tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post4097086119201791244..comments2023-12-09T00:33:24.572-08:00Comments on Novel Matters: Fear of Fiction? A guest post by She Reads co-creator Ariel AllisonBonnie Grovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377519561074174038noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-26201350687209153822011-09-19T16:18:37.528-07:002011-09-19T16:18:37.528-07:00Deb, if you don't mind, I'm going to add y...Deb, if you don't mind, I'm going to add your comment to the discussion on today's post, because it relates so well. You're an attic person. I love attic people.Kathleen Popahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03682046279211463305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-4641840802307268712011-09-19T12:47:03.706-07:002011-09-19T12:47:03.706-07:00Without meaning to disrespect anyone who writes &q...Without meaning to disrespect anyone who writes "Christian fiction," the reason I seldom read such books is because there is more often than not an air about them of, well, unreality.<br /><br />I've lived a very hard and eventful life, as have many people I know. I've found that "regular" or "secular" fiction helps me so much in fumbling my way through this world and, oddly enough, often leads me into a closer walk with my Lord.<br /><br />I need protagonists who bleed and weep, who plunge into sin and must bear the consequences. Yes, even the ones who might rage at God, and ask all the hard questions most of us don't want to think let alone verbalize.<br /><br />I need fiction that depicts stumble-bums attempting to live their lives with some kind of dignity and awareness, whether they be saints or sinners who have yet to make that one eternal connection.Debhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16685405163963691258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-60263209383544095452011-09-13T20:32:56.142-07:002011-09-13T20:32:56.142-07:00This has been an incredibly fun post to read - alo...This has been an incredibly fun post to read - along with everyone's thoughts.<br />I might add that fear and I are dancing duo I am trying desperately to separate. I can understand both sides of the coin. <br />Some folks fear the world so much that it blocks their view - I see it as a Pastor's wife in every church I have ever been a part of.<br />Others, like myself fear the church and its traditions and rules and status quo so much that it hinders our witness. <br />When God asked me to write almost two years ago I soon became afraid to type some of the themes and topics he had given me to write about. If God hadn't been so clear and so exact in how He asked to do the writing I would have turned my back already. Instead, I stand here proclaiming that God knows better than anyone of us how gritty, dirty, messy, steamy and provocative life really is. He has a front row seat. So, when I am afraid to write a sentence, statement or stance I remind myself that there is nothing new under the sun and nothing new to Him. And if I can steal a line from Tamera Alexander's book, Beyond This Moment, God never leans over the balcony of heaven and gasps!<br />Write from your heart and from His and know that you will never make people on both sides of the fence happy. <br />I have enjoyed this so much I would like to comment about it on my own blog this week. May I link back to yours?Embracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12057449503326153449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-44528827279233885472011-09-13T19:28:03.327-07:002011-09-13T19:28:03.327-07:00Years ago I assigned The Things They Carried by Ti...Years ago I assigned The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien to my incoming Advanced Placement juniors. The novel is a fictionalized account of his experiences in the Vietnam War.<br /><br />A few parents complained about the language in the novel. I can promise you, if O'Brien's characters spouted things like "Golly,gee Billy, this sure is an awful war," or "My stars, Sam, your foot was just blown off," I would have thrown the novel across the room. How realistic would that have been for twenty-somethings, sloshing through the horrors of war, deaths, putrid decaying bodies...<br /><br />If language or scenes are gratuitous, then that's another issue. I wouldn't support that in novels any more than I would in movies.<br /><br />Life is messy business.We don't all live in communities separated from the world. <br /><br />Lately, I've had my share of scathing emails about my recent novel. As I recently responded to someone: "I know my novel brings up a lot of questions that Christians struggle with. I'm a storyteller, so what interests me is how individual people live and think and relate." <br /><br />It's that simple...and that complicated.Christa Allanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12620389675433700944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-84575034426224813142011-09-13T09:14:06.583-07:002011-09-13T09:14:06.583-07:00Fabulous post. Thanks.Fabulous post. Thanks.Hilareyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02531342403713332331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-63476268772189429132011-09-13T08:10:06.536-07:002011-09-13T08:10:06.536-07:00I've got my silvery-blue tail all picked out. ...I've got my silvery-blue tail all picked out. Strings of pearls for my hair. Webbed gloves for my hands.<br />And sharp little teeth like the mermaids in the British live action film version of Peter Pan (the one version of that movie you really NEED to see). <br /><br />Oooo, and I want a big wig like Cher wore for the cover of the movie Mermaids.Bonnie Grovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11377519561074174038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-90364942368715395102011-09-12T19:26:46.490-07:002011-09-12T19:26:46.490-07:00Next photo shoot...Mermaids! Who's with me???Next photo shoot...Mermaids! Who's with me???Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-64768061607174517392011-09-12T14:45:05.098-07:002011-09-12T14:45:05.098-07:00The beautifuldue: I think I can speak for my NM c...The beautifuldue: I think I can speak for my NM comrades when I say we've felt for some time that we've been stuck in no-man's land. I know I have. But you've provided a completely different picture for that in-between place, and I love it!!!! Thank you for sharing. Please visit us often.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-24288826680575767272011-09-12T13:53:47.783-07:002011-09-12T13:53:47.783-07:00Mermaids. And I've just finished writing a nov...Mermaids. And I've just finished writing a novel called A GIRL NAMED FISH. <br /><br />Glub, glub.Bonnie Grovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11377519561074174038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-49615514928094738772011-09-12T12:36:12.361-07:002011-09-12T12:36:12.361-07:00I LOVE this post. The fact is readers read for di...I LOVE this post. The fact is readers read for different reasons, reasons which are very personal and which we should not judge. Some read for pure entertainment and Christian readers of this ilk want a certain level of purity in their reading. Others read to gain insight and wisdom and to grow in their Christian walk. For them, story is as Christ used the parables, to teach them in a way they can connect with.<br /><br />What I don't get is why folks think it's an either/or situation. Why can't we have both, as long as we learn to be respectful, and not condemining, of individual choices?<br /><br />As a writer, I understand the fears. I battle with them. I hope to overcome them, that my writing might, if nothing else, represent my authentic self.PatriciaWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04572087157439187319noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-38636591670654724432011-09-12T11:44:39.586-07:002011-09-12T11:44:39.586-07:00Henrietta, I'm so very glad the doctors decide...Henrietta, I'm so very glad the doctors decided you do not need a biopsy. Hallelujah! But (and I hope this does not seem a lack of faith) I hope you will ask when they should take another look, to be sure. <br /><br />Dina, thanks for mentioning WhiteFire. It sounds interesting. <br /><br />Thebeautifuldue, I'm so glad you stopped lurking and joined in. And I LOVE it that you called us mermaids who sing with intoxicating beauty and woo sailors to their demise, when all the while I thought we were misfits.Kathleen Popahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03682046279211463305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-32907730931416745552011-09-12T11:31:27.544-07:002011-09-12T11:31:27.544-07:00Mermaids...yes and yes!! I love that!
I grappled ...Mermaids...yes and yes!! I love that!<br /><br />I grappled with fear over a short story I wrote just the other day. I'm doing this crazy contest/challenge on my blog (my readers gave me character, setting and conflict and I write the story). Well, one just wouldn't end happily. Not even a little. There was no redemption. No hope. <br /><br />I was terrified that I would be put before a firing squad.<br /><br />Instead, my friends and family have really embraced the story. It has touched their hearts. And, so, I learned something about writing.<br /><br />I learned that I can be edgy, raw and vulnerable while at the same time being loved.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-63119636300692863522011-09-12T10:49:04.844-07:002011-09-12T10:49:04.844-07:00Okay, I wasn't going to mention this, but in l...Okay, I wasn't going to mention this, but in light of Henrietta's comment, I have to say that WhiteFire Publishing is trying to provide an avenue for this type of fiction. My novel is probably similar to the one Ariel mentioned, and WhiteFire has published it as a Christian book. I would recommend you all check them out and consider submitting there. I'm helping out in acquisitions right now too. http://whitefire-publishing.com/Dina Sleimanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05214446103057806111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-61471120918864401212011-09-12T10:37:38.282-07:002011-09-12T10:37:38.282-07:00To put relevance in my comment I'll tell you t...To put relevance in my comment I'll tell you that I will live to write another day. I was supposed to have a biopsy today but the offender had shrunk so much in a week that they didn't think it was worth the trouble. Praise God and pass the quill!<br />God is great no matter what, even if we are struck down but this is the adventure He gave me today and I wanted to share it with someone. Thanks for Praising Him with me.<br />I have been reading about vibing no matter, and exile and beauty. I agree and concur and am grateful for this community. <br />How hard would it be to buy each others' unpublished (finished and ready for public exposure) works? Not for editing or critique. As a buying customer who wants to read gritty and honest and can't find a publishing house that will commit to supplying such material. We are here lamenting the lack of such to read at the same time lamenting the lack of readers. What would administration of such an exchange look like?<br />I am afraid of administration, to answer Ariel's question. I can dream up a novel but getting it polished and all the etc. scare me silly.Henrietta Frankenseenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-49338628595407430852011-09-12T10:17:22.035-07:002011-09-12T10:17:22.035-07:00Ah hah! And there ya go...Redeeming Love is one of...Ah hah! And there ya go...Redeeming Love is one of those reads that challenged me and will always remain one of my favorites...but all the ugly in that story was appropriate to the story even though it was dreadful and I hated every bit of it...that was the point! It was ugly...it was real...it helped me understand the degradation those poor children/women face who are caught in that world.<br />I think that's the point we're ALL getting at here...tell the story. If the ugly is pertinent to the story...then it must be told. Fearing what men think is very much an unwise way to live - because men are not God. If we are walking in trembling humility with our gifts before the God Who gave them to us...then we must trust that what He asks us to write/do is going out there with purpose. I also agree with Melissa...SO important to know the limits of your OWN heart and discern accordingly...but judgment is for the Lord. Having an opinion about a story you've read is one thing...calling out judgment in ignorance and fear against a brother or sister (namely the author or his/her readers) is another matter entirely...a much more serious matter than a swear word written in a book. <br /><br />By the way...did you all know that the words "piss" and "pisseth" are in the KJV of the Bible? Interesting...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-44278583601661585082011-09-12T09:51:52.936-07:002011-09-12T09:51:52.936-07:00Good morning. I've been following Novel Matter...Good morning. I've been following Novel Matters for awhile now…good thoughts here…not many male voices, but I get that (hi, Pedro).<br /><br />I see you all as mermaids…bear with me, alright. You're not CBA and you're not ABA, you're something in the middle or some combination of the two. And as such, like mermaids, many will swear you don't even exist…and as you know, it may be incredibly difficult to find a publisher. But one thing about mermaids is they sing with intoxicating beauty, so much so that many a sailor was wooed to his demise. <br /><br />My point? Write beautiful human fiction and you'll be feared by the landlubbers (the lady who wrote the email) and the seafarers (bonnet-haters) alike...and why? The beauty of the song. But it's got to be beautiful enough to woo...and therein lies the worthy challenge.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-22363597476123431792011-09-12T09:38:45.709-07:002011-09-12T09:38:45.709-07:00Yikes! That last comment to Nicole was meant to re...Yikes! That last comment to Nicole was meant to read "we must keep writing." Clearly I could only assemble my thoughts long enough to write a post. Comments are beyond my mental capacity today. :-)Ariel Allison Lawhonhttp://www.shereads.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-59387938722562039192011-09-12T09:35:24.232-07:002011-09-12T09:35:24.232-07:00Marian: I will stand with you in not backing down....Marian: I will stand with you in not backing down. A writers job is to tell the truth.<br /><br />Melissa: so cool to see you here! We usually do our bantering on Facebook. And yes, we all have our boundaries. There are things I will not read or write.<br /><br />Nicole: and unforgiving reader is the hardest to win over. But we can do so with grace and humility. Or at least I hope we can. In the meantime we must do what keep writing.Ariel Allison Lawhonhttp://www.shereads.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-31585500141427893442011-09-12T09:29:14.642-07:002011-09-12T09:29:14.642-07:00Dina: a friend once told me that you, "Can...Dina: a friend once told me that you, "Can't take others somewhere you haven't already been." It sounds as though you're making the journey in your heart before you write. Wise woman!<br /><br />Ashten: thanks for your comment! As I mentioned above, Sarah's book was beautiful but not graphic. She handled all the elements with class. And yes, the Bible is full of eye-popping stuff. The word of God is not for the faint of heart.<br /><br />Judy: we need to catch up soon! Thanks for your encouragement. It always make me smile to hear from you.<br /><br />Heathee:thanks! I've been known to speak my mind. :-)Ariel Allison Lawhonhttp://www.shereads.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-79184853986955878952011-09-12T09:21:24.957-07:002011-09-12T09:21:24.957-07:00Thanks for the encouraging comments, everyone! A c...Thanks for the encouraging comments, everyone! A couple additional thoughts: when I mention that there was mild language in Sarah's book, I mean MILD. As in almost non-existent. And the steamy scenes were non graphic at all. She closed the curtain quite tastefully. Very benign considering. So it amazed me that anyone could take issue with them. Truth be told, Francine Rivers REDEEMING LOVE was more graphic.<br /><br />Pedro: you're right. Every story calls for different content. Swearing is appropriate in some books. In others, not so much. And every writer should know their own standards and stick to them.<br /><br />Karen: the farther along I get in the writing journey, the more I realize that what we fear most is often the reaction of other Christians. I can't find anywhere in scripture where we are called to fear men. Continue to write honestly and your stories WILL find a home!Ariel Allison Lawhonhttp://www.shereads.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-48232915288457836072011-09-12T09:04:02.379-07:002011-09-12T09:04:02.379-07:00Melissa: so true. If only those who cannot deal wi...Melissa: so true. If only those who cannot deal with certain things would not think we all should not. A lot of us came out of the world. We lived those things. A lot of others should realize the tight constraints they put on reading leaves out a huge number of people who benefit from reading stories that help them realize they're not alone in their quest and searching for answers.<br /><br />Ariel, well put. <br /><br />I guess I'm not afraid of those who read with such restrictive and critical eyes because I doubt they'll pick up my novels, but I am afraid of that attitude that is unforgiving of those who see the world through the eyes of the lost and portray the sometimes sordid road to redemption truthfully.<br /><br />"Steamy" is different to everyone. This is the point. What offends one doesn't even cause a ripple in another either because they've lived it or because they recognize the honesty. Secular steamy is a whole 'nother gig usually with a completely different objective.Nicolehttp://hopeofglory.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-7370848671189788152011-09-12T08:06:37.435-07:002011-09-12T08:06:37.435-07:00Fantastic post, Ariel! I think we all have our own...Fantastic post, Ariel! I think we all have our own set of boundaries, and it is important that we recognize them for what they are--places that, left to our own devices, we might wander out too far. Some people know that reading (or writing) profanity, or steamy scenes is just too much for them; others can handle it and know that reading a few bad words won't take them down the wrong path. Knowing your own limitations is one thing, but trying to impose those limitations and judgements on others is a whole other. I am so glad that I have the world of fiction (and non-fiction) out there in front of me like some giant buffet. I know what I can handle and what I can't--and there are definitely books that I will read a chapter or two of and just return to the shelf. But I've also learned to stretch a little and read things that might be uncomfortable, and in the process, learned so much from them...and the Bible is a great example of that.MelissaHambrickhttp://wordmom.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-44288839944116469032011-09-12T07:24:52.206-07:002011-09-12T07:24:52.206-07:00I'm afraid of being misinterpreted, of being j...I'm afraid of being misinterpreted, of being judged unfairly. I'm afraid of all those people who think like the lady who wrote the e-mail.<br /><br />But now that I've read this post, I'm determined to overcome this fear...and not by backing down.Marianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12990101542996298555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-42101115059665990492011-09-12T07:05:57.722-07:002011-09-12T07:05:57.722-07:00What you are saying is so true..thank you for sayi...What you are saying is so true..thank you for saying it!Heatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00813540962175420094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6360410252358941163.post-70804530077068249442011-09-12T06:21:12.232-07:002011-09-12T06:21:12.232-07:00Thank you, Ariel, for this wonderfully written and...Thank you, Ariel, for this wonderfully written and thought-provoking post. Love your mention of your father, among many other things in this essay. Judy ChristieJudyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05492411305292791654noreply@blogger.com