I’ve got to admit something, my friends… I’ve been putting this post off for a while.

I originally got the idea to write this post a couple years ago, but it seemed too daunting to tackle. Now, I feel that the Lord is leading me to write it at last. I pray that it will benefit Christian fiction writers like myself who strive to write realistic, thought-provoking Christian fiction that doesn’t sugarcoat the realities of the world.

What is Your Purpose in Writing Christian Fiction?

Before we jump in, let me ask you this question: What is your purpose for writing Christian fiction?

My purpose for writing Christian fiction is to provide clean, yet realistic stories for young adults (regardless if they are currently saved or not) that demonstrate God’s love and show that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Based on this, I feel called to write stories with grit for teens that still exude Christian values and beliefs, because if an unsaved teen comes across one of my books, I want to provide them with the antithesis of what secular YA books often preach. Instead of painting a hopeless picture for them or encouraging them that sin is okay, I want readers to close my books knowing that Jesus loves them, gave His life on the cross for their sins, and that they can find true peace and salvation through Him.

On the flip side, you may feel called to write solely for Christian readers who have already accepted Christ as their Savior. That’s honorable too. We’re to write what we feel God is calling us to write. As long as we’re doing that, we’re on the right track.

Now, How Do We Write Realistic Christian Fiction?

My number one tip for this is to not write perfect characters.

The biggest mistake I see in Christian fiction is that many of the characters are portrayed as perfect. They’re always cheerful. They never sin. They never question God. This sounds all fine and dandy, but it’s far from realistic! Jesus is perfect, but even He showed emotion and wept. Jesus never sinned, but even He questioned God (Matthew 27:46, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”, which is thought to be Jesus expressing His feelings of abandonment as He hung on the cross).

If Jesus showed more emotions than pure happiness and even felt abandoned by His Father at one point in His life, then there is absolutely no need for fictional characters in Christian fiction to be written as people who never do those things. As writers of Christian fiction, we need to allow our characters to demonstrate what being a real Christian is like.

Contrary to popular belief, life as a Christian is far from endless sunshine and rainbows. We need to show the pain in our characters’ lives. Show the grief. Show the consequences of sin. Show the church hurt. Show our characters’ struggle to forgive others or themselves. Only then will the world be able to look on and see that “hey, maybe Christians aren’t hypocrites who try to act like their lives are perfect. Maybe they’re human just like us but have found hope to get by through Jesus.”

But, How Do We Write Realistic Circumstances in Christian Fiction?

For me, when it comes to writing realistic Christian fiction, I’ve found that one has to write a story that is edgy but still edifying.

When I say “edgy”, I mean basically what I just said in the last paragraph of the previous section. Writing an “edgy” story means that we’re not shying away from the realities of the world. We’re not sugarcoating the harsh realities of life as a Christian to readers so they’ll think that being a Christian is all sunshine and rainbows. Writing “edgy” Christian fiction means that we’re not afraid to dig into tough topics, such as death, grief, mental health, abusive relationships, etc.

The Line Between Edgy and Edifying

So, to write realistic Christian fiction, our characters have to be ex-cons who cuss, fight, rip and rare and then have a come to Jesus meeting? Not exactly.

Though it may not be obvious at first glance, there is a happy medium of writing edgy Christian fiction without showboating the inclusion of sin in a redemptive character arc.

So, how do we write realistic Christian fiction that’s both edgy and edifying? We write about tough topics with grace.

The Bible itself does an excellent job of this. Throughout The Bible, sin is mentioned (sometimes, in detail), but sin is never showboated or glorified. By showboated, I mean that sin is never talked about with too much detail as to make it the focal point of the text rather than God’s purpose through the situation. Take the story of David and Bathsheba for example:

And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

2 Samuel 11:2-5, KJV

Here, the author of 2 Samuel shows us that David’s decision to go after Bathsheba had sinful consequences: 1) The couple had an extramarital affair, 2) As a result of the extramarital affair, Bathsheba cheated on her husband, Uriah, and 3) As a result of the affair, Bathsheba became pregnant out of wedlock.

What can we learn from this demonstration of sin in The Bible? In just a few short verses, the author of 2 Samuel (who was inspired by God to write it) did a perfect job of writing about sin without making it the focal point. He wrote the events as they happened, but did not delve into the gory details that we did not need (such as describing David and Bathsheba’s affair in intricate details… which many readers today refer to as “steam” or “spice”.) Instead, he showed us that they sinned and went on to show us that their sin had consequences.

Christian fiction can be written in the exact same way. If one of your characters uses foul language, you don’t have to write out a slew of cuss words in your manuscript to prove that point. Instead, you can hint that the character cursed simply by using “he cursed” as a dialog tag. If another character is a victim of abuse, you don’t have to illustrate on page all the vile acts they are subjected to. Instead, you could write the scene with grace, showing enough to allow the reader to know what you’re trying to convey without painting too vivid of a picture.

Why should we be wary about “painting too vivid of a picture”? Because it could very well put sinful images in the heads of readers that don’t need to be there. If we as writers are putting so much spotlight on the minute details of the sin, the reader may too.

Sometimes, I feel like some writers of strictly “edgy” Christian fiction go too far with details readers don’t actually need. They’ll include cuss words. They’ll allow steamy make-out or bedroom scenes to be shown on page, all for the sake of making the story “edgy” in the sense of pushing the boundaries of what Christian fiction normally is.

Rather than leaning too conservative or too liberal with the portrayal of sin in Christian fiction, why don’t we just follow The Bible’s example instead of trying to reinvent the wheel? Why don’t we focus more on writing redemptive arcs for our characters rather than how little or how much detail we provide when mentioning sin? Sin isn’t something we can hide, nor is it something we should glorify. Rather, it’s just a part of life in a fallen world, and that’s how we should treat it in our writing. Our main focus should be on Who died to save us from our sin.

The line between writing Christian fiction that is both edgy and edifying is simply this: portray sin for what it is: sin. And then always portray God’s love and salvation through Jesus as it is: able to redeem anyone who has sinned. Most importantly, always pray before you write portions like this, so your pen will be guided by the best Author, who wrote the perfect Book.

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

What are your thoughts on writing Christian fiction that is both edgy and edifying? Let me know in the comments!

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀