that the greatest act of mercy, the crucifixion of Jesus taking our place, is also sometimes scorned and reviled by those blinded by their temporary delight in their sinful ways. Consequences may drive them out of it, but not always. Some are condemned for their repeated willfulness despite the consequences that follow. (See Romans 1:28)

You state these essentials beautifully and succinctly. Bravo! Bravo! Keep these coming!

This is beautifully written and an excellent point. Thank you ♡

First of all, this was hysterically entertaining. My eyeballs are blessed to have skimmed these words.

Secondly, THANK YOU FOR WRITING THIS. When done well, enemies-to-lovers makes for extremely compelling romance (Anne and Gilbert are one of my favorite literary couples) but it’s become one of my least favorite YA tropes, mainly because so many cases end up (unintentionally or otherwise) romanticizing toxic relationships. I’m here for the pettiness, not the abuse.

Such a good reminder. Thank you Gabrielle, I needed to hear that. <3

I always love your articles! They’re so insightful. I always get frustrated reading ‘advice’ articles from other websites and realizing that there isn’t meaning behind them. So thank you.

This is a very timely and insightful article, Gabby. Thank you!

I am notorious for erring on the side of brevity. This article was just what I needed in my drafting right now!

Really love this advice! The real tricks of the trade right here.

Also, side note: It’s fascinating to hear this from someone who experiences stories so viscerally. My imagination is not very vivid, oddly enough. I tend to identify with the emotional states of characters much more strongly than I have ever experienced/identified with their visual/sensory experiences.

The neat thing is that even though that’s the case for me, I can still glean the emotional state of the character from well-crafted descriptions, so this stuff *still* works great for me. Really neat how good artistry is powerful from a variety of perspectives!

Well, Ariana, every good first draft is always a mess! As long as you’ve outlined the plot (which it sounds like you have), you can always return to it, so there’s no need to worry. If you feel the best thing for your first draft is to stick to the outline, try doing that and then shading it with description afterward- as though you were sketching. But if you have a great idea from a tangent, see where it goes. It may be better than you originally planned.

Descriptions are things that I find play out best in later drafts, when I know what I want to say. I like what Gabrielle said at the end of her post, so I’ll turn it into a tip: If your character doesn’t care about the description, your reader won’t either. Perhaps you could use this as a check on your tangents- is it about to go somewhere the character thinks matters? If they don’t care about the guy across the room, then they aren’t going to study him as deeply as you may want to!

Hope that helps you!

*me mentally comparing my villain and protagonist to every word in this article*

I NOW HAS IDEAS

Gabby,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this article! I so needed to hear this and practice it. I am one of those self-critical editors that stress over finding the optimal placement of the article ‘a” in any given sentence.
I do need to find that volume switch on my internal editor and crank it down a few thousand decibels if I am ever going to get my WIP finished.
I will be following the great advice you have here.
Prayers appreciated.

This over editor is very thankful for this article!!!

Definitely needed this article! I just edited the same three paragraphs 4 times in the past 24 hours. I must stop! lol Thank you!

Oooooh, lovely article, thanks for writing it!!!!!!

Thank you so much! I’m preparing to write a romance short story for an anthology contest, even though I’m not much of a romance reader myself. So this article came just in time!

I like the point you make about love resembling forgiveness. It made me think of why Pride and Prejudice still strikes a chord with so many readers. Darcy is sacrificial and giving even when he’s not getting acknowledgment or accolades, and Elizabeth is overcoming her own shortcomings to extend forgiveness. Love costs us, but it calls us upward for sure!