Grappling with the uglies
Dear Susan,
“Wow you've done it again! That book was fantastic. You have a way of developing believable characters that suck you into the story as if you where there. I don't know why or how, but your books have stirred in me a new sense of faith. Your messages have hit home and I am seeking my place with God, and how I fit into the picture in his eyes.”
I love those kind of letters! People often ask me what I write – my answer (because I’m all over the place in genre!) is - I write Novels with a Christian World View. But inside, I’m really wanting to say – I write 4 dimensional stories. I believe that with Christian fiction, because it deals with not only the physical and emotional sides of a character, but also the spiritual side, we are getting a “full-bodied” view of a character. More than that, however, we also get a glimpse inside the “4th” dimension – the Great Plot, which is God at work to draw people to Himself. I strive to write the deeper story, the one that changes lives.
As your hero begins this leg of the journey, the challenges he encounters should be more than physical. They should test his mettle, emotionally, and stir up issues, spiritually. Even make him confront the ugly things inside him.
Ask yourself – what spiritual issues will my character be grappling as he encounters new places in himself. How is this journey going to change his view of himself, his God, his place in eternity?
Recently, Rachel and I were talking about publishing, and how, as a writer, once you get published, it doesn’t erase any problems you have in your life – in fact, you are forced to grapple with them even more. Reviews, editorial changes, competition – it’s a journey that can bring out a side of a writer that they didn’t know existed. I didn’t know I was so possessive of my words until an editor wanted to change them. I didn’t know I was so thin-skinned until I got a scathing letter. This leg of my journey had made me take a hard look at myself, hit my knees and allow God to change me.
How is your hero’s journey going to change lives? Will readers see an eternal truth played out on the page? What is the spiritual take-away for the reader as they experience your hero’s journey with them?
Why, in the fabric of eternity, does this book matter?
Tomorrow, we’re going to talk about the different ways contemporary authors weave in spiritual threads…and then later this week, we’ll discuss how to weave in your own spiritual threads.
Today’s homework is – what fiction book in the last year have you read that has impacted you spiritually? Why, and how, and what did you learn from it. Post your answers so we can learn with you (and perhaps pick up some great recommendations!)
See you tomorrow!
One fiction book that comes to mind is Haven Kimmel's first novel, The Solace of Leaving Early. A good review is here: http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385507301. I loved her memoirs, A Girl Named Zippy and She Got Up Off the Couch. This novel is infused with her own brand of spirituality, just as her memoirs are. She exposes her characters' flaws with compassion and their pain with creativity, as when the daughters of an old schoolmate rename themselves, "Immaculata" and "Epiphany" after their mother dies. I learn, as I read Kimmel's books,that there are many more colors on a writer's palette than I have yet discovered. Amazing talent.
Posted by: Susan Cushman | June 04, 2008 at 01:34 PM
Great post.
Posted by: Rachel Hauck | June 04, 2008 at 03:14 PM
The book that came to mind when I read this is Amy Wallace's Healing Promises because one of her characters who is battling a major issue must face whether she's depending upon God, or circumstances or people? Even this past week, this issue has come up again. Who am I depending on? Great stuff.
Posted by: Dineen Miller | June 04, 2008 at 07:34 PM