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@daeus-lamb

Ahhhh… yes. A respectable question indeed. And one that I believe was (at least partly) in response to things I have said before. So first, please know that I write this with a smile upon my face. I love seeing this conversation hashed out, because it’s something that I’ve thought about, and look forward to getting deeper into. Not only to disagree with you, but to clarify my side of things in a way that I hope sheds light.

I do disagree with you, but not exactly. The way you put it I do agree with you, at face value: “It basically states that you shouldn’t worry too much about how to write a story that glorifies God because if you’re a Christian you can’t help but express your love for the God you know.”

If you interpret it that way, then yes it is a bit unsettling. But allow me to introduce another perspective.

I’m gonna address this first by looking at it as a teacher, or even just a guide in writing. In all of my helping people write I come across people talking about how they aren’t sure if the <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>theme</span> is working. Maybe they’re having trouble with the using God’s truths in writing, even if it’s woven in implicitly. Theme is something that really causes a lot of people to hesitate when writing, and it’s not the thing that is their greatest problem. They are trying so hard to figure out how to make it a good solid theme driven story. Not a bad thing, but possibly misled.

Writing is a delicate process. It is a monuments task. We are trying to put something out that is so powerful it effects someone in a powerful way, and without knowing them personally. We are speaking to a world that is lost, trying to bring light. And thank God we’re not the first ones.

God himself set the example by sending his word. He used word to bring about light. He spoke the law to Adam. He sent The Word itself to dwell among us, speaking the truth of the Almighty. He left His Word with us so that it might endure from age to age, to the end of the world. And we humans of fallen nature, that have been redeemed to a place of healing as image bearers are trying to reflect truth through a medium of books, stories. It is a gift that we can, but also a great responsibility. And I think I can speak for each and every person here in saying that we all want to use that gift with the greatest skill possible. In a way that honors and glorifies God Himself.

I’m going to quote myself. It’s something I said to you in my beta reading of God of Manna:  “So… the theme of the story… that is something that has been the least of my focus, even in my own writing. Mostly I don’t even tend to derive a clear theme from other stories that I read, so much as looking at the subtle ways in which a character makes decisions that lead to an overall worldview. Mostly I just see it as a character going through life, learning, hurting, and growing or not. And I think I would tend to say, don’t worry about theme. When writing your characters, when working the plot, when tying it all together with prose your theme will be there. So instead of saying here is the theme, lemme say where I thought how he moved was powerful”

In essence I didn’t actually deny theme there. I merely redefined it in clearer terms. The theme is what we mean when we write. It’s what we want the reader to come away with, how we want it to have effected them. It’s the truth we show in the words. I went on to say this: “That is how I would summarize it for you… so instead of trying to put a theme in, let the theme flow through the characters as life, and not an extra. I think you’re already onto to this to a degree, but I want to warn you against trying to put the theme in. It’ll be there.”

The reason theme will be there is not because you’re a Christian, and it has to be there because of that. The reason theme will be there is because of the way you weave everything together, if you do it with skill. We write characters. And we write them with the understanding of where the characters start out, we move them through life, and we bring them to a point in the end. We write those characters with the presupposition of God’s truth. If God’s truth is alive in us, it’ll show in our work. If we’re applying truth in life it’ll show in our works. But it has to be based upon an understanding of weaving words. We’re not just shouting it out, most of the time. No. We’re stepping forward to serve the reader. We want to give them the best we have. So how do we do that?

We we learn what it means to apply truth in life, we can learn how to apply that in our writing too. And it’s gonna start with understanding the character. And putting that character together with prose so strong it’s beautiful. We use that character in the story, interacting. We bring them into a plot, a world. And whether we are plot driven, world driven, or character driven in our style, it’s ultimately about the people. We have to understand writing, and people before we can write with great skill. And when someone is having trouble with theme, it’s not the theme that’s an issue. It’s how they’re applying characters, people, in a world. It means something isn’t lining up in their writing. It means they need to cement their issues in some aspect of continuity, cohesiveness, character weakness, loose prose, world building. But all of that with the presupposition of truth and Godly living.

It’s about the foundation from which we write. And then on that  foundation we build a story, about people, about worlds, in a plot about truth, pain, healing, light, darkness. It’s all wrapping around our understanding of The Word of God.

So to separate theme as an aspect of the story that we really need to focus on almost creates a false dichotomy.  Instead let’s look at how to build a world that reflects what we know as truth. Look at the world around. Write about characters that people relate with, that people understand, but do so with the presupposition of what man is. Put those characters into the world, weave them into a plot, and hold it all together with the thread of prose. The theme will be there. Theme is an intricate part of story, inseparable. And the point at which theme is weak we need to not worry about what’s wrong with the theme, but instead where our story is weak. Where things are in-cohesive in the plot. Maybe where our prose isn’t clear.

It may feel like I keep repeating certain things, and I might be. So lemme close. Lay down a foundation of truth in life. Work your writing skill. And be truthful in your writing. The theme will come out of it. I’m not saying be passive. Be active in understanding how to tell a powerful story. And it will carry a theme. Don’t worry about your theme. Write well. Use strong prose. And do it all to the glory of God.

I hope this was helpful even though it was a bit belated.

I’m glad to be back among you, and I so look forward to hearing back from you guys. I may not be as consistent as I was in times past, but you can hope to see me at least once a week. Thank you all!

Until nextime.

-Buddy J., Author of The Bookshelf Staircase, Writing Enthusiast, He Who Likes Debates, and Child Of God.-