Please welcome this weeks guest Sydney Avey for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey?
Curses!
Attend any story craft seminar today and you won’t leave the room without being admonished to “show don’t tell” at least once.
Example:
Writer: Anneliese felt scared.
Reader: Do tell.
Writer: Anneliese’s eyes froze in their sockets. Her heart tried to beat its way out of her stiffening chest.
Reader: Did I remember to lock the door downstairs?
In our desire to communicate the gospel it is tempting to put reasonable words into the mouths of our characters, words that engage the brain with explanations and answers, words that push a message to the mind rather than reveal a truth to the heart.
In making the choice to write character-driven fiction, a more literary style, I wanted to get inside the heart and mind of a person who has no firsthand experience with faith. I wanted to hear her words, not mine.
I set out to write a book in which the characters interact realistically—some of them enjoy a glass of wine, use salty speech on occasion, and feel lust at appropriate times. I wanted to present the discovery of faith as a mysterious and natural part of life. In doing so, I run the risk of being too Christian for some readers and not Christian enough for others.
Emotional triggers
Revealing truth that triggers emotion often involves a verbal outburst. Mild curse words that offend some readers may actually help others identify with a realistic situation.
For example, in the heat of outrage Roger judges his boss to be a most unattractive anatomical part of a donkey. A substitute term would be “jerk.” The Biblical term would be “thou fool.” This normally mild-mannered man would have to be spiritually mature to understand that branding even the most scurrilous villain negatively is a sin, but first he would have to know he’s a sinner. I chose the stronger word because I wanted to reveal the depth of passion Roger felt when he saw Dee being mistreated. And, it is realistic. That’s how some business people talk.
Law versus Grace
Moses handed down the law against taking the Lord’s name in vain in the Ten Commandments. I believe we have extrapolated this commandment to cover a long list of what we consider curse words.
It hurts our hearts when we hear others use offensive words. I worked with a man I respected in many ways, but his constant use of profanity upset me. He was not a Christian, so I had no right to expect better. I had a choice: avoid him or confront him. Because I cared about him, I confronted him.
I knew my friend did not intend to offend me; his cursing was a habit. I also knew he highly valued the English language; he was a writer. I pointed out that his constant use of profanity made it appear that he was at a loss for better words. That had a huge impact and he cleaned up his act.
A sermon would not have had any effect. It was a call to higher ground by a colleague who cared enough to point out a lack of integrity that could hurt him professionally that resulted in a behavior change. A call to higher ground can invite a step onto the path of faith, but it’s a gradual process.
Walking the talk
Writing in ways that reveal the heart sometimes means our characters don’t edit themselves. In the heat of passion, they may use less than lovely self-expression. (Torrents aren’t necessary, but dear to my heart are some poetic phrases my Dad used when he missed a nail and hammered his thumb.)
I find I’m stronger spiritually for staying true to my God-given purpose—to encourage the questioning heart. At the same time, I’ve learned that if I listen to my publisher and my readers, I can approach the necessary balance between the sacred and the profane. The joy I feel when readers say they learned something from my story outweighs the reality that some will not read it because it contains a few mild curse words.
My path has more twists than other genres. I have to decline more marketing opportunities than I raise my hand for because they seem more appropriate to popular genres like romance or cozy mystery. I’ve learned not to jump in front of God but to allow him to open doors. What joy when He does!
As readers, if we cocoon ourselves in fiction that promises never to offend, we may miss opportunities to grow. As writers, if we sanitize every interaction we may narrow our audience unnecessarily. As a Christian, I’ve learned to respect that reader tastes vary and to be grateful for the audience God gives me.
Sydney Avey and The Sheep Walker’s Daughter
Sydney’s journey from daughter and granddaughter to mother, grandmother and finally family matriarch has equipped her with stories to tell about how generations interact. “The best of what we inherit from the people we came from is the legacy we hope to leave, “Sydney says.
The Sheep Walker’s Daughter is fiction, but it draws from her own experience; a family secret about heritage; curiosity about family legends; dismay over past events. The Sheep Walker’s Daughter examines the paths we choose in life and how we respond when we see opportunities for change.
Links
The Sheep Walker’s Daughter
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Sheep-Walker-Sydney-Avey/dp/1938708199
Email: sydneyavey@gmail.com
Website: sydneyavey.com
Blog: sydneyavey.com/blog
Facebook: facebook/sydney.avey
Twitter: twitter.com/SydneyAvey
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sydneyavey
Pinterest: pinterest.com/yosemitesyd/boards
Sydney, thank you for sharing your journey with us today. I loved what you wrote about be true to who our characters are as that’s so important because then we are true to ourselves as a writer as well.
My pleasure Kristena. The woman at the well is a good lesson for us, isn’t she? When Christ sat down with her, he didn’t advocate her way of life, although his disciples feared what his association with her might do to his reputation. He didn’t shame her either. He pointed her to higher ground. Perhaps her rougher edges smoothed out as she partook of the Living Water.
Blessings on you and your journey.
Sydney
Sydney, you are so right and it’s a lesson we all need to learn to never judge someone just by their appearance or the actions of their past. If they change for the better that is what matters.
Sydney, I understand about writing about topics that are not often written about in Christian fiction. I address some of those and am not ashamed of it. When I read some of the reviews of The Sheep Walkers Daughter, I am, though, concerned that a reviewer said you included a few Lord’s name in vain.
Jean, thank you for your comment. That’s true. My character is not a Christian. Her words are thoughtless. She has no understanding of what it means to take the Lord’s name in vain. As she moves toward faith, her speech changes. Many of us have people in our lives who use language thoughtlessly. (Some of us have done it ourselves.) As Christians, do we avoid them, confront them, or examine our own hearts? It probably depends on the circumstance.
You both bring up some good points. I think it takes discernment to know when to say something to someone and when not to. As for saying things I shouldn’t, I will admit I do. When I was active duty serving in the Army, unfortunately that was the culture where everyone spoke this way, and that included both Believers and Non-believers. I try very hard not to do it anymore, but there are times, especially when I get upset that my words, shall we say, can get a little colorful. I hate it when I do it, so I try harder not to. Can be a very hard habit to break sometimes. 🙂
I guess my point is, Sydney, as Christians we should not use the Lord’s name in vain, even in our writing. From what I read in scripture, it doesn’t please the Lord. Blessings to you, Jean Ann.