I’ve been considering the direction of fiction in general and my writing in particular over the last few months. Is there a segment of readers (not just Christian fiction fans) that is hungry for “good clean fun”? And if I decided to write with those readers in mind will Christian fiction fans also enjoy those novels even if they don’t have a specific Christian message?
Rather than attempt to answer these questions for myself I decided the best idea was to ask you. So I ran a survey on my Facebook page and emailed a few friends. In three days, over 250 answered the two questions I posed. More than 160 also left comments. Today, I am sharing some responses to the first question and on Saturday, those to the second question.
I asked:
Do you think readers in general (not just Christian fiction fans) are hungry for novels that are “good clean fun”?
Yes = 88% No = 12%
You answered:
Absolutely without Qualification: These respondents believe there is a true hunger for clean fiction and want it wherever they can find it.
Absolutely – there is so much in our world that is corrupt – cleanliness would be a welcome relief.
I think people get tired of so much trash; they are looking for something that will not wear them out or twist their brains trying to work through garbage.
This would be the majority of readers, I think.
The popularity of the Pixar movies, for one example, seem to show how much the public likes good, clean entertainment.
Given that I’ve heard many complain about the difficulty of finding clean novels in the huge general market, I think there is a shortage of easy to find clean novels.
Not So Sure About That: Others don’t feel there is much demand for this kind of fiction today.
I’m in a book club with religious and secular women and they don’t seem to have a problem with profanity, sex and violence in their readings. Very sad to me, I can’t stand it.
I think most readers (mostly non-Christian) want their senses shocked. The younger generation doesn’t necessarily hold to old standards, such as premarital relations, even if they are Christian. SAD!
“Clean” with Qualifiers: The greatest majority answered with a qualified yes. For them, the quality of writing trumps being clean for clean’s sake.
However, if it is so clean that it becomes some idealistic, unreal world, then that would be a no from me. I like some grit and struggle because I think people relate most to that. Good clean fun is sometimes a nice escape, but not as compelling as realistic fun.
I think this question is too simplistic: readers are looking for novels that are thought-provoking. I would happily have less “clean” if it meant more meaningful.
I’m not sure that we want only good clean fun. I think stuff that makes us think is better than good clean fun, even if what makes us think is not clean. But I think general fiction readers might be looking for books that aren’t so trashy. I don’t think they like the trash as much as publishers think they like it.
Good clean fun sounds like so much frippery to me. If you take each word individually, then I think you’ve got something: ‘Good. Clean. Fun’.
John Grisham appeals to both for this reason, as do many other authors. But if the story isn’t honest, then I’m almost as offended as I am by content that isn’t all glossy and rosy”.
Conclusions
My first conclusion from these comments is something I already knew: readers generally know what they want to read. “Good clean fun” may indeed have been a bit generic but it made a good starting point for this discussion. The best way to sum up this first set of responses is to simply let one of you speak:
“Not crazy about the term “good clean fun,” but if you mean well-written, thought-provoking novels that aren’t full of graphic sex, then yes”.
So what do you think? In case you didn’t missed the survey you can still contribute by visiting this link.
I remember when I discovered that I could no longer pick a book off the shelf that looked interesting and simply read it and enjoy it. So many times I have closed a book with regret because I was engaged with the story but had just read something so offensive that I could not with good conscience continue reading. I remember feeling betrayed that authors had followed movie and TV writers into tawdriness. I don’t have to have an explicit Christian message in a book to enjoy it, or consider it “good, clean fun.” As the person you quoted above said, I would love to read books that are well-written and thought-provoking, and that don’t appeal to our lower natures with graphic sex, violence, and foul language.
To the qualifier in your conclusion, I give my thumbs up. “Good clean fun” made me think “boring frivolous time-filler” .
Interesting survey, Athol, and eye-opening results to say the least. It would be interesting to see what percentage of the respondents regularly read Christian fiction as opposed to regularly read secular fiction.
And then there’s the dichotomy of those Christians who read the foul stuff in the general market and complain when the word “crap” is used in Christian fiction. You’d probably get the multiple definitions of “good, clean fun” as diverse as some of these responses, Athol.
@NicolePetrinoSalter I think Christian fiction writers should hold to a higher standard. I was part of an online discussion a few weeks ago where the general consensus was that using foul language is telling rather than showing. One can vividly and accurately describe a heinous character without ever employing foul language in dialogue.
@MBombardier
“One can vividly and accurately describe a heinous character without ever employing foul language in dialogue.”
I agree with this for the most part, but I don’t adhere to the “telling rather showing” principle here. And I’m no advocate of graphic sexual depictions or profanity, but I do think the outcry over some words used sparingly in Christian fiction is sometimes hypocritical. I agree the standard should be higher, but I don’t think the “clean and chaste” mantra always produces good stories and well-written literature or typifies reality.
@Catrina Bradley Mike Dellosso Nicole Petrino-Salter In light of your thoughts on the matter of “good clean fun” in fiction, I’m wondering if you would be interested in receiving a report with the nearly 200 comments that were left on the survey? Watch the newsletter for details on how to get it.
@AtholDickson @Catrina Bradley Mike Dellosso Nicole Petrino-Salter
I certainly would. (Although nothing surprises me anymore.)
@AtholDickson @Catrina Bradley @Mike Dellosso @Nicole Petrino-Salter I’d love to receive the report. Could be very enlightening . . .