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Michelle replied to the topic Controversial Topics in the forum Themes 7 years, 6 months ago
@karthmin – I wanted to take some time to think through your response before writing my own. Obviously, based on my shorter response, I completely agree with you, but there is a LOT of meat here, and I wanted to take it a bite at a time.
The themes you mentioned definitely fall well within the scope of Christian fiction, and should be addressed more than they are currently. One reason they are not addressed very frequently, is because the majority of Christian fiction is marketed as “clean”, like Josiah DeGraaf mentioned in his first blog post in the series mentioned. This has to do, fundamentally, with content, like you said, rather than theme, but I think there is an unspoken expectation that Christian fiction should be suitable for a child to pick up and read without being negatively effected. I think that’s one of the problems in the world of Christian publishing today. There is an unspoken expectation of suitability for all ages. This has had two effects, in my opinion: 1. It has shunted popular Christian fiction towards the direction of children’s literature, and 2. It has stunted popular adult Christian fiction towards the barest and most banal of ‘deep’ themes. It is quite telling that “Amish novels” are one of the biggest selling niches within Christian fiction even today.I honestly never thought about the expectation of Christian Fiction being suitable for children, but you are right. Even when I pitch my stories to potential readers, I find myself adding that they are “Young Adult suitable” just to drive home the point that they are clean enough to be considered Christian Fiction in spite of the themes.
A few myths need to be dispelled: 1. Christian literature does not mean family-friendly. Just because it is Christian fiction, does not mean that anyone and everyone can read it and be edified. There are stories that I wish to tell, stories that deserve to be told powerfully and unabashedly, which would be frankly unhelpful to someone at a young age, who is unsuited to handle the themes, and fully comprehend the message and its implications. Most Christian fiction will be family-friendly. But just because it isn’t, does not mean that it has lost any of it’s salt or light. Perhaps, it has gained more by refusing to dampen it’s themes or content. 2. Christian literature is not a genre. That is to say, Christian fiction should be just as varied and far-reaching in scope as non-Christian fiction, and it should be perceived in that way. Granted, this makes it far harder to market (from the publisher’s perspective), but there is no long-lasting benefit to anyone by artificially defining Christian fiction as it’s own “genre”. It can be fantasy, romance, sci-fi, dystopian, children’s, high-school drama, or whatever. There are few genres that Christian writers cannot legitimately tackle and be considered a full-ranking member of. But the label “Christian” seems to put us in a box with children’s stories and Amish novels.I very nearly shouted when I read this point. =) I have fought this label from the moment I started writing. I have yet to find a marketable way to avoid it. This is easier for my fantasy novels since they make no mention of God, but my other two are overtly Christian story lines. Promoting them without including the fact that they are heavily faith based feels a bit like a ‘bait and switch’ maneuver. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on that.
It’s a high goal, but if I’m going to be found in bookstores at any point in my life, I don’t want to be found in the “Christian Fiction” section. Don’t get me wrong, my stories will always be unabashedly and thoroughly Christian in approach, perspective, and message. But if they can’t stand on their own two feet as legitimate works of literature, then they don’t deserve to be in the bookstore in the first place. Not that everything the Christian Fiction section isn’t worth reading. Again, don’t get me wrong on that, either. But I don’t want to be marketed in that way, because that’s not the audience I want to impact primarily.I think THIS is where I am truly torn when it comes to making the decision to market and brand my books Christian or not. My idea reader IS Christian. The stories are targeted to Christians, and are meant to raise awareness of how poorly the Church in general has been handling these topics.
But – I am finding most Christians don’t want to know; and if they are curious, they certainly don’t want to engage with these topics. More than a few of the responses to this thread have fallen into this category. They are right when they claim it takes research and requires us to engage with those who are directly affected by these topics. That takes time, effort, and a willingness to engage with broken and hurting people to the degree that you feel what they feel. To do that, we must be unshakable in what we believe to be true, which allows us to accept people who believe differently than we do and give them the freedom to be who they are without trying to change them. Loving someone who lives in a way that is opposed to our beliefs challenges and sometimes shifts the way we apply our beliefs to our everyday life. That can be difficult to internalize, but it is necessary if we hope to truly reach and influence society in these areas.
Okay, so somewhere along the line, I got away from tackling difficult themes and started talking about publishing and marketing and bookstores. *clears throat* Excuse me. So, when it comes to the difficult topics that you mentioned, there are two ways to tackle them: One the one hand, you can trace the root of the problems back to their source, and address that source problem in the themes of your stories. For example: if I were to tackle an LGBTQetc issue, I would trace the ultimate theme in play back to the question of identity. What does it mean to be me? Human? Broken? Who am I? Who am I when I am different from everyone else? Who am I when I am trying to ignore or suppress a part of me that is real, and yet broken? So. My basic theme changes from a specifically LGBTQetc issue to one that is universally applicable to all humans everywhere. Granted, if I am intending to address that audience in particular, I will craft my story in such a way that gets at the root of their particular struggles more specifically; but still, the underlying theme is a more universal one that each person can benefit from. This seems to be a far more common way to address these kinds of topics in Christian fiction. Second, you can make your character a POV character who embodies these difficult issues and tackle them head-on. This is by far more difficult, easier to muff, and yet perhaps more beautiful and impactful when done well. I really don’t know which is better, to be honest.I think what makes this second approach so difficult and ‘easier to muff’ is because of our lack of willingness to engage as noted above. All it took was one moment of overhearing a mom lament about her lesbian daughter’s struggle, and she changed my entire approach to those who believe differently from me. It forced me to have empathy for an entire demographic of people I once wrote off as making a ‘lifestyle’ choice. Whether or not they did, doesn’t negate their very real emotions, struggles, and needs. Being able to write a story from the POV of a person in any demographic outside out own (whatever it might be – sex worker, LGBTQ+, trafficking victim) and doing it in such a way that causes someone to see and understand them differently – THAT is my goal as a writer.
I want to tell great stories, yes – of course, but my ultimate goal is to impact hearts and minds for Christ. Especially those who already know Him so that THEY can then be better equipped to impact the lost and hurting they come in contact with every day.
Done well, and approached with sensitivity – either option you mentioned is equally powerful.
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