The Conversation

Last week, Ami McConnell shared such a beautiful story on the ACFW blog. If you missed it, you'll definitely want to check it out at this link. Ami shared her experience at the Southern Festival of Books, and how the transparency of a confessional poetry session brought everyone in the room to tears.

This story got me thinking. I've been asking myself a lot of questions about the takeaway value from my books as I polish up my proposal (for the ten thousandth time). Questions like, "What do I want people to come away from this novel with?" "How do I want them to feel?" "What do I hope God teaches them that He's taught me as I've written this story?"

But all too often, these questions presuppose something: that we are on the higher ground from our readers.

In fact, I think a lot about our Christian walks presupposes the very same thing. This is a problem. This is pride.

Now, I'm not suggesting we waffle around when it comes to the calling, the vision, and the clarity of the word of God. I wouldn't suggest watering down the Gospel to appeal to more readers. But I also wouldn't suggest towering over them with it.

Let's be honest here. Maybe of us are used to Christian lingo. We've been in the church a while. Personally, I've been a Christian since the watered-down-Kool-Aid-and-felt-board days of Sunday School lessons. It's very easy for us to become condescending without even realizing what we're doing. We don't have a higher stake in the kingdom of God simply because we've been in it longer. Just because we are mature on our spiritual journey does not mean we can afford to not be vulnerable with our readers. In fact, I'd say the opposite is true. I know I mention Robin Jones Gunn often on this blog, but this approach is one of my favorite things about her writing. She is so, so wise, and yet I have never felt "preached" at or put down as a young woman reading her books. Even as a teenager girl reading her books.

The point of most effective ministry is the point where we are most broken, for it is then we rely most upon Christ's strength.

It's all too easy to hide behind a barrier in our writing and hope to teach a lesson to our readers. But what if instead of instructing readers, our goal was to open up communication with them? Even to the point of opening up an eternal conversation with the Maker of their being? He can do a much better job of answering their questions anyway.

Have you ever been in a conversation where you felt someone was talking down to you or trying to teach you something? How can we stay honest and avoid condescension in our writing?

Honesty in Writing

Lately I've been doing a lot of thinking about what separates good writing from great writing. There are probably many things, really. Things like picking just the right details and knowing how to paint a larger picture with them, skill with sentence structure and an almost lyrical ability, and creating a strong enough conflict to sustain the plot arc.

But the longer I write, I'm convinced that one of the absolute most important qualities of "great" writing is honesty. This is also one of the hardest things for writers to do, isn't it?

To create a great book, you have to put heart on the page. You have to put vulnerability in the words. You may even have to hurt or to feel things you don't care to feel. The events in your book don't have to be biographical or true-to-life, but the feelings your book evokes do.

For my newest book, for instance, I'm brainstorming a story that involves a girl who has lost her house. Have I ever lost my house? No. But I can imagine it. I've evacuated for hurricanes before. I've watched the news, wondering if my house was still going to be standing when I got back to my neighborhood. I also have a tendency to resist change in my life. So it's very easy for me to imagine how terrifying it would be lose something of that kind of significance.

I've realized, as a reader and as a writer, that the stories that really stick with me are the ones where the characters' emotions and thoughts seem real. Where even if the plot is completely different from my own life, I can identify on a deeper level with what's going on. The first book of Robin Jones Gunn's Katie Weldon series even had me in all-out tears the first time I read it. It's no secret any of you blog readers that I love Robin's books, and in particular, the Christy Miller Series. Reading Katie's story felt like having a reunion with old friends. That is the kind of connection I want to build with my future readers. I want them to forget for a few moments that these characters aren't real because the characters feel more real to them than their own friends.

Books that really make an impact are the ones with characters we can imagine ourselves as being. They don't only seem real. They seem like us.

It's only through honest writing, however intimidating that vulnerability may be, that we can connect with readers and make a lasting impact on their lives.

Can you think of any stories that have touched you by their honest prose? How can we write this way and create characters who touch the hearts of readers?