Do you think Christian fiction fans would support novels that are “good clean fun” even though they don’t have a clear Christian message?

 

 

As most of your know by now, I have been considering the direction of fiction in general and my writing in particular over the last few months. Your responses to the recent survey questions I posed a few days ago have been invaluable in this process. To date, almost 300 of you took the time to answer two important questions with approaching 200 also leaving comments.

Last week I shared some of the comments that accompanied the first question: Do you think readers in general (not just Christian fiction fans) are hungry for novels that are “good clean fun”? ­You can read those here. 

Now here are your comments to second question: Do you think Christian fiction fans would support novels that are “good clean fun” even though they don’t have a clear Christian message?

Absolutely Yes

I do read novels that are just clean fun and excitement but don’t have more than, say, casual references to church and/or prayer.

I’d love to read books like that. Ones that are funny, also!

Yes. _Cold Sassy Tree_ and _Fried Green Tomatoes_ come to mind.

I know I do and a lot of my friends do. I often don’t look for Christian reads. I look for well-written clean reads.

Absolutely! We need to bring biblical morals and truths back into “mainstream” fiction – into all areas in life. This is extremely biblical!!!

Though the clear Christian message isn’t there, I usually find it in the background. Even if not, it great entertainment without getting burnt ears!

Those of us who are Christians like a good “beach/rainy day/fireside” read sometimes. We can Jesus anywhere!

It Depends on the Reader

Some Christian fiction fans need an overt Christian message (I recall a review of a Tim Downs novel that had a great message, but the reviewer trashed it for having no conversion experiences).

I have many, many, many friends who are NOT Christian and are “turned off” by that sort of reading, but if I could hand them a book from you knowing it “about” God just not overly stuffed with that message… they would read it! And I am one step closer to getting them to listen about God.

I actually think some will and some won’t, but that wasn’t a choice.

Yes, but it has to Be Well Written

I certainly hope so. Excellent prose from a Christian worldview is what I prefer to read, but I’ll read excellent writing without the worldview if that’s all I can find.

People like to draw their own conclusion. A perfect example is a recent retreat my wife and I attended where we were presented with great biblical teaching with great object lessons and testimonies. As we wrapped up the week and feedback was given on what we learned one of the respondents stated, well it was the day we had off for Sabbath and my husband and I were watching Dark Night Rises, that one scene in the movie brought all of the teaching we received this week full circle.”

Some Only want a Clear Christian Message

I think some will — but a large part of the Christian audience expects an overt Christian message, especially of salvation.

I prefer entertainment which doesn’t taint or pollute me, and it’s not easy to find. If the gospel fits into the story, great, but if it’s cloyingly inserted, I’d rather read the Real Thing.

My thanks to all of you for taking the time to consider this matter and share your thoughts. One thing is certain, Christian readers are not one homogenous group all wanting the same thing. I guess that fits right in with there being one Head (Christ), and one Body with many parts. If you belong to my newsletter list, the complete report from the survey will be available soon. If you don’t belong to my newsletter list, you can join here.

WHEN I BEGAN writing my first novel in 1993, I made a decision that still guides my work today. I would not try to write “great literature.” I would instead content myself with a simple little story, but I would write it to the best of my ability, and work hard to improve my skills to assure that what I wrote, while no masterpiece, would at least reflect well upon my Maker. I believe the most important words a Christian can apply to any kind of work are these, which were written to slaves by a man in chains:

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24) NIV

So I wrote slowly and painstakingly, carefully considering every word from many different standpoints. I sought out the opinions of intelligent acquaintances, and was never too proud to make constructive changes when suggested. Then, through a series of remarkable events (which I hope to write about one day in this column) to my very great surprise that first novel was published. But what surprised me even more was a comment made about that novel by an editor at a major newspaper. He said it “verged on committing literature.”

How strange it was to hear that word, when “literature” was the very thing I told myself I would not do.

Since those days Providence has seen fit to let me finish eight more novels, with six of those in print so far, and one memoir which may outlast them all. At the risk of seeming immodest, there have been several literary awards and many not uncomplimentary reviews, all of which when taken together have tended to imply that others see in me a puzzling habit of producing “literature.” This has caused me some confusion, for not once in all the years of writing—a million words or more—have I gone back on my original decision. Never have I consciously attempted literature.

Literature was for the academy. It was dense, impenetrable, lofty and apart. I simply wanted to tell unusual stories that might entertain readers, might enchant them through the characters and images brought to mind, and might perhaps leave them with a useful thought or two. How did that amount to literature?

For help in thinking through this question I looked to that ever-faithful writer’s servant, Webster’s. It turns out “literature” might not be the stuffy snob I once suspected. It is only “writings in prose or verse; especially: writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest.”

Well. That didn’t sound so bad. In fact, this was a fair description of what I expected to read in every novel worth my time. It’s what one should expect from any gifted novelist who does his best to write “with all his heart, as if working for the Lord.” Indeed, now that I think about it, this is what every novel in the Christian Fiction genre ought to be: “excellence of form or expression, and ideas of permanent or universal interest.” For what is the alternative? Mediocrity of form and expression? Unimportant and uninteresting ideas? As an inheritor of the greatest story ever told, what kind of Christian storyteller would I be if I was satisfied with that?

Since I am indeed a Christian truly serious about the faith, I have finally decided to accept this fact: whether I try to write a Transcendent Masterpiece or simply keep on trying to amuse, my underlying goal must be to “commit literature” as it is defined above. If that is not my goal, if I am satisfied with less, then I am not writing for the Lord with all my heart, and in that case I would do best to stop writing altogether and seek some other kind of work.

In exactly the same way, whether you are a home schooling mother, a scientist, an assembly line worker or a lawyer, if you are a Christian you are called to work with all your heart as if working for the Lord. No job is too mundane for that calling; no task is too trivial. Those words were first meant for slaves, remember, written to them by a man in prison. I cannot help being a writer; this gift was given without asking if I might prefer another. Similarly, a slave by definition cannot choose his work, but in following St. Paul’s admonition he can most certainly redeem it. Perhaps life has assigned you only ditches to be dug, but in the way you dig them you decide if you are making literature or pulp. Every task, from the most denigrated to the most celebrated, becomes a form of praise and worship if it’s done with all your heart as if for the Lord. That choice is always yours.

Praise the Lord with excellence in whatever work you do, and prepare to be surprised when others call it something more than you dreamed possible.

The original version of this post was was first published on July 15, 2010 at Novel Journey.

 

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.

 

Interesting stats from Booklr.com. The 35% below $2.00 at Amazon is all those free and $0.99 self published titles, of course. There’s been some discussion in the blogosphere about how we’re going to replace publishing houses as the gatekeepers of good content. Could this be a sign that the booksellers themselves are taking on that role? (I.e. one goes to Amazon when willing to take a risk for a cheap read, but for well vetted content one goes to Barnes & Noble.)