Into the Fire

Writers tend to make cases for this versus that. Literary v. Commercial. Genre v. Genre. Christian Fiction v. General Market Fiction. Rules v. Freedom. You get my drift. I think at the basic level we all understand that most things aren't captured in an either/or but in some form of acceptability for most.

You will not find me reading an Amish novel. For so many reasons. Regardless of my taste - or distaste - for them, I will not be found railing against them. I can usually muster a bit of a frustrated sigh at the massive numbers of them wondering if that many people really read that many versions of them. However, if they're popular, publish them. Although I did read Immanuel's Veins by Ted Dekker, I'm not a fan of zombie, vampire, or various weird monster novels, but, hey, for those who enjoy them, publish them.

As novelists, one of the most difficult things not to do is to compare ourselves to other writers. The idea is to establish our voice, write to the best of our abilities and to keep developing our work/craft while taking a hard look at our limitations and stretching ourselves to better our stories. If the industry imposes certain restrictions, wants to brand us, we must decide what hills to climb and battles to win. Comparison to others' actual writing is a no no because it serves no worthwhile purpose. We'll either crawl back in bed and curl into the fetal position under condemnation for lack of talent, or we'll adopt snobbish "good as them" attitudes and impress no one.

Christian writers struggle as much as any – perhaps more – because we know what should and shouldn't be done in our mental exercises. We're perfectionists, dreamers, lazy, procrastinators, unrealistic, pragmatic, highly organized, or just plain out in space. We come in all shapes and sizes, ages and genders. We write in the midnight hours or in the pre-dawn hours – and every hour in between. Or we write nothing, staring at white screens or blank papers for minutes, hours, days, weeks. We write excellence, we write well, good, mediocre, and, yes, poorly. We love editing, we hate editing. We love to write. We hate to write. We recognize a call from God and are compelled to compose. We dread failure. We expect success. We have no clue what will happen to our work. We only know we must write.

In the end it isn't this versus that. It's do what you're supposed to do as ordained by God and see where He takes you. It might be next door or it might be to David Letterman. Just do what you're told. By God, for God, to God. We're His handywork, mess, blessing, and let's hope not curse.

Father, take me on the journey you've mapped out for me. Help me to stay on that particular path. You haven't called me to walk on someone else's toes. Thank you for what you have for me. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.