{"id":37963,"date":"2013-08-12T08:30:05","date_gmt":"2013-08-12T14:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/?p=37963"},"modified":"2013-08-12T08:04:49","modified_gmt":"2013-08-12T14:04:49","slug":"how-should-we-then-upgrade-christian-fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/08\/how-should-we-then-upgrade-christian-fiction\/","title":{"rendered":"How Should We Then Upgrade Christian Fiction?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Picture: pear83 via sxc.hu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

It\u2019s a truth globally agreed upon: Young evangelical readers should be able to find Christian fiction beyond historicals, Amish romances, and subpar stories in all genres.<\/p>\n

What isn\u2019t as universally acknowledged is how to fill this need.<\/p>\n

On July 29 The Weekly Standard<\/em>\u2019s Jon L. Breen arrived to this conversation and extolled author J. Mark Bertrand<\/a>\u2019s crime novels from Christian publisher Bethany House. In Breen\u2019s view, Bertrand\u2019s talents have been underappreciated and likely restricted:<\/p>\n

J. Mark Bertrand deserves a wider readership than a religious publisher affords. Many writers are able to carry readers along by employing nice phrases and descriptive passages, bits of humor, character involvement, and curiosity about how it will all turn out. But few have Bertrand\u2019s relentless narrative power.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is encouraging. First, it\u2019s great to see a Christian author gaining recognition. Second, Breen moves beyond Christian-fiction stereotypes, recognizing that publishers are relaxing restrictions and even exploring new genres.<\/p>\n

Still, Bertrand is now without a publisher, and as paranormal author Mike Duran wrote<\/a>, \u201cThe real victim in this tale of intrigue is not J. Mark Bertrand. It\u2019s the industry that forces him to look elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, despite some changes, excellent Christian novels of crime and other genres don\u2019t gain success. But I believe it\u2019s up to readers to encourage this change. And that starts by diagnosing why current demands for better Christian fiction are simply not working.<\/p>\n

Crime fiction is not my favorite genre, I admit. But I\u2019ve known a few Christian crime authors and<\/em> spent a year working at a Lifeway Christian Store. Most evangelical publishers target such stores, which are patronized by what one indie press founder affectionately called the \u201clittle old lady brigade.\u201d For these dear folks, it doesn\u2019t matter if fiction is written well; ergo, all the blogs I\u2019ve read about the need for deeper writing or better marketing won\u2019t accomplish much if these customers aren\u2019t buying. Many of them only want to be entertained\u00a0safely.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d some might reply, \u201cand that\u2019s the problem! Christian readers want subculture \u2018safety.\u2019 So let\u2019s have more unsafe<\/em> fiction, less rules against language, and more gritty content.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that \u201csolution\u201d only brings two further problems.<\/p>\n

First, many readers think tamed-down, swear-word-free crime fiction is<\/em> the \u201cunsafe\u201d stuff. They love reading about a severely decomposed body floating in a cabin\u2019s Jacuzzi (an actual scene from Brandilyn Collins\u2019s Violet Dawn<\/em>). To them, that\u2019s thrilling. It\u2019s gritty. It\u2019s edgy. They\u2019re quite happy to dispense with fiction censorship \u2014 to an extent. Thus, evangelical publishers can simply insist, \u201cYou want grittier content? That\u2019s what we\u2019re already doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the second problem is worse: If readers insisted only on loosening content restrictions, fewer authors \u2014 let alone readers \u2014 know why. Do we want to evangelize more readers? To entertain better? To prove to non-Christians that we\u2019re also cool and gritty? Those are at best secondary goals, and it only repeats the pragmatism behind older content restrictions.<\/p>\n

Instead of proposing surface-level solutions, Christians must consider this question:<\/p>\n

According to the Bible, what is the \u201cchief end\u201d of story?<\/p>\n

Is it evangelism? Gritty realism? Entertainment? Or a higher goal?<\/p>\n

Only when we\u2019ve explored the answer can we better promote the stories we love, and even pressure publishers to go beyond Amish books and crime novels where even street-gang murderers aren\u2019t allowed to give a darn<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhy don\u2019t we have more \u2018unsafe\u2019 Christian fiction?” complaints aren\u2019t working. First readers must consider one crucial question.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1574,"featured_media":38137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1484],"tags":[2409,2411,2412,2410],"class_list":["post-37963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-literature","category-ofthemoment","tag-bethany-house-publishers","tag-j-mark-bertrand","tag-jon-l-breen","tag-mike-duran"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Should We Then Upgrade Christian Fiction?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cWhy don\u2019t we have more \u2018unsafe\u2019 Christian fiction?" complaints aren\u2019t working. 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