Christian Themes in Contemporary with Hope Ann
Contemporary is the genre closest to reality - and since God is such a huge reality, it's something we shouldn't avoid. But how do you handle those Christian themes?
I have Hope Ann here with us to discuss this very topic. Let's plunge in and hear what she has to say.
I have Hope Ann here with us to discuss this very topic. Let's plunge in and hear what she has to say.
Hope Ann
Christian/Fantasy/Retellings
Author of Burning Rose
Buildings explode. Bullets fly from all directions. Two characters hunker down for a final stand. One of them hesitates, lays his rifle across his knees, and glances at the other. Quickly he pulls a leaflet from his pocket. “So, if you die in this fight will you go to heaven?”
The reader’s excitement fizzles out, and before the Gospel message is over they’ve abandoned the story.
But there’s an easy fix. Ditch the whole scene. A story plays a supporting role when it comes to evangelism. This isn’t to say God can’t use a book to help draw someone to Himself. But a book’s role is not to preach to the reader or lay out the Gospel.
A book shows a truth or theme. It doesn’t tell it.
What is theme?
The theme of your story is your overall topic. Love, perhaps, or courage, or fear. It is what your story will study. Your message, on the other hand, is your thesis statement. It is what you want your readers to learn, even if only in a subconscious manner—the idea that love conquerers fear, for example.
Once you know your basic theme, you can discover your message by figuring out the question your novel asks. If your theme is courage, your question might be ‘where does one find courage?’ You can then answer this in a number of wrong ways, as well as one right way. As your readers follow the characters who flee from danger, who abandon friends, who rest on their own strength, and who rely on God, they will not only see, but also feel the truth you present.
Another aspect of Christian themes in writing is to decide if your book is explicitly Christian or implicitly Christan.
An explicitly Christian book will assume your readers are Christians and focus on building them up in their Christian life—how to trust in God better or what relying on Him means.
An implicit Christian book will have Christian messages, such as one’s willingness to sacrifice themselves for another but they focus on a broader moral plane than a specific religious one.
How to weave theme into your story
A story shows a truth instead of telling it. There are numerous ways you can unfold your message so the reader is left with the right conclusion by the end, and it goes far beyond a conversation between a young man and his mentor.
Worldbuilding is a powerful tool many authors overlook. It’s the setting your story takes place in and should be the ideal location for your theme to unfold. Is your story about the worth of a man? Build a culture based on names and identification and a twisted version of what makes a man worthy. Are you writing about courage? Create a nation based on war with a strong emphasis on glory or survival.
While your theme is portrayed in your world, it is your characters who will show your truths and lies through their lives. Some characters follow a right path and are rewarded. Others follow a lie and are punished. There are positive arcs and negative arcs. As each character lives and acts out a slightly different facet of your theme, they show the message to your readers without a mentor having to breathe a word about it.
Finally, there is plot. Your characters embody various facets of your theme in a world that also builds into the theme. But the plot pulls it all together into one message. As your story unfolds, your readers can see the results of both the truth and the lie. They can watch how one wrong choice leads to another and the final extremes and results of both good and bad intentions and actions.
How to mention God without being preachy?
How often and in what manner you reference God depends on if you are writing explicit or implicit fiction. Either way, there are ways to weave God into your story without it becoming preachy.
One way is to mention Him through doubt. A character praying and thanking God even though something bad has happened is taking the correct action, but if everyone is doing this, it will feel silted. Instead, have a character who doubts God, is bitter, and takes bad circumstances as a sign that He doesn’t care. Of course, this doubt will likely be dealt with through the character’s arc, but by showing realistic doubt alongside faith, you can make your story much stronger.
Also, weave God in as part of your character’s life. Don’t force it. But consider, if you had a Muslim or Hindu or Druid character, how would you show their faith through the little things they say, don’t say, mannerisms, etc.? Keep all actions true to your character and their level of faith, then weave God, or the lack of God, into their life, emotions, and actions
Any story, contemporary or otherwise, starts with a theme. Decide on your topic, form your message, then weave both into your story to show and emotionally involve your characters with a particular truth.
Great advice! I like your point about worldbuilding as a way to show theme. That's something I don't think about often.
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