Christian Themes in Historical Fiction with Jesseca Wheaton

Most of us, including myself, are Christian authors, and we try to shine our faith through our writing. Today, I have Jesseca Wheaton here with us to talk about how to handle Christian themes in Historical Fiction.

Jesseca is the author of multiple novels, largely set in the second world war. I've heard nothing but good about her Questions of War series, and her Beyond the Horizon's Edge is a sweet and unexpected retelling of Cinderella.

Jesseca Wheaton

Christain/Historical Fiction/Romance/Retellings

Author of A Question of Honor

Website~Blog~Amazon~Goodreads~Pinterest

Christian themes in historical fiction. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a blog post on this subject, so we’ll see how this goes. Hopefully it’s helpful, and can give you a tip or two about how to write Christian historical fiction authentically.

1. Make sure the theme fits with the time period. No, I don’t really wanna hear about women who used scripture to fight for equal rights with men in the 15th century. And trying to convince me that Robin Hood is the medieval equivalent of a New testament saint isn’t going to make me wanna read very far into the book. Keep the themes within the time period. If you’re a christian and you want to write about feminism, don’t try and translate it across a historical canvas it was never painted on.
   
2. Don’t force your characters to have all the answers. This is something that personally bugs me in so many of the books I read. No matter what they encounter, our characters seem to have it all figured out. History was every bit as messy as the world we live in today.
   
3. Write what you’ve experienced. I’m not going to get into the whole write/don’t write what you don’t know debate. I’ve seen exceptions to both. But I do know that so often when you write about what you've experienced in your walk with Christ, there is an element of realness to the subject that isn’t normally there when you write about something you’ve never gone through. You can describe and translate the feeling to the page so much better when you know what it’s like to be in such a situation.
   
4. Subtle but yet somehow obvious is always best. We all know those books are seem to have characters talking for pages about Christianity as if that’s the only way the author could think to get it in the book. Actions speak so much louder than words. Yes, I love dialogue about spiritual things. But unless you’re writing a work of fiction about Martin Luther and the reformation, your readers aren’t looking for pages of Biblical facts. Yes, make sure the message is there and obvious. But don’t do it in such a way that makes people cringe reading it.
   
5. Be real. Be honest. Be vulnerable. Speak the truth in love.