The Story Within Your Story

When I was in college, I was taught that stories structured according to a plan and moral were formulaic and lacked the organic honesty necessary to a great work of art. What I learned how to do was write beautifully symbolic imagery, fragmented from any sort of larger purpose (and we could launch into a whole discussion of academia and postmodernism with that, but let's be honest, I would be the only one interested in it. :) ).

Then, I went the other direction. When I fell in love with writing romance for CBA, I was finally free to write those moral-of-the-story scenes my heart had longed to put on the page. What I ended up writing then were overly-formulaic sequences wherein the characters came across flat and predictable.

Now, I realize-- all great stories need both honesty and morality.

If you try to hard to actively push a moral or agenda, you do not have a story. You have instruction, preaching, and perhaps, some metaphor. But you don't have an honest and gripping story.

But if, on the other hand, you follow where your whims take you and write compelling scenes with absolutely beautiful imagery that do not advance any kind of larger plot and structure, you do not have a premise. And therein again, your story probably stinks.

Ever wonder why no one really enjoys reading literary fiction? Even us book nerds who "get it"?

BECAUSE THERE IS NO STORY! You guys, it seems to painfully obvious to me now. I don't know why I didn't figure this out ten years ago, when I thought I might want to write "literary fiction."

If you haven't read Stanley Williams' book The Moral Premise, you absolutely need to buy and read it ASAP... it's probably the most helpful text I've ever read for writers. And in it, Williams essentially says that every strong story--every story that resonates with readers or viewers-- upholds some sort of moral premise. Even a tragedy. Think about Finding Nemo and the questions it presents to us of identity and home. Or It's A Wonderful Life, and its themes of contentment and community. Or Jane Austen's preoccupation with class structure and gender power relations.

If you want your story to be successful, it needs to present a consistent moral. But how does that happen? Do you go out and say, "I want this story to be about faithfulness... or love... or grace... or forgiveness... or fear"? Well, maybe. Some people do. But usually, that gets you into dangerous territory because you start to force your characters.

There's another way I want to suggest.

Know yourself.

Pray.

And then recognize within yourself the themes that are important to you.

Allen Arnold often says in his workshops that the enemy preemptively attacks areas of God's greatest glory in our lives.

Are you afraid of failure? Then why? What do you have to lose? Could it be that your fear actually stems from a great passion and purpose that you need boldness to step into?

Are you angry? Bitter? Then why? Do you need to forgive someone--even yourself-- to find the healing God has extended to you?

 Struggling with insecurity? Why? Do you feel the dream God's given you is just too big to actually come true?

Dig deep. I know it's not always easy. Be honest. And I'll bet you'll find something amazing-- that the moral of your manuscript is already within you.

See, your characters don't have to preach to one another in order to speak God's truth.

I dare you to do something braver.

I dare you to tell your story through the themes of your manuscript. To not hide behind forced dialogue attempting to prove your point. But instead, to write the struggles that you have faced--that others face-- in all their complexity.

Then you will discover the story within your story.

So, be brave, friends. Dig deep. Because the world needs to hear that story!

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Ashley Clark writes romance with southern grace. She's dreamed of being a writer ever since the thumbprint-cookie-days of library story hour. Ashley has an M.A. in English and enjoys teaching literature courses at her local university. She's an active member of ACFW and runs their newcomer's loop. When she's not writing, Ashley's usually busy rescuing stray animals and finding charming new towns. You can find Ashley on her personal blog, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. She is represented by Karen Solem.

When Christian Fiction Becomes Preachy

We have all read them. Fiction that preaches a message that just makes us want to toss it into the nearest recycling bin.

Otherwise known as Agenda Fiction.

And AF should be avoided like the plague.

What is the purpose of good fiction? To entertain and to so thoroughly draw a reader into the center of the story they never want to leave. To provide an escape, a chance for release for the reader. When we read a book, none of us want to be bashed over the side of the head with a message that is well... obvious.

"Preachy" comes in many different forms and all of them can be fatal to our fiction's shelf life.

Ways of being preachy:
~ A gospel/ salvation message that is tacked on, that has not grown organically from the story.
~The author has an agenda that they must get across, and thus come across as a pushy argument instead of entertaining fiction.
~Everything always comes out the way the author wants. They have set up an agenda and then to make sure it always comes out their correct way, do everything within their power to make it happen, even if it doesn't make sense for that character to do that.

In short, like I said above, all preachy fiction is agenda fiction.

It is true that when we start a story we have an idea of the message we want to get across to our readers. And that is the joy of writing in the CBA market. We can talk about our faith and show the love we have for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but the truth of the matter is, it has to make sense. I have read book after book that is agenda driven fiction for the word of God. A salvation message after salvation message meant to draw the reader to Christ, when all it does is push them away, because it isn't real.

Fiction has to have believability to it. It has to make sense and before you can have a conversion scene, you must build that character up. Make him or her aware of their spiritual depravity. Then give them the full benefit of a good sermon. But even in that moment, you must be careful to not preach. There doesn't need to be play by play scripture of the full conversion experience, in fact you are going to get across to the non- Christian reading this a lot better if you show the character after his transformation and his obvious change of attitude.

Think of it this way: who do you know has walked into a church for the first time in their life, with no spiritual training and bent their knee in the first service? Not. Many. And your readers know it.

I heard this story once: an Christian author was trolling the web, visiting chat rooms and came across a non-Christian chat room about a recent best selling book. And one of the visitors was talking about a preachy section in the novel that thoroughly disgusted them with the author's hidden agenda, that wasn't so hidden. The readers thoughts: "Gag me with a spoon!" (this was a secular book).

The reader always gets it. Every. Time. They cannot be fooled. Don't think they can.

So how do you fix those trouble areas, those areas where you really want to teach something to your reader about the value of life or the importance of salvation?

You give them an opposing character. If your character is against abortion, give them a counter character that is pro-choice.  Show both sides of the issue, but in the end make it clear that pro-life is the only answer.  Don't debate the character, let the reader do that within their imagination. They will get the point and understand the message you are trying to get across.

But you still might be thinking, "But this is what my story is about, I have to tell my reader this!"

Then write non-fiction.

Seriously.

Agenda writing should only be for non-fiction. If you are set on getting a message across to your reader that you have to tell them what you are trying to get across, then you shouldn't be writing it. A reader needs to walk away from the read, good about the time they have spent, but if you have spent that entire reading time trying to argue with them over an issue, you are just going to push them away.

One of my favorite historical authors is Siri Mitchell. Every time I read something written by Siri, I learn something new. In She Walks in Beauty, Siri made it very clear that the custom of corset wearing was killing the women who wore them. But she didn't preach at me. It mattered to the story, it played a vital role in the heroine's health and the course of the story. I understood and loved it. She didn't preach at me, she let me see what was happening to the character and in that, I willingly let her take my hand and lead me on that journey.

So often in agenda fiction we tack the message on and hope it sticks. And in the CBA market we do have the freedom to show the Christian viewpoint, but we also have a greater responsibility to make sure we don't push readers away. This plays into showing not telling. Tell your reader your argument and you won't get very far. Show the reader the message behind your fiction and you will grab them every time and here is the greatest part of all: they won't even realize they are being taught something new until they close the book and think back on the story. The shocking realization that in their entertainment they actually learned something will take them completely by surprise. And you will have succeeded.

So, I had preachy fiction in my first novel, (thank goodness it is now warming my mattress), but what about you? Or have you read preachy fiction (no titles please), what did you find distasteful about it?