On Writing as a Christian

Hi Heather! I blog about this subject so much that I feel like I've driven some Christian writer friends away. (Perhaps this is a warning that if you keep it up, you too will lose friends.) Only recently have I thought about just shutting up. But then this... I posted some Thoughts on the 2008 Christy Awards, musing, as you would expect, about the further "insulation" that occurs between Christians and the world as a result of these types of accolades. Anyway, Athol Dickson, one of the nominees, happened by and left a fairly lengthy comment, basically legitimizing Christian Fiction. Now I like his stuff and the spirit was gracious. Nevertheless, I was a little bummed. Until I received a private email from another one of the nominees who read my post and totally agreed with my premise! While this person appreciated the nomination, they were very uncomfortable having their stories included in the Christian Fiction camp. They would be kind and diplomatic but, nevertheless, being counted in this group was conflicting. It kind of lifted my spirit and made me wonder if these types of concerns aren't shared -- maybe secretly -- by a lot of Christian writers. Peace....

I can only speak for myself. And lucky you--you got to watch me through this struggle. I think we're a lot alike at the base of the problem.

When I figured out God was telling me (and not so politely) to write, instinctively, I knew I had to write horror. Psychological horror is my bent, not the gore-fest mainstream horror has become.

It was interesting, to say the least, to watch expressions of those attending the ACFW conference in 2006. When I said I wrote horror, they looked at me as if I had said I was a prostitute at 5th and Broadway. The little name tags they handed out had everyone's genre listed under they're name. They changed mine from horror to thriller. Nice.

There were two things that made me understand that wasn't the place for me. A very popular, well-respected agent telling a class (I'm paraphrasing) that Christian horror was a stupid idea and it would never work. (I shook his hand and told him we'd never work together. LOL) And the Holier-than-thou attitude most people had at that ACFW conference.

I tried, though. Because I thought maybe God was trying to convince me I needed to change. But I was depressed and my stories seemed fake. And forced. And the more I tried to manipulate the story to fit into the rulebox of the CBA, the more I understood that it wasn't me they were forcing into the box, it was God. I prayed a lot about making the first step towards the ABA and when I did, God was right there to shower me with his love and acceptance and let me know, without a doubt, that I was doing what he wanted me to do.

I was working on a Bible study (the sheep one, H) and I read a book called A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm. It is such a simple book, but I had a paradigm shift while reading it. It may be that God meant for me to understand MY journey this way and it may not apply to others, but as I was reading about how a shepherd has to take his sheep through hard places, the dark valley. Usually people refer to this psalm when dealing with death, but I read that I walked THROUGH the valley. (and I understand the implications when dealing with death) but it applied to me, at that time in my life, to life not death.

Reading this book, having this shepherd explain to me that during movement of the flock to higher ground, going through the valley was a very intimate time, the sheep depended on the shepherd, the shepherd had gone the route beforehand and since a trust had already been established, the sheep trusted the shepherd and stayed close. The route through the valley is the most well-watered route. It is in the deep valley that you find the springs of crystal clear water.

Of course, I want that mountaintop experience with God. But what I really crave is the intimacy and refreshment of trusting him in those dark valleys.

And that's when I knew what he wanted from me. "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me" As I explore horror and all it represents, I will fear no evil. He is with me.

That's when I started believing that I should follow His rules instead of the rules of man (the CBA) So I've been writing the stories the way they come out. And since then, doors seem to be opening all over the place.

I'm not saying that this is what God has for everyone. But this is how I came to know and understand that the CBA was not for me.

I struggle with this as well, as I'm sure most Christian writers do, so thanks for posting some more food for thought. On the Parallel universe topic, Mike Erre wrote a book a few years ago called The Jesus of Suburbia that addresses the idea of the entire secluded Christian sub-culture we have created in the last fifty years. It extends far beyond the arts, but Christian art is used as an example often. Pretty good book:

http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Suburbia-Have-Tamed-Lifestyle/dp/084990059X

“Jesus is a fisherman”
♫
Jesus is a fisherman
He has a secret net
The more fishes that you need
The more fishes he can get

He walks out on the water
He don’t have no fishing pole
He can catch them on dry land
He don’t need no fishing hole

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…He heals all of the blind. He raises his people from the dead
He don’t leave them behind
He says get up and go fishing…Stand up and walk today. You got lots of fish to catch
You better do it my way

Let’s all go fishing with Jesus
Lets walk along the shore
One set of footprints in the sand
And you’ll be catching more

Well they wrote it down in the Bible
Every thing he had to say
So if you want to get to heaven
Start fishing today

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…
Copyright © 2008
Jay Miller

Drop a line in these waters...
Sal and Sally http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~50033.aspx

Bingo the Banjo Picking Bear
http://outskirtspress.com/Bingothebear

(From my All God's Critter Series)
Jay Miller

Wow, Heather. That article by Lee Martin was excellent. It makes me really want to read his book, "Rivers of Heaven." Which, of course, makes me want a Netflix program for books because I can't afford to purchase all the books I think about reading and I'm too lazy to cut over to the library on a regular basis.

Oh, wait. I did read that a Netflix program for books already exists. There are two of them out there, actually . . . one called Bookswim, and another called Paperspine. Except both seem quite in beta mode still, and I'm not confident enough in the system to sign up just yet.

Just goes to show you how fickle I actually am about the things I say I want. Heh.