Papa Don't Preach

At The Master's Artist blog J. Mark Bertrand has an excellent discussion on why CBA books are often preachy. Check it out: Content isn't what makes a book "preachy." We don't have to write stories cleansed of religious characters, sneaking our beliefs in under the radar. You can put a preacher smack dab in the middle of your story. (I just did.) But that preacher, like everybody else in the story, has to do some work. His ideas have to be tested -- not for show, but for real. If it is really method and not content that makes fiction didactic, then we are free to write about whatever we want. The key is to approach the subject through the method of fiction, not the method of instruction. I would add that for faith not to be preachy, the stuggles of everyday life and the application of trust in God must be instrisic to who your characters are. If it's extrinsic your readers won't buy it. Faith as in real life must bubble from a deep core within the character who demonstrates it. Like those folks we meet on the street--if they preach the gospel at us but don't know how to be kind we don't buy it. It's no different in fiction. If your characters struggle as all of us do, your books can explore any theme without fear of sermonizing. More later, Traci