This sounds like a good article! I have been having trouble in the writing realm lately (well more like for the last few months), in just thinking, to what avail is my work? So I come up with a grand story, push through and finish it, get it published and people enjoy it. But in the light of eternity, what profit is that? You know? It'll just burn up. Christ's return just seems so close and there are so many other important things to spend our time doing, that it seems like a waste to spend all this time writing about an imaginary person. The only profitable thing that I can see in writing a book, is if it has a solid and necessary message that can seriously point people to God. So I'm kind of evaluating my manuscripts to see if they are portraying a critical message, or if they are just feel-good stories that give me the enjoyment of living another person's life that I can control. If not, how can I change it so that the theme is clearly sending a central message that will impact someone for eternity? Of course my stories have Christian elements in them, and little lessons here and there that everyone faces, but is the focus on just the excitement of the events, or on getting a certain valuable message clearly across, in the midst of those nice events? Of course, it's hard not to make a message sound cheesy or stereotypical, either :) Ever run into this problem?
@ Jewels - wow... great thoughts there. :) So very true... it's not "just a great story." It's a great, wonderful opportunity! As for sounding cheesy and stereotypical... well... I guess the best proof would be if you've read one of my books? Some of them do lean more that way. I think a lot of prayer and seeking God is the solution to these problems - James 1:5. :)
3 comments:
Good questions, Amanda. We should always seek God's direction in our writing.
This sounds like a good article! I have been having trouble in the writing realm lately (well more like for the last few months), in just thinking, to what avail is my work? So I come up with a grand story, push through and finish it, get it published and people enjoy it. But in the light of eternity, what profit is that? You know? It'll just burn up. Christ's return just seems so close and there are so many other important things to spend our time doing, that it seems like a waste to spend all this time writing about an imaginary person. The only profitable thing that I can see in writing a book, is if it has a solid and necessary message that can seriously point people to God. So I'm kind of evaluating my manuscripts to see if they are portraying a critical message, or if they are just feel-good stories that give me the enjoyment of living another person's life that I can control. If not, how can I change it so that the theme is clearly sending a central message that will impact someone for eternity? Of course my stories have Christian elements in them, and little lessons here and there that everyone faces, but is the focus on just the excitement of the events, or on getting a certain valuable message clearly across, in the midst of those nice events? Of course, it's hard not to make a message sound cheesy or stereotypical, either :) Ever run into this problem?
@ Sharon - yes indeed!
@ Jewels - wow... great thoughts there. :) So very true... it's not "just a great story." It's a great, wonderful opportunity! As for sounding cheesy and stereotypical... well... I guess the best proof would be if you've read one of my books? Some of them do lean more that way. I think a lot of prayer and seeking God is the solution to these problems - James 1:5. :)
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