Guest Post - Incorporating Christianity Into One's Writing

Hello! I have something really exciting, and different, for you today! Remember I wrote about a young author - Emily Ann Putzke - who recently wrote a really good book called It Took A War here? Well, her and her writing buddy Emily Chapman have recently written another book called Ain't We Got Fun. They actually wrote it as a series of letters between their characters and posted it on their blogs early in the year, so I read it back then, and I can definitely say it is a really good old-fashioned story. Even though it does turn romantic, I wouldn't say it's all romance. It's more a story of two sisters learning to live, discovering, growing, falling and picking themselves up again. In short it's really good, and now it's published, so you can read it for yourself! Anyway, there's more information about Ain't We Got Fun at the end of the post, but in the meantime, I've been very privileged to have Emily Chapman write a guest post for my blog! Below she writes about how to incorporate Christianity, in a realistic way, into our writing:

"How is one to incorporate the Christian faith into one's writing? This is a difficult question to answer, and you could take it many different ways. However, I'm going to focus on the aspect of incorporating Christianity into a book that isn't necessarily “Christian fiction.”

I've written three novels/novellas in my lifetime. Cry of Hope, which was published in March of 2014, focused very deeply on Christianity. However, my other two novellas, Sensical Nonsense and Ain't We Got Fun, are rather light-hearted stories that focus mainly on relationships with fellow people. Both could, in fact, be classified as romances.

It's a bit more difficult to incorporate Christianity into these sorts of stories. Why? Because Christianity is such a wide-ranged topic that one simply cannot begin to delve into it only to drop it later on because it's drifting away from the storyline! Below I have a list of ways that I try to incorporate the faith into my writing.

1. Keep it moral. Something I hope that stands out in both Ain't We Got Fun and Sensical Nonsense (the latter of which has yet to be published) is the innocence in the romances. These stories do not involve the typical sensuality one might think of when you hear that a book is a “romance.” In fact, I hope that these stories will enlighten the audience. You see, love is more than a feeling. It's a choice. And a couple are more than just a couple. They are friends. And what comes with friendship? Laughter and loyalty; conversation and time spent together. Friends see one another through hardship and good times.

So you see, morality in a story is a symbol of Christ in its own way.

2. Don't hesitate to mention Him. In my everyday life, I don't talk about Jesus every hour and every minute of every day. However, I don't never talk about Him either. He's a part of me! So there is nothing wrong with the conversation in a novel turning to a topic of the faith, if it coincides with the story's plot. In fact, if you are a Christian and the character is a Christian and the character enters dark times, it would be abnormal for the character not to pray or speak with another character about Him!

3. Keep the characters real. This is a biggie. I have heard that many of the books under the label of “Christian fiction” seem to be stories with characters who are perfect—not only in their dashing good looks, but in their seemingly sinless life. If a character is a Christian, they are still bound to stumble. In fact, if they don't stumble, you are probably portraying the Christian faith in a … well, in a wrong way. We are all sinners. Even once we are saved, we still sin. Even if we desire not to sin, we still sin. Therefore, give your characters flaws.

A person could go on and on about this topic—how to incorporate Christianity into writing—for ages. Everyone has different opinions on this as well. Sometimes it depends on what you personally have been convicted upon. But despite all of that, I pray this has been helpful to you.

And that's another thing, and, probably, the most important thing: pray. Ask Him to be the guide of your pen as you incorporate Him into your story. He will most certainly be the best guide of all."

Thank you so much Emily! Those are excellent points, and really it's just making our characters as real as possible, as for us our loudest witness is the way we live, so it is for characters in stories!

Anyway, here's the information about the book Ain't We Got Fun, and the wonderful authors, Emily Chapman and Emily Ann Putzke:


About the book:




It was never much of an issue for Bess: living contentedly on her family's farm, despite the Depression which loomed around them. But when her older sister Georgiana takes off to New York City to make a fortune and help Papa out, feelings of adventure and wanderlust strike Bess at home. Through their lively letter correspondence, the sisters recount to one another their adventures, surprises, and heartaches, leaving little room for depression. For in a world of such wonder, ain't we got fun?

You can purchase Ain't We Got Fun through:

Amazon (Paperback) 

Amazon (Kindle) 

Createspace (Paperback)

Smashwords (ebook)

Author bios:

 
EMILY CHAPMAN, also known as Bess Rowland, is a young hobbit living in the dear old South, and she is entirely bonkers. She's a dreamer, an optimistic pessimist, and an introverted people person. Blue skies, dancing, Disney, and whipped cream make her happy, and she swears she's once been to Narnia. She's been a reader all her life, became a writer because of that, and published her first novel, Cry of Hope, in March of 2014. But without her Savior, all of this would mean nothing. It is in Him that she puts her hope.You can learn more about Emily Chapman and her books at www.emilychapmanauthor.com and www.facebook.com/emilychapmanauthor.

 
EMILY ANN PUTZKE and Gi Rowland have two big things in common: their love for God and coffee. Besides writing historical fiction, Emily enjoys being an aunty, photography, Irish dancing, spending time with family, attempting to play the guitar, reenacting, and reading. She loves polka dots, war movies, and all things vintage. Her first novella, It Took a War, was published in December of 2014. You can learn more about Emily Ann Putzke and her books at www.authoremilyannputzke.com and www.facebook.com/authoremilyannputzke. 

And if you live in the U.S, you can enter the giveaway below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for reading... How do you incorporate Christianity into your writing? Have you read Ain't We Got Fun yet?


 Jessica xxx :)