The Introverted Detective: A note to those writing inspirational fiction

This blog is about how to write your faith into your stuff without sounding like you write for Hallmark. Of the five inspirational suspense books I read in my book cleaning, two were good enough to read to the end. Why? Because the other three preached instead of writing dialogue or they just weren't my jam. Today we'll discuss how to write Jesus into your fiction well, without turning off readers who want natural dialogue.

Courtesy of Pxhere.com

First, you have to know I'm Christian. If you are not I'm not going to shove it down your throat, but you have to know this is about Christian faith and not any other faith. You've been warned. Let's start the journey.

I am never opposed to Christian themes and talking about Jesus in fiction. What I am opposed to is badly written dialogue and badly written faith-based fiction. I love Jesus, but I am turned off by books that make faith sound like "everything is cupcakes and rainbows because Jesus saved me and all my problems are miraculously gone" - especially when the problems are deep psychological ones. Jesus helps us through stuff and isn't a free pass to get away from personal issues. He's not a vending machine for prosperity. He can give you peace in times of trouble, yes, but that doesn't mean He takes the trouble away. We grow through dealing with life. Jesus wants us to grow up strong in our faith. All this comes to one main point; I want a realistic faith experience reflected in dialogue. You should pick a lane if you are preaching while writing fiction dialogue. General themes without coming out and saying it are also good to have. LOTR(Lord of the Rings) and Narnia can vouch for that concept.

Courtesy of Fanpop

What Not To Do

I've read what you don't do. Don't mistake a sermon for dialogue. Don't preach the prosperity gospel by making all your character's problems go away. Don't sanitize culture. I have to be extra careful saying this because the gospel is truly a great message, but here it goes; don't sacrifice the plot for shoving Jesus into the storyline (when you could just go with themes and get the gospel values in). When you sacrifice the plot the reader puts your book back on the shelf or donates it to a thrift shop. Shallow faith in a book is even worse.

I'm going to note something here for romantic suspense writers. This can happen in any genre outside Christian media, too. If I can't see the mystery through the drama you need to cut the drama in half. I'm putting that book down so fast it'll hit the thrift store the next day. No joke, I put a Nancy Drew (my favorite detective) mystery down for this writing sin. I pick up mystery and suspense for the plot, not the drama. Again, this isn't only for Christian writers. I'm noting it because it happened in two inspirational suspense recently.

Me not seeing the mystery through the character drama
(Courtesy of Giphy)

All those above are what I've read in bad Christian fiction. What you want is a good plot, compelling characters, and the correct themes/Jesus' inclusion (without it being shoved in sideways). To get there you have to know what doesn't work. I suggest beta-reading any Christian fiction with people who don't typically go into the inspirational section. That's me, a Christian who owns primarily romantic suspense, thrillers, spy novels, and mysteries. Find them and test out your book there. If they stopped at chapter one and said they hated it you need to ask exactly why and fix it (You may want to find a Christian primarily for this genre).

I understand that this is hard. The Christian fiction genre may limit you and your audience (in creativity). You can write sinful activities but not glorify them, for reference, but your main character can't always be as real as you want them to be (depending on who is publishing you or whether you publish yourself). Publishing yourself leaves lots of freedom and isn't the same as traditional. I know the traditional publishers may stop you from letting an Amish man have a beer (just one example). This means you might be obligated to include your character talking about Jesus in your dialogue (nothing wrong with that) - just be sure it doesn't sound forced or unnatural. Forced and unnatural is what downgrades a book one star or half a star lower.

What Does Work

I've found that surface-level books on faith (even as a kid) were an automatic turnoff, but Max Lucado is one example of kids' books I can read as an adult and love. Seriously, this guy is an amazing author. Be like him and tell a story with complex themes, but one simple plotline. Max Lucado is one to emulate in this scenario (especially for kids like me who were not into "let's pray" picture books).

Themes work. You can even break your book out of the inspirational section while you're at it. C.S. Lewis and Tolkien are great examples of putting themes in novels. Faith may even flow naturally into your storyline on accident. When that happens you know Jesus is working in your fiction. Faith can be subtle. Your audience can study it and find it for themselves versus you pointing it out like you are writing young kids' content (unless you are writing kids' content). Kid content is not adult content. Adult content here is defined as books written with adult intelligence in mind. Kids (younger ones) need it pointed out while adults do not. Most adults can find faith parallels in fiction. It's almost better that way because then it is discovered and celebrated (by specific communities) by people who go online with their findings.

Courtesy of Scholastic

Direct allegories that advertise they are direct allegories are good, too. Pilgrim's Progress is a good work of fiction that makes excellent points. It is directed at all ages. It is also deep and not shallow. Deep allegories and fiction are good. That leads me to my next point. Deep concepts create curiosity that leads people to want more information. Gospel spread means people need to want that information. Shoving it at someone at surface level will kill that curiosity quick. It'll make the gospel a watered-down concept. The gospel is shoved into peoples' faces untactfully by many people, and then Christianity looks vastly unappealing to others. Let's not do the same thing in our fiction.

Dialogue that reflects a strong faith and an honest perspective on faith is amazing. I'm impressed when a conversation or a reaction to faith seems genuine. Ask any beta-readers who go through your work to note when a conversation isn't realistic. It'll save you from readers putting the book down or downgrading your star rating. This is the mark of an excellent writer, to put natural dialogue about Jesus in a book where the plot is not entirely focused on Jesus.

This goes for all writing. Flesh out the world you wrote (fantasy especially) and use more than just Christianity issues. You can depict whatever you need to in your story to make the plot work. Only writing Christian issues doesn't take into account your built world or the real world around us. Write a good setting. Don't skimp on your background and characters.

Write well. A badly written novel glorifies God as much as an unwanted piece of furniture that ends up in charity shops perpetually. Write well and it might reach secular audiences. Keep in mind, your Christian novel doesn't always have to be in the inspirational section. If it isn't good, it goes unwanted and gathers dust no matter the section. Good books are good books.

At the end of the day, your genuine beliefs show through your work no matter what you write. Yes, you do see beliefs bleed into fantasy stories and mysteries all the time. Narnia is a prime example and so is LOTR (Lord of the Rings). What you believe will show up somewhere in your creative work. Write freely and tell me what you see. I'd say that is where God is working in your fiction - through you.

What Christians Want

Many of us don't want perfect characters. We can't relate to perfect Jane or perfect John. We can relate to struggling Jane and John, though. Flaws in characters are great, especially when they work through those flaws and hardships with Jesus or find Jesus in those struggles. Many people in the world are mad at God. When a main character is mad at God someone is bound to relate. Everyone is affected by the fall. The world should not be portrayed as perfect, either. Jesus came to save us because of the fall, so perfect Jane/John doesn't work. In this way, our character can make a mistake and sin, as long as sin is not glorified.

Take note of the struggles around you. What is everyone else struggling with or against? Let's hear about it in a fictional character. That makes your book relevant. That makes your character someone interesting. That makes someone else feel seen. We all want to feel seen in this world. Make that happen.

Converting someone to Christianity seems to be the point of some of the books I read, but is that the whole Christian life? No. We have our own journey and impact people along the way. We love and talk to people every day, but only a small amount of those conversations (depending on your profession) are conversions. Most non-pastors don't convert people on the daily. Be realistic. The story can be about someone struggling through their own faith; it doesn't have to be conversion.

Look at real life. Take notes. We can write real people. Have you read the Bible recently? You'll notice most people are never paragons of virtue (minus Jesus). Have you read Judges or Kings? Paul's letters? Job? Ruth? I could go on. Your characters can sin as long as you don't glorify sin. You can portray the broken world for what it is. Sometimes things don't have an answer. The point is to be real about the world we live in. The Bible is real about the state of the world. God is glorified when He gives us strength to do His will, not because we did something. Jesus came to save us because we can't do it ourselves. Why are we writing perfect characters when we are all broken?

Don't let this be you - check your context
(Courtesy of Pinterest)

Assuming you wrote well and secular audiences are reading it, talk about the big issues. Use a villain if you have to. Have someone explore their own doubts about their non-Christian beliefs or talk through questions with others. Make people think. If your goal is to spread The Gospel message in your books make someone think about their own life. Avoid cliche too, as non-believers might skim past "God is love" on a page. Show it - don't say it and be original in your writing. That goes for all writers.

Scripture is great, but I'd leave maybe one quote in front and stop there in fiction. The Bible quotes being all over the book is not what most look for in fiction. Scripture is vastly important. It definitely isn't something fictional characters quote every other page, though, because again, let's talk about natural dialogue. If you wanted to study the Bible you'd pick up the Bible. People will skim your scripture at best, in most cases. If you use it the story has to fit the scripture used. It has to fit the personality and knowledge of the character you wrote. No one came to your fiction to go to Sunday School, I'm sorry. You may even be speaking to a non-believer and turn them off to your Gospel message by over-quoting.

***********************************************************

I wrote a book! I am delighted to say that I have 5 five-star reviews up on Amazon now, which is amazing. I hope you like it, too. If you're interested in buying a paperback, hardcover, or ebook version go to my website link in this blog or click here to go straight to my Amazon page.