Readers frequently talk about the style or narrative flavor of authors they enjoy. They'll say, "That sounds like something __ wrote," or "This reminded me of ___" or "The tone of that was flat." But sometimes, we authors we sometimes don't know what gives us our writing voice. What makes writing sound different or interesting … Continue reading How to Give Your Narration Flavor
Tag: Christian Fiction
For most authors, this may sound like a silly question. If they're Christian, then of course they're featuring the God of the Bible, the Father who sent His Son into the world. There is only one God they could possible feature in their writing...right? Well, not exactly. I just read three different novels that I … Continue reading What Kind of God is in Your Christian Fiction?
Earlier this week, we looked at C. S. Lewis' thoughts on Christianity and Culture, which discusses his philosophy of writing--why he wrote what he wrote. He felt that "The abuse of culture is already there, and will continue whether Christians cease to be cultured or not. It is therefore probably better that the ranks of the ‘culture-sellers’ should include … Continue reading C. S. Lewis’ Philosophy of Writing
As Patrick from patrick's thoughts reminded me in his comments on my initial post on writing as a Christian, Christian authors have a standard to uphold. We cannot approach novel writing just as non-Christian novelists do. 1 John 1:6 says, "If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and … Continue reading Should Christian Novels Should Be Different?
This isn't a guide to writing typical "Christian fiction," but an exploration of how one writes fiction as a Christian. After writing my last post about "What Makes a Christian Author 'Christian'?," I realized there was still some unanswered questions. What does fiction written by Christians look like? How is it different from fiction by … Continue reading Developing a Novel as a Christian
I have come across a few readers, at various times, who avoid certain fantasy books just because the authors are Christian. No other reason is given; they even admit that, until they read a remark in another reader's review, they didn't know the author's religious beliefs. And it made me wonder why this matters. Can … Continue reading What Makes a Christian Author “Christian”?
On occasion, I run into books that aren't novels. They may be clever, well-written, or even interesting, but they don't fit the category of being "fiction," in the novel sense of the term. So I wanted to discuss three things that make up a Not-a-Novel. The Focus: The whole point in a novel is to … Continue reading Are You Writing a Not-A-Novel?
I have long considered Jane Austen to be one of the better Christian authors. She doesn't preach conversion, brimstone and damnation, yet she reaffirms Christian doctrine quietly, through her characters and stories. They may be a product of her own beliefs or of the overall Christian tenor of her society, but the messages are there. … Continue reading Jane Austen and Christianity, Part One
Over the last few years, I’ve been trying to read more Christian Fiction. Since some of what I write would fall into that genre, I wanted to give it another shot, despite having been scared off years ago by its excessive “preachiness.” Unfortunately, the preachiness is still there, in varying quantities, but there is another … Continue reading What’s Become of Christian Fiction?
In his book, An Experiment in Criticism, C. S. Lewis examines many facets of books and reading in support of his thesis that a better way to examine the merits of a book is to examine how those who read the book approach the work and why they like it. However, along the way he … Continue reading The Problem of Preachy Prose in Christian Fiction
Andrea Lundgren 