What Keeps You Going?

Nick Harrison, senior editor for Harvest House Publishers, wrote a 5-part series of posts entitled How to Succeed as a Christian Writer, which he posted on his blog over the past few weeks. He makes a number of good points, but the thing that resonated with me is how to tell whether or not you're a writer at heart. Nick says, "Know your calling as a writer ... Are you serious about your writing or are you a dabbler? Will you be briefly disappointed if you don't succeed, and then move on to the next thing in your life? Or are you aware that this endeavor of writing, editing, and publishing is right where God wants you in spite of repeated rejections from publishers?"

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As I've shared here before, my journey to publication took 20 long, frustrating years. Twenty years of persevering through rejection after rejection until, at my first major Christian writers' conference, I found an editor who believed in my work. During that long drought I wept many tears and wrestled with God, begging him to open the door to publication or take away the desire to write. He did neither for a very long time. I was Moses on the back side of the desert. And during those years I discovered I most definitely wasn't a dabbler. My disappointment was not brief, nor did I get on to the next thing. I persevered, writing novel after novel, because I believed at the deepest level that writing is what I was supposed to do. My wrestling match with God ended with me accepting the reality that God had called me to write ... but the results were his. That was the deal. And nothing I did would ever circumvent that reality.

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Are those novels I wrote in my "wilderness experience" worthy of publication? Not all. But the latest ones are, the ones that are evidence of the growth that's taken place in me as a writer, that show I've worked hard at the craft, read book after book on the craft.

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The joy in holding my first published book was -- and still is -- incredibly validating. I finally had something to show for all my hard work, as well as a contract for another novel. I truly believed I was on my way. But there's been a detour in the road and I'm currently between contracts. It's not the place I want to be, but I'm not just biding my time, waiting for answers back from editors who are reading my manuscripts. I continue to write, and gain encouragement from my family and from my truly awesome writing mates here at Novel Matters. They are my critique partners, my prayer partners, my friends -- each a true gift from God.

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Nick writes, "Rejection is the way of the writing life. Get used to it. If you're called to write just keep at it and let God find the right publisher." That's great advice. Get used to it. Let God ... It's not like we really have a choice, and yet we do. We have the choice whether or not to submit to God's plan and method in our life -- which is perfect. Not easy, maybe, but perfect.

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How has discouragement worked for or against you in your writing life? How do you get past the discouragement? Or do you? Have any of you discovered you're a dabbler after all? What new thing have you gone on to in order to fulfill the artistic part of you?

Complex Redemption

I’ve enjoyed the discussion on redemption this week. I nearly ran out and bought a bean pot after Debbie’s post. She reminded us that redemption is, in part, a question of value – and her bean pot is a wonderful example of the simple and plain being privileged to a place of monetary value. It’s worth something, despite its humble appearance (cute as it is). Thanks to Debbie, I have added to my stock of great stories to tell “The wisdom of the bean pot”.

I also enjoyed the comments and recommendations people made. Many of the novels mentioned are ones I’ve read and enjoyed – and as always is the case on this blog, new-to-me novels made my TBR pile grow. Love this group of well-read folks! And my humble thanks to Latayne and Koala Bear for the shout out love.

One thing I’ve noticed, not just on our blog, but in general, is that we tend to equate redemption stories with personal redemption only. Of course this makes sense – Christianity understands redemption as a personal experience one that cannot be prescribed or legislated, rather it is experienced (or not) on a person-by-person basis. All well and good, but I’ve been thinking lately, wondering if we can take this notion of redemption further in our fiction.

I’m working on a new novel, A Girl Named Fish, a story about community, and it’s gotten me to thinking about how the concepts of redemption can be presented on a broader canvas than the individual. Let me give you a for instance: A story about a woman who overcomes a difficulty in her life (a terrible past, a loss, an addiction, etc), is in itself a satisfying story. But I’m increasingly sure there could and should be more, that the story of the individual coming to wholeness is only the beginning. If a woman is raised up on to her own two feet, it is for a purpose, right? Something bigger than herself calls to her to move on with her life, accomplish things, and embrace life fully. Doesn’t it make sense that God restores people in order to restore entire societies and cultures? That the people who experience grace and wholeness can in turn be agents of grace and wholeness in the larger society? Of course it does, we holler in unison!

Yet it seems to me there is a distinct lack of these “change the world” stories on our shelves. There are, however, shelves of novels that point to society’s decline. Where are the stories that point to society’s potential? The stories that teach us how to break cycles of hate or abuse. The stories that show us how a group of like-minded individuals can turn the world around them to spin in a different direction – a better direction.

It’s freedom Friday, today, and I’d love for you to share those novels you’ve read that point to the value of our potential. That point out routes to peace among enemies, that highlight our ability to allow love to overrule our prejudices, not only as individuals, but as entire communities, towns, societies, and cultures.

A Simple Story of Redemption

Katy began a great discussion with her post about what redemption looks like in fiction. Please bear with me as I share a simple story of redemption on a different level.

Years ago when I was newly engaged, I went shopping with my future mother-in-law to a Green Stamp Redemption Center. She had books filled with reams of stamps that she had dampened and stuck carefully onto the pages. The stamps had been earned at the grocery store, the gas station and other businesses with the 'We give Green Stamps' sign in the window.

Being the saintly woman that she was (and I'm being sincere), she handed me a bundle and told me to pick out something for myself. There were many useful and practical items on display and I spent a long time choosing. Then I saw the bean pot! I could never explain why it appealed to me so strongly, except that it was painted in homey colors with a rooster on the front and it was autumn, after all. I took my choice to the counter to show her and was met with puzzlement. "A bean pot? Well it's...nice." The toasters and electric knives and baking dishes would have been more practical choices, and I realized that I'd passed up an opportunity to show my practicality as a wife for her son. But if Alice was anything, she was gracious.

My bean pot now sits high on a shelf in my kitchen among other retro kitchen-ware. And while shopping one day for '40s dish towels, tablecloths, canisters and pitchers, I came across the same bean pot with a surprising price tag. It turns out that my bean pot is a McCoy and worth more than just sentimental value. It was probably the best choice I could have made. Did I recognize the value in it? Yes, but not as others saw it.

I have a character swimming around in my brain, wading in the gray matter, who is just a bean pot. She is not very heroic, attractive or practical. She doesn't have her life together or truly understand God's love for her. She's made mistakes - some with lasting consequences. But she's likable, I think, in that she stumbles toward redemption trying to make it happen for herself without realizing the cost involved or the futility in her striving. I'm loving that I get to show her how much God wants to redeem her and her situation. Her life won't miraculously blossom - her slate won't be wiped clean - but she will find that her worth is much greater than she knew, greater than the way she lived her life. And she will marvel at the One who recognized her worth in spite of the condemnation she deserved.

From the great host of characters who find redemption in literature, which stands out to you most? We would love to hear!

Redemption Anyone? A Novel Matters Roundtable Discussion

All of the great discussions we've had this past couple of weeks have touched on the kinds of fiction we like and don't like, what makes it distinctly Christian, what makes it edgy and what makes it merely offensive. In reading the comments, I became intrigued by several in which the word "redemptive" arose.

In a way it seems obvious, since our favorite story is all about how God re-deemed us to himself, that we would like to see echoes of that in our fiction. But I wonder, what exactly makes a story redemptive? Something Bonnie said strikes a note:

"Even in CBA where redemption is a spoon fed concept, I find most of the fiction misses the point (redemption seems to mean we get the boy we like, we get the money we inherited, we get the life we always wanted...). I think this is more because we are a society that has become used to analyzing what is wrong, broken, or dysfunctional in micro-detail. Therapy anyone? Parenting book anyone? And we get used to accepting bytes of rehashed advice."

There's a scripture that seems to want to find a home in this line of thought: it's what God said when Paul asked him to remove the thorn in his flesh: "My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness."

Weakness is strength. There's re-naming for you, and re-naming is what "re-deeming" means. It's just not the kind of redemption our self-help books have led us to expect.

The question we'd like to explore today with each other and with you is this: What does redemption look like if it doesn't always mean the girl gets the boy, the boy gets the money, and every thing turns out the way we want it to?

I'm so glad you brought this up, Katy! I made plenty of readers mad when my main character didn't end up with the hunky pilot.

Remember, I'm not much of a theologian, but I do pay attention, especially to God's redemptive work in my life. I offer him my brokenness, neediness, and lame-brainedness and he reworks all that for his glory and for my good, even though I don't always see it that way or won't see it that way in this lifetime.

Here are a couple ways Gods work in me has shaped the way I write redemptively. Years ago, my soul ached to be connected to the perfect man God. And so, God brought along this smart, conversant, creative, kind, and tender man, only I told him to take a flying leap. He was the best friend I'd ever had, but I didn't see him as husband potential. Yes, I was a fool. God intervened! Long story. Great result! I never write conventional romance plot lines. The greatest romance of all--God dying for His bride!--is pretty unconventional, too, and a model that love should smash boundaries and prepare us for the unexpected.

And then, ten years ago intractable pain became my moment by moment companion. It took 15 months to diagnose the cause. (Pain makes time go by very, very slowly.) Surgery and several years of physical therapy and lots of exercises with a rubber band reclaimed my life. I will never be the same again.

Thank you, Jesus!

We don't have the time to list all the ways God took a horrible situation and redeemed it. But just this week, I was able to calm a friend's apprehension about a lumbar puncture. My experience is still bearing fruit. I hated it. Prayed and prayed for the thorn to be removed. Exhausted. With only Jesus to hope in, I set my eyes on the far shore and found he is faithful. The characters in my stories don't always know what God is doing. He allows them to feel the heat under their feet so they cling to what they do know--the Cross and Christ crucified and risen. Of course, they don't get there right away. Where would the story be?

If you're wondering how redemptive fiction should look, take a gander at your life and snoop on those around you. You'll be surprised by God's handiwork. It's beautiful.


To me, redemption is never about having all your problems resolved here and now. Not in real life; not in fiction. It's about a promise of better things to come. It's a hope to hold onto even when you don't get the boy, or the job, or the house, or the outcome you may be pursuing. We love instant gratification in our culture, but there's nothing instant about the process of redemption. Yes, the price for my sin and yours was paid for, by Jesus, in one excruciating experience, but I didn't "arrive" the moment I became a Christian.

I don't want to read or write fiction that leads someone to believe that God is our fairy godfather, that with one wave of his magic wand, poof, all is well. I emphasize often that, for me, the main purpose of fiction is to entertain, but not in a Pollyanna way. I don't want a saccharin experience. I want beauty in the writing -- and even the most stark writing can be beautiful. I want characters that stay with me long after I've finished their story -- like Turtle in the incredible Blue Hole Back Home (which I picked up at a bookstore because I loved the cover). I don't mind if their story leaves me in tears. As long as it touches me in the deep places, resonates with something inside me, that, to me, is redemptive fiction.


Redemptive fiction, for me, is a story that demonstrates or helps me see an untapped or overgrown personal resource that allows for personal growth. It points to the things that give meaning to life. A story that whispers in my ear, "Look at all the potential." Redemptive fiction talks to me more about the things God talks about, rather than talking to me about God. For example, it rolls the concepts of loving your neighbour around inside a story. Let the Great World Spin took me by the hand and showed me how it is that I am connected to everyone else. How it is that I am my brother's keeper by virtue of being alive. That the whore under the bridge is my sister. The part-time priest wearing himself doing good deeds is shouldering my burden. That the woman locked in her penthouse grieving her losses is my mother, or my aunt. And what happens to these people happens to me. This book trimmed the hedge of my overgrown knowledge and made love unavoidably real.

The Book Thief spoke to me that we are record keepers, charged with the responsibility of remembering the horror of human actions in order to help humanity reach it's potential to be peaceful, loving, tolerate. It told me that scars should never be hidden, but should be shown, shared, explained in such a way as to prevent another person from needing to bear them. This story helped me look at the ash heap of my past and sift for beauty. It demonstrated the patience I need when I sit down with someone who is in prolonged pain. It helped me remember that my self righteousness is filthy rags.

Both these books were, for me, deeply spiritual, redemptive works. Both spoke of God not with knowing, but fully acknowledged the mystery of a Creator, and One who Loves Us yet must continue to suffer with us.

Maybe it's because I've had a rotten week where I lost my temper with a loved one and was snappy with another, a week where I struggled with many sins. I can only think of the Biblical meaning of redemption --the purchase back of something that was irretrievably lost and could only be gotten back by an expensive ransom. Out of such a week I'm more intolerant than usual with fluffy books where things are made pretty by the resolution of a situation. Girl gets boy? School/work/relationship made better? Ack. That's not redemption. That's fixing things.

Hey, I am the one that needs to be redeemed! I'm the one lost. I need to be fixed. The messiest situations in my life exist inside my head!

And I don't deserve the price my Redemption-Maker paid. If somebody writes a book that deals with that and calls it redemption, I'm all on board.

I don't enjoy stories where everything is tied up predictably at the end, but I don't like unsatisfying endings, either. There has to be hope that even though things aren't resolved as we would like now, at least we're headed in the right direction. Redemption is even more profound when it is complicated by our striving to make it happen, as messy as that can be, and failing miserably at it. I have to see some glimpse of the possibilities. I'm okay with having one tiny, messily-tied bow at the end.

The Edgy God -- in Fiction

You readers may all grow weary of me speaking of the years I spent as a book reviewer for CBA books. But that experience marked me, as a reader and a writer.

With my own column (and freelancing for other publications), I had carte blanche to order any book that struck my fancy to read and review.

Publishers were anxious to get reviews and I often received boxes almost too heavy to lift because they included others along with the ones I’d requested. I read every book I reviewed, cover to cover. I was conscientious and thorough.

Sometimes I reviewed reference books (the only ones I didn’t read completely), but not often. Since I myself published non-fiction, I was always interested when provocative, thoughtful books appeared.

They ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. Whenever a Philip Yancey book was released, I could not wait to get my hands on it because I knew it would be honest and would tackle difficult issues like his Disappointment With God. (Which has been one of the most influential books of my life.)

But major publishing companies put out tripe, too. One book, which was advertised as a study of how to distinguish intuition from inspiration, I eagerly awaited. Imagine my disappointment in the fact that its hundreds of pages listed only two scriptures and those in the context of chanting them as a mantra. (Excuse me? Major Christian publisher? What were you thinking? I asked them. I’ll do you a favor and not write a review!)

Fiction was even more discouraging. I became paralyzed with the inability to monthly find/choose/order a novel or two that didn’t have a folksy feel to it, a fuzziness and warmth, all those emotions that were not helpful to me as a conflicted, art-craving person in need of mucking-around collegiality instead of melatonin.

And then my editor said, “Have you never read Frederick Buechner?”

And with those words, I saw light at the end of the Christian fiction tunnel. Buechner isn’t afraid to write edgy fiction about the God he called “the Fear” (a Biblical name for God, by the way.)

See what inspired me. Hear what I heard, in this passage from Son of Laughter:

“Arise, the Fear had told me. Did he know in his high heavens the weariness of rising? Lord as they say he is of all the living, can he guess the bitterness of death and dying? The flaming, footsore men? The camels’ burden? ‘Go,’ he told me. Can he without shame bid a man go and then cripple him for going? Can he show him the face of light and then leave him in darkness without even a silver hand to hold on to?”

And that was the light, the Buechner-focused light, that I’ve been stumbling toward with every written word since.

Share with us an example of a description of God from an author whose language stirred you to a greater understanding of God.

God is Edgy

As 2009 wound down, a friend raved about reading her new Bible from beginning to end. I thought I'd done that, but I hadn't. Who knew Job was written before Genesis, that Ezekiel and Jeremiah do-si-doed? (No, I didn't go to Bible school.) I was very intrigued. My husband saw my interest and ordered a chronological Bible for my birthday. Wow.

It's been a very interesting year. The story seems bigger, more personal.

In my reading, however, I've thought more than once: Uh, God, have you seen the writing guidelines for Christians?

In short, God isn't always nice, nor does he use polite language. We make a mistake if we try to fit him into our 1950s sensibilities, probably the last decade being His follower felt comfortable. In my Bible reading yesterday, God speaks to Israel through Ezekiel like harlots with lusts for very large Assyrian...um...well...genitalia (Ezekial 23), only He spoke in more earthy language. In the next chapter, Ezekiel's wife dies. God tells him not to mourn to demonstrate His lack of pity on His adulterous children. That's not nice, either.

God is so surprising.

He is not "nice" as defined in western culture. In fact, "He's not a tame lion," as C.S. Lewis proclaims in his Chronicles of Narnia. His jaws ensnare us; his teeth rip flesh; we are devoured by His greatness.

He's God.

His justice is harsh. His love is crushing, comforting, confounding. His truth immutable. When we expect Him to zig, He zags. He subdues His power and begs us to come closer. His will comes to us as a finger writing in stone and by a child's breathy whisper. He is a passionate lover. His desire is for us, and His love outpaced His judgment when He took the nails on Calvary.

Who can figure Him out?

And yet, books are written--fiction and nonfiction--pretending to knowing the secret formula for taming Him, like if we do x, he will y. Riiight.

All of this is to say (thanks for being patient) True edgy fiction isn't pushing the envelope on topics of sex and language, although I agree with Sharon's conclusions yesterday.

Edgy fiction lets God be God.

We need some good examples, don't we? What have you read lately that portrays God as God? Lisa Samson's The Passion of Mary-Margaret and Embrace Me come to mind. And you?

Much Ado About Fiction

We've had some interesting posts the past few days, that have generated more comments than usual, beginning with Eric Wilson's post on Monday, August 2: "Is it Time for Christian Fiction to Die?" I understand there were heated discussions on other blogs that posted his article. We here at Novel Matters are pleased that the comments left here were varied and thoughtful, but respectful and kind. Thank you all for your great participation.

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In reading the comments generated by Eric's post, and by the posts which followed, there were some statements that caught my attention and caused me to think a bit on what was said. In response to Latayne's post on Wednesday, following Eric's, Megan Sayer said: "We as a church tend to gravitate towards the middle ground, non-offensive content. Even when so many of us will watch movies and read books that present new and beautiful stylistic and artistic forms we don't talk about them except in the secret, safe places, because we may offend people. And yes, there's wisdom in that -- looking after those whose faith is weak ..."

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While I agree with Megan's observation, I drew a different conclusion: not that those who might be troubled by certain content in movies and books would be offended because their faith is weak, but because their relationship with Christ is such that they don't want to offend Him. I wrestle with this in my own life. There are authors I enjoy whose work is exceptional but who use profanity and are more sexually explicit than I personally prefer. In light of Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things," I wonder if I disappoint the Lord with some of the books I read. I'm just being honest here, sharing what came to mind from the discussion.

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Does that mean I only want to read -- and write -- what's been described as "safe" fiction? Absolutely not. I'm not at all satisfied with fiction that ignores the realities of life, that makes trite the struggles each of us face, that offers unrealistic solutions with happy-ever-after endings that tie every loose end into a nice little bow; fiction, in short, that turns off the mainstream. I want to read -- and write -- fiction that addresses the hard issues of life, in a redemptive way. As Eric said, "If our own writings fail to wrestle honestly with life's difficulties, it seems to me that we gloss over the bloody, earth-shaking war that Jesus fought on the cross -- and we undermine the triumph of His resurrection." I couldn't agree more. No subject is taboo, but any subject can be handled with grace, as evidenced by MaryDeMuth, Lisa Samson, Jamie Langston Turner, and so many other outstanding CBA authors. And, in my opinion, they can be handled in a manner appealing to a larger audience than Christian fiction tends to draw at present.

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It seems we're making much ado about fiction on this blog, the make-believe stories that spring from a writer's imagination. But there's little doubt that the creative arts are enormously important to the human race. Karen Shravemade said it well in a comment to Bonnie's post on Friday: "God created art and gave us the ability to create art." He so absolutely did, and I'm so thrilled that he allows us to be part of His creative nature. She went on to say, "...so it angers me when we use art to belittle him and make much of ourselves, or worse, to make nothing of anything." I wholeheartedly agree.

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So this is where I find myself in the evocative discussion we've had here the past few days: As a reader and writer I want fiction that stimulates my imagination, that draws me into the story world because it's relatable -- even if it's fantasy -- that is not base or profane in its presentation, but is still edgy and provocative. I want it to be redemptive but not preachy, and above all, it must entertain. That should be its primary function. Am I asking for too much? I don't think so. Not for one minute.

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What about you? What do you expect of fiction, and what role does it play in your life?