Into the Fire

Writing can be both. How a writer approaches a subject makes the difference. If I’m writing about lovemaking, will I get graphic and force the scene into a distasteful display which leaves little to the imagination? Of course then I could label it erotica instead of pornography. Right? Seriously. What makes a scene delectable and what makes it distasteful?

The answer to that question falls upon the eyes and mindset of the reader. Over and over again the mess of attempting to interpret subjectivity creates controversy and innuendo and arguments in the blogosphere. What is utterly offensive to one reader and/or writer is not even close to raising an eyebrow with another reader and/or writer.

So many variables contribute to how one writes and what one reads. Honestly, I cannot tell you precisely why I like all the gory forensic shows but loathe horror films and absolutely will not watch them. Why then do I read some of Ted Dekker, Steven James, and Mike Dellosso’s novels? The violence in them and the heinous serial killers in their stories certainly qualify as horrific.

Our environment contributes to what we like and what we shun. The language of life defines who we become once we begin to formulate our thoughts apart from those we love even if ours coincide with theirs. How we arrive at our conclusions is influenced by our ages and personalities, our goals and desires. Some of us are highly motivated and others of us must be pushed to accomplish things. The lessons we learn however we experience learning itself make imprints on our thinking, and our fears and failures sculpt how we accept difficulties and whether or not we rebound quickly or wallow in self-pity. So many factors pour into us.

Of course the most important of all contributors is God Himself. How we perceive Him, how we accept Him, how we relate to Him. He is willing to fill us with His wisdom, but we are often unwilling to allow Him much room in our lives. We assert our independence at various levels of our growth and oftentimes we keep areas secured from His reach—or so we think.

As writers, we are the sum of our parts, a derivative of our experiences, the object of our beliefs, the conglomeration of multiple factors, and the composites of our parental genes. We are designed to be something in particular in order to best serve our Lord. But we forget that, don’t we? Sometimes?

This is why some of the dissection of writing and writers ends up being just so much hooey. Mind games. Analysis of details we can’t possibly truly “get”. Sometimes the simplest explanations work the best because they ring true. Some Christian authors write gore. Some write fluff. Some write clean. Some write raw. Criticizing each other gets us nowhere. So be it if we don’t understand the motivations of writing one way or another. No one holds our heads to a book and toothpicks our eyes open to the pages. We need to allow each writer to do what God designed him/her to do and keep ourselves glued to what He has for us to do.

We can evaluate, and, yes, we can criticize what we don’t like but we should be thoughtful when we do and honest enough to admit that we’re just one opinion who perhaps is out of our preferred genre or style when reading something we don’t like. If we see a lack of skill, then our explanations should be brief and without intentional insult. We should allow for those who don’t like something to say so while accepting that the whole process is subjective.

Delectable or distasteful? It could be both for any number of readers.

Father, help us to be kind, to demonstrate your love for one another. We are worthless without you, unable to live, breathe, or save another. You are the Power and the Glory. It’s all about you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.