Once upon a time, Christian Fiction had a bad reputation for being overly preachy and browbeating towards those who do not place their hope in Jesus. While, yes, we are supposed to call out sin for what it is, we are to do so like Jesus does and not take our methods from the Pharisees.
In recent years, I’ve noticed that some Christian Fiction books have taken a turn for the better. Instead of hitting readers over the head with the Bible through their narratives, Christian characters are showing more, or learning how to express, compassion for non-believers. When I say “compassion” I don’t mean that these books aren’t calling out sin; rather, they’re doing it in a loving way, showing readers how sin is harmful and that God instructs us to not partake in it out of His love for us.
As an Indie Christian author, I’m excited about this for the Christian Fiction world, and hope more authors join in on writing compassionate Christianity into their books.
If you’re a Christian author or aspiring writer and may not understand what I mean, let me explain why making sure Christian Fiction contains compassion is such a vital part of our books being lights for Christ.
Look out, Arrowheads. It’s looking like a new novel from yours truly will be hitting shelves later this year (Lord willing!) and I’m so excited to share it with you!
But, until then, a couple more Editing Diaries featuring On the Flip Side should be heading your way. For now, let me share with you how the roughest part of editing, the infamous Word Search Edit, has gone over the last few months.
Once upon a time and many moons ago (half my life ago, to be exact!), I was a teenage writer drafting my first novel. Now that I’m in my early 30s and have more writing experience and published novels under my belt, I would like to share some advice for teen writers, advice I wish someone had told me when I was sixteen years old writing Can’t Beat the Heart of a Carolina Girl.
Whether it’s an apparent lack of editing, issues with the book’s pacing, or inaccuracies concerning content, I’ve come across works that, if more time had been spent polishing these areas, they would have been much better stories.
With that being said, how can we as authors aim to not make these mistakes? Join me for the next few minutes, my friend, as we explore the top crucial editing mistakes that writers often make.
Though I made some great progress towards finishing the book in November and thought I had a good chance of having a completed 9th novel by December 31st, I prioritized spending time with my family during the Christmas season and I have zero regrets.
So, where am I at with Follow the Arrows now? It’s not quite at The End, but it’s pretty close.
Since I published the final book in The Ballad of Emery Brooks trilogy back in December, you may be wondering if I’ll ever write another series. I’ve thought about this a lot, and this week, I’m letting you in on possible plans for the future!
Ever since I fell in love with storytelling when I was seven years old, I’ve been writing my own stories. In the almost 25 years since then, I’ve tried a few different writing hacks to help me write more often and improve the quality of my writing. However, one practice I’ve implemented has had a significant impact, surpassing all the others, and it’s not one you’ll often see writing gurus recommend.
Christian authors, whether we’re writing for a Christian or secular audience, we should never compromise our faith in favor of writing content into our books that seems popular but goes against the Word of God. Here’s why.
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