Okay, here is the actual blog post on Why I Write What I Write…
(…and it’s probably going to be insanely long, too; but since I’ve already apologised in advance, you have no grounds for complaint if you’re still here).
Be aware that there’s gunna be a lot of talk about God in this post, so if you’re not comfortable with that, run now.
Why do I write what I write?
To answer that, I should probably first clarify what I do write: I write fantasy (fairy tale rewrites and original fantasy), urban fantasy, scifi, and occasionally, a bit of off-beat horror. Ideally, I would love to break into Christian fiction as well; but since the writing is a lot harder to do well, I’ve given myself a few years to grow into being a writer first.
The fact that I don’t, at the moment, write overtly Christian fiction is a bone of contention to several people who don’t know me at all but feel like they should discuss the matter with me, and a few who do know me (or have known me through the years) and are honestly concerned for my soul.
I was very young when the first concerned person asked me to consider if being a writer was a profession I thought was glorifying to God, since that person considered that fiction was lying.
I gave it a lot of thought, being the unsure little person I was; and, more importantly, I prayed about it a lot. I wanted to make sure that I was doing the right thing.
And I’m glad I did. As a Christian, I want everything in my life to honour God, and writing is no exception.
Having prayed for several years about it (and writing all that time on the side while I worked), I came to be convinced that there was nothing inherently wrong with writing, and that there was nothing wrong with what I was writing in particular—or in seeking to pursue it as a profession.
I laid down several standards for myself that I didn’t want to breach, and started to write in earnest, in the best way I could.
Over the years, I’ve had many other such questions.
Why write fiction? Isn’t it just lying? What about the murders that occur in some of your books? Desensitisation?
Remember the parables? They weren’t real life stories, but they certainly weren’t lies, either. They were another way to display truth. I think most Christians would be surprised to hear them called lies.
Murders? Yes, because people do get murdered, and awful things happen. I prefer to write with a sense of hope, but that doesn’t mean that everything between the covers is going to be rosy before the happy ending.
And sometimes death is necessary. Characters who apply ruthless justice are not always comfortable to read, but to me they’re a necessary type—especially in today’s world, where only a weak, truth-avoiding kind of love seems to be seen as acceptable.
Why write fantasy? With magic? Should Christians do that?
Honestly, if I were writing hardcore witchcraft, I’d understand this accusation. I wouldn’t be comfortable writing something the Bible explicitly condemns; at least not in a fantasy setting.
But I don’t. I write fantasy books with a magical system that is something similar to the natural and scientific systems. Life with a bit…extra.
A bit extra wonder. A bit more to learn. Another level of reality.
If you’re going to write fiction, why not write Christian fiction?
Christian fiction is the hardest genre ever to do well.
Seriously.
In my formative years I was so frustrated at the lack of good Christian fiction out there. Either it was romance with a bit of God tacked on in the most superficial way possible, or it was badly written, thinly veiled preaching.
I didn’t want to write either. I wanted to write good Christian fiction; stuff where the characters act and behave according to their Christian natures, not like everyone else, with a bit of prayer tacked on.
And I didn’t want to shove message fiction and people, either. I wanted the message to come through naturally, steeped through the realistic reactions of Christians who thought like Christians and acted like Christians.
It’s hard guys. And like I said before, I gave myself a few years to get my craft up to scratch before I tried again. There are still a couple books waiting to be rewritten very soon… It’s always been my end goal to write Christian fiction (not to say that I’ll stop writing the other kinds of fiction, because I won’t; I want to WRITE THEM ALL).
And suddenly we’re back again to the question of Why do I write what I write?
I write what I write because it’s another way of displaying the truth. A decorative, subversive, winding way of displaying the truth that delights and makes people have to think.
I write what I write because I love writing fantasy. I love the way I can create a whole world, layer the magic and the political system through the whole thing. I love threading manners and morals and proverbs and culture through my worlds.
I write what I write because I love the act of creation itself. It’s something that has always fascinated me about God in particular, His creative side; and it’s something that makes me feel particularly close to Him. Like I understand a very small part of what He is. Like I’m just a little bit closer to Him as a creator, though my type of creation is so much less than His.
I write what I write because it gives me joy.
I write what I write because it gives other people joy.
I write what I write because it’s a way for me to do something with the gift God has given me.
What do I want to achieve with my writing?
I want to tell a good story. I want to write well.
I want to honour God by doing the best possible job of my writing; by giving everything I’ve got to the life path He’s given me to walk. By growing in craft and execution as much as I possibly can; by creating art that’s both beautiful and joyful.
I want to have engaging and morally good characters that resonate with people. I want to write fiction with a sense of hope, no matter what the circumstances. I want to give joy and amusement and delight.
And I want most of all, as in everything else in my life, to glorify God through my writing.
I don’t necessarily start out to write a book with Christian themes in mind (this was especially true when I first began publishing), but they somehow manage to work their way in due to my outlook on life—and, as with every other author out there, my worldview bleeds into any book I write.
No matter what you do as a person, your personal outlook and view on life will affect how you act, react, and interact.
That holds especially true for writers, since our way of life necessarily leads to outward expression of the things that are inside us. We learn as we write, we write as we learn; and everything that goes into us comes back out in our books.
Even when we don’t know it, we’re putting ourselves into our work; in the way our characters think and react; in the themes that run through our books, whether known or unknown; in the very feeling and sense that our books give.
And if it comes right down to it, I’ve had complaints from both sides of the coin on my writing—while there are people who fancy my books ungodly, there are others who object to the noblebright style of writing, the lack of swearing, and the lack of any other couples than m/f ones (not to mention the lack of sex scenes).
I’ve answered those elsewhere, but that answer basically boils down to what I tell people who are sincerely convinced that my books are ungodly.
Don’t read my books. Don’t harm your conscience on my account. If you believe, for whatever reason, that my books are evil, don’t read them. It’s not worth the harm to your conscience, and I wouldn’t want you to do it.
Finally, aside from anything fancied wrong about writing fantasy (magic, lying, etc), I’ve also had people concerned that writing itself is a bad or wasteful thing.
“Why would you waste your time? How can you honour God like that? How can you be sure you’re doing God’s will? Why can’t you do a sensible job?”
Gentle reminder right here—writing is a job. This is my actual job I’m doing here. The job I do to get paid.
I love it, but it is my job.
Imagine asking someone who works on the checkouts, “Excuse me, but are you sure you’re doing God’s will? How is this going to honour God? Are you sure you’re not wasting your talents?”
Or someone who drives a bus, “Isn’t this a waste of time when you could be serving God elsewhere?”
We all have to work. We all have a job to do.
I’m singularly blessed in that I can write for a job. I love writing. In fact, there’s very little in my life I love as much as writing, and I’m grateful every day to God (and to you guys) that I can actually make something close to a full living from doing something so amazing.
But it’s also a way of earning money. In your nine to five job, there are many chances to honour God, whether or not you’re preaching or doing missionary work. Similarly, I have opportunities each day. Those opportunities don’t go away just because my job happens to be that of being a writer.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t say something if you’re concerned for someone’s soul, or if you feel God is prompting you to speak. But bear in mind that each person stands or falls before God, and that you can’t persuade someone into your way of thinking without God changing that person’s mind.
It’s not your job to make over everyone in your image. If you’re concerned, pray for us. We can always use the prayer; we’re all growing, and learning, and trying to honour God. That shows your love for us far better than ranting at us over social media or shaking your finger in our faces.
And it leaves the work of changing hearts and minds exactly where it belongs; with God.
Well said!
I hope you get that chance to write good Christian fiction one day 🙂
I’ve begun, but there’s still a little way to go. Hopefully next year =) Thanks!
Nice words ☺️ I liked the comment about how a writer’s worldview bleeds in to their craft. With that in mind, I think maybe you’ve already written more “Christian” fiction than you realise… 😉 keep up the good work!
Thanks, Isaac =) That’s my hope, anyway. At first it was by accident, and I’d see it come through every now and then, but now I do sometimes add in themes and thoughts as they occur to me.
Great post! It reminds me of my church choir director, who used to say “Singing is like praying twice”— beside the prayers in hymns, creating something beautiful or inspiring and dedicating it to God is its own form of prayer 🙂
Oh, I like that! I think that songwriters and musicians have such a wonderful gift–I can only enjoy beautiful music, not write it, and I’m still blessed by that. Can’t imagine how lovely it must be to be able to create something like that!
I love your books, but I didn’t know about your abhorrent views about LGBT people. (Your reference to only including m/f couples led me to an old blog post of yours where you say you think homosexuality is wrong – I assume this is a view you still hold, since you reference it here.) This saddens me deeply. Some people can separate the art from the artist, and I respect that, but I don’t know if I personally can in good conscience continue to buy your books now. This thought also saddens me deeply, not least because I was very much looking forward to the last Two Monarchies novel.
I don’t usually comment on ‘hot button topic’ blogs because it seems fairly pointless – no one’s mind is ever changed and I hate internet dogpiles – but your books meant a lot to me, so I guess I wanted to say thank you for that at least. But I think here we part ways.
Hi Cam,
I totally understand where you’re coming from, and my books certainly aren’t something that I’d want you to injure your conscience over. I firmly believe that each of us has the right to read and write exactly what we want to read and write–and that if something seems wrong to us, we should avoid it.
It would be hugely hypocritical of me, believing that homosexuality is wrong and damaging to people, to make money from writing books about LGBT characters. And I think it’s completely right of you to act in accordance to your conscience by not reading someone’s books if you find their morals to be abhorrent. I’m fully aware that my morals are something that many people out there will find disgusting, and I was prepared for that when I began writing publicly. It’s one of the reasons I’ve tried to be as open as possible about it; I would like for people who are potentially going to work with me (or read my books) to know whether or not that’s something they want to do.
In the end, to me God’s approval is more important than my writing career, and if this is something that causes everyone I know to stop reading my work, so be it. In the meantime, I’ll keep writing for those people out there like me, that want the kind of books I write and weren’t finding them elsewhere.
I’m glad I could give some enjoyment with my books initially, and I hope you find many more books out there that will mean a lot to you.
Thanks for commenting =)
W.R.
I find it baffling that someone wouldn’t read your books because you think homosexuality is wrong, especially if you aren’t lecturing of its evils in your books but simply representing the type of lifestyle you think is good. It’s like refusing to read a book because it only represents one portion of the population. Like refusing to read a book about a Muslim family in Pakistan because you don’t believe is their religion. Plus if I only read books where the author completely agreed with my moral viewpoint, I’d be left with a tiny selection of basically religious doctrinal books. How boring would it be to only read people you agree perfectly with! Comfortable but boring.
Fiction is absolutely not an act of lying. The name “fiction” lets the reader know that the story is made up and did not really happen. Lying implies a deliberate act of deception to mislead the reader. Framing a story with fantasy or science fiction can allow for rich metaphors and pataphors that really elucidate the conflict of the characters (and are fun to read). Like the temptation of the ring in the Lord of the Rings series, leading friends to fight friends and heros to be greatly tempted towards greed and other dark impulses. Only the truest, brightest characters can resist the pull of the ring. Or in the book The peculiar sadness of lemon cake, when the main character can taste other people’s (including her mother) deepest emotions (sadness, despair…) when she eats the food that they made and her brother becomes so overwhelmed by the world that he becomes furniture in the room to escape. You really get a sense of how the brother wishes to escape and how burdensome it is to be privy to the deepest grief of people around you. But these books buffer the reader as well.
Writing Christian fiction will be difficult because you will be closer to reality and may be showing some of the darker sides of humanity (even in the members of a church) which people suffer from from time to time. Imagine how dark a realistic fiction version of the lord of the rings would have been (set amongst members of a church). The Christian fiction that I have read does lean towards romance and everyday struggles and does not delve deeply into terrible behavior. I think that writing in this genre would lead you (or anyone) to a minefield of criticism as well.
I enjoy your writing. You will always have critics, no matter what.
Thanks, Wendi =) I think the same as you, that the name ‘fiction’ lets the reader know straight away that it’s made up. There’s no deception either exerted or taken. I love your examples, because Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia were some of my favourite reading as a kid, and shaped a lot of how I think about fiction (as a matter of fact, I didn’t know the Narnia books were written by a Christian when I began to read them at the age of 10, but I was only halfway through the second book when I said to my mum, “I think these books were written by a Christian!” and then went on to discuss them with her over several nights. Loved being able to do that!)
I haven’t read The Peculiar Sadness of Lemon Cake, but now I really want to!
I’ve come to see in the last few years that no matter what I do, I’ll have critics, as you say. So I’ll keep doing what I’m doing and let most of it go over my head =)
I love this post so. So. So. Much. Your obvious heart for God is beautiful. This post brings ME joy!
Thank you for writing this! <3
Thanks, Rebeka =)
Sometimes I don’t feel that my heart is as right as that, but I’m glad He keeps working in me anyway =)
*claps*
What an excellent post! I feel the same way about all of this.
I’m finding there are a few people amongst my readers who think this way, so I’m cheered to know that I’ve found my niche 😀 Thanks for commenting =)
Storytelling is as old as time. Older even than language. From pictures drawn on cave walls, to stories told over campfires, to hand-written scrolls, to modern printing and electronics. It’s a way of imparting information, of sharing knowledge and faith, and yes, of entertaining. A way of preserving history, leaving tangible marks despite our physical impermanence.
It’s a way to explore the unknown and make sense of life; a way to experience the situations and thoughts of characters both familiar and unfamiliar to us, to gain empathy and compassion for others; a way to provide temporary solace and relief and perhaps humour for those suffering and weary. It’s a way to promote hope and love in spite of fear and mistrust and ignorance.
I love something Neil Gaiman once said, and I’m paraphrasing: The point, and importance, of writing stories that show monsters and danger isn’t to scare children (or adults), it’s to let them know monsters can be defeated, danger overcome.
WR, we don’t share religious beliefs, so I can’t really address that angle of it. But I am certain that some of us are destined to be storytellers for a reason. It’s a gift, but it’s also a responsibility. The fact that some don’t, or won’t, understand that role doesn’t lessen it.
Carry on. You’re doing just fine.
Thanks KD =)
That’s one of the things I love so much about writing–it IS a way to explore the unknown and make sense of life; and a way to share that wonder with other people.
Thanks for your encouragement =)
Thank you. As someone who used to write Christian fiction badly (Heheheh), I greatly appreciate your desire to write it well. Not an easy goal to reach.
Now I love writing stories that are just plain, fluffy fun, that can brighten someone’s day. And I know I’m doing what God has for me right now. It’s still a lot of work, but a joy.
Please do carry on. I love your work and your heart for God.
Thanks, J.M. =) And I think your writing is exactly the kind of thing to brighten someone’s day with a touch of fun and magic, so you’re hitting the mark exactly right, there.
No chance of my giving up, not as far as I can see, anyway =)
Wow- I love your books!! I read a lot of sci-fi/fantasy and do sometimes get the odd response from people in “the church” who don’t think Fantasy is appropriate (not gonna lie, was glad when Kindle came out so that people can’t judge me by my book’s cover!). I love the quality of your writing, which stands out to me in a world where less-than-sterling work is now widely available. (I read somewhere between 150-200 books per year, so I see a lot of good and not-so-good stuff!) Thank you for doing what you do and putting your heart into it- and know a fellow Christ-follower is enjoying your work- and especially that magic stuff. (Also, seriously, I know what you mean about Christian fiction. Can’t wait to see what eventually comes from your pen in that genre!!)
Thanks, Jenelle! Kindles are definitely handy for that! 😀
You seem to read about what I used to read growing up (maybe a touch less, but that was when I was a kid and only had school to compete with reading) so I’m happy my books are a part of such voracious reading 😀
Just wanted to say that I love your books and was pleased to find fantasy stories with adult and young adult characters that don’t contain swearing or sex. I didn’t know your religious views until I read this post but I can remember even I read Spindle feeling uplifted- like you said above, it does bleed into your books and not being “Christian” fiction, I think you will reach a wider audience that will then recognize that there a great books that don’t need bad language and sex and graphic violence to be interesting and entertaining. And then when you start writing great Christian fiction, readers will be willing to give it a try.
Anyway, thanks for writing what you do!
Thanks, Jenny! When I started out, I was caught with the idea of writing the sort of things I wanted to read but couldn’t find, so thank you for your lovely words–that is exactly what I hoped to do with my writing =)
I really look forward to starting with the Christian fic =)
Sorry to comment on an old post, but I just wanted to say how uplifting I found this article as an aspiring writer. I love your books because of how clever, heartfelt, and well written they are and I hope that I’ll be able to glorify God through my work half as well as you do!
I’m delighted that it was uplifting–and that you enjoy my books so much =) i’m hoping to constantly improve in that area as I grow, so thanks for the encouragement!
I read this article some years ago and it always stayed with me. I write fantasy which can loosely be considered Christian. But I always worried that people would see it as too much or too little. I fretted for years over that balance and people pleasing, but after reading this, the message of our focus needing to be singular on God alone really brought me peace. I wanted to come back and say thank you!