Flashpoint Dilemma
Danger Will Robinson . . .
I want to sell books. Tons of books.
I want the buyers of my books to enjoy them.
Sound like a no-brainer?
I like it when people place my book on lists of "must-read cyberpunk." I like it when I get good reviews from readers.
But, I don't want to "trick" people into purchasing Flashpoint only to discover that its characters are overtly Christian which. in turn, makes them mad about forking over $10 for the book.
This has occurred a couple of times on amazon. The most recent review I received very clearly delineated the problem.
Good book with a caveat, February 9, 2009
By Bill P "Midnite" (New York, NY)
When I first purchased this book from Amazon, I had found it appearing on list after list of "Great Cyberpunk Novels." Being a fan of the genre, I checked out the reviews, the few that were there gave high praise. So I bought it. When it arrived I knew from the first page that either I or the reviewers missed something. As it is now obvious from the subsequent reviews & articles, the author is a devout Christian. As soon as you begin reading this will become apparent. As someone with similar beliefs, I figured that couldn't be that bad. I was in for a surprise.
The plot, characters & writing style are quite excellent & this leads to a compelling and entertaining story. I enjoyed many elements of the book. The idea that in a one-state future, Christians would be branded as extremist terrorists intrigued me. The character castes also served to draw me in. The downside is that between almost every beat (and sometimes in the middle of an action sequence) the writer decides to insert a heavy-handed 'preaching session.' Don't get me wrong, in no way does the author say 'believe this' or 'think that', but he almost awkwardly inserts phrases or descriptions that would pull me right out of the story, make me put down the book & take a breather. Lines like "The new king of the hill is Liberator, and Liberator says treat everyone how you'd like them to treat you." Momentum & tension is also lost when you can envision these characters with a constant condescending smile that parents reserve for dumb children.
It breaks down like this: The closer you are to the author's beliefs, the better this novel is. When it came down to it, this book just makes 4 stars.
Even with all that is said above, I still finished satisfied with my purchase. I believe the author would be better served to tone down portions of the book, he'd be more likely to actually connect to those who don't already agree with his world view. He has too much raw talent to risk alienating any potential readers.
I write for a specific audience: people who enjoy sci-fi, people who wish they could find sci-fi that portrayed a Christian worldview, people who grew up in the church.
I never downplay nor hide my worldview not even if it will sell more books. I want the readers/ purchasers of Flashpoint and the upcoming War of Attrition to get their money's worth, to enjoy not be uncomfortable with the Christian characters—
On the other hand, I don't want to admonish those who feel FP deserves to be on must-read cyberpunk lists — don't want people to stop saying good things about the book that may convince others to read it. I just want everyone to be satisfied.
What a dilemma . . . what to do?
12 comments:
I think you just have to accept that you can never please everyone, no matter what you do. Do your best to tell the truth about what you write and don't encourage anyone else to lie and you've done about all you can do. Gosh, four stars even with this "problem"? That's really not so bad. Didn't someone else give you three stars just for typos in the uncorrected galley edition? I'd say this is a good step up from that kind of review.
I don't find the way you weave scripture in awkward, nor do I think it breaks the tension. Many Christians (I won't say all) do stop throughout their day and talk to God, so if you are narrating through their eyes, that's what ya get.
I say, keep doing what you're doing. You're writing from your heart, which means you include God in your fiction. That doesn't equate to preaching, necessarily, and if it does, so what. A lot of secular fiction preaches, too. What about that movie "The Day After Tomorrow"? Better go buy a hybrid or we're all gonna be movin' to Mexico!
I'll agree with the other two. The God talk in Flashpoint is in character, so the story would be weaker without it. For me, "preaching" is an issue only when it doesn't fit the character or situation. And apparently your being a "devout Christian" is now well documented in reviews and comments, so I don't think anyone can reasonably claim to have been blindsided.
As a reader of Christian fiction for over 25 years I can say that one thing that is missing in many Christian novels today is Christ.
Preaching is only preaching when you don't like the message. If you like it then you don't even realize you're being preached to. If you hate it then you're being preached to. It's pretty simple.
Keep Christ in your books. We desperately need it. And if they don't like it... tough.
Thanks, Y'all. I’ve gone back and forth over this in my mind. Fiction’s first job is to entertain. If people want fact or sermon, they head for the non-fiction aisle. It all comes down to purpose and intended audience. I wrote Flashpoint for those who’ve spent time in church, regardless of where ther’re at in life now. Those people will have the proper context for Flashpoint’s Christian context. Context to not feel uncomfortable or preached to, and context to be entertained.
What I love about Christian spec-fic is it's strong worldview and good vs. evil potential. There will always be those for whom the sub-text's worldview will be too strong, but I'm glad that even they're still compelled to give Flashpoint four stars.
A very small percentage of readers have had such a response, and this is something with which I’ve dealt. No more hand-wringing. Promise.
8D
Faith,
f
I find that people underestimate the power of a story. There's a reason Jesus used them to convey spiritual truth and the reason many of us read stories now. I find little difference between a true story and a made-up one. The real one makes you feel more intelligent because you've learned something that actually happened (as the author sees it anyway) but let's face it, a fiction story is no less powerful. I've read over a thousand books and many have been theology non-fiction and most of the rest have been Christian fiction and I can honestly say that I have come closer to Christ because of the fiction. While non-fiction feeds the brain more then the heart, fiction feeds the heart more then the brain. Of course not all "Christian" fiction has this effect, some are just non-offensive stories but many are life-changing.
I also gives many Christian fiction books away as gifts to unbelievers and the feedback has been excellent. Rarely is anyone offended. Give them a John Bevere book and they'll never read it. Give a Ted Dekker book and they come back for more.
You have a powerful ministry Frank and don't you ever forget it.
Entertainment should be your second goal. It's just the bait to get out the gospel.
Steve--
Never thought of it feeding the heart. Every writer has a motivation and purpose, and every work has a purpose. I do think of it as fiction-ministry, but thank you for calling it powerful!
Entertaining must be fiction's first job, otherwise craft suffers. Fiction is a performance art that mirrors His creativity. Meaning and depth is an aspect of that art.
I do hope you're enjoying Flashpoint. Bad news is, you've inspired a deeper blog on global warming. 8D
Tomorrow's post.
Faith,
f
I have to disagree with you on one thing Frank. Entertainment should be secondary. The message has to be first. I understand the entertainment value should not suffer or be placed on a back-burner but it's the message that draws one closer to Jesus Christ not the entertainment of the story. And as followers of Christ that should be our main focus. A good story will draw the reader in and bring the message to life but it's the message that contains the power. However there's nothing worse then reading a powerful book that's badly written and has a weak storyline. They need to work as a team.
I enjoy Tim Down's books, especially the Bug Man series but the downfall of the books is there is no spiritual message. No life. Just good clean entertainment. While in itself that is not a bad thing, it's just that I spent the money and took the time to read it and I come out the other end the same as when I went in. I like to keep moving forward. There is no nutral with God. I like powerful messages that change me and challenge my views, making me think. And that can be done without a sermon. Haven't you ever read a book that stuck with you through the years? Was it because of the entertainment value or because something in that book changed you?
Let's keep lifted up the name of Jesus in all that we do. Put Him first and watch how He moves on our lives.
Heb 4:7-8a Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Steve--
Religion’s affect can be seen in Byzantine art, where the church forbade artists to portray certain images. Symbols were shown in paintings rather than Jesus or Mary. Monasticism is the concept of the spiritual being more important than the physical, when the Bible teaches to first feed the body--then the soul in missions of evangelism. The end result of Monasticism as a philosophy is to elevate the spiritual above it’s proper Biblical unity with the physical. God made both, they are good, may be enjoyed by people, and there are rules governing both. Human suffering in this fallen world is no less meaningless than suffering in the hereafter.
A verse in one of God’s books, the Bible, is no less beautiful than a sunset in another book, creation. While message and depth is important to any religious fiction, making the rules of fiction second to anything would quickly result in the literary superiority of non-religious fiction. Artists already argue about the things that are forbidden by ECPA houses. It’s not a matter of priorities. A well-crafted piece can also be uplifting. How important that is to the artist will show in their work. For Christian creativity in the arts to be as qualitative as non-Christian works, rules must apply equally.
Some thought has to be given about the purpose of writing. Steve observed:
>> the downfall of the books is there is no spiritual message. No life. Just good clean entertainment. While in itself that is not a bad thing, it's just that I spent the money and took the time to read it and I come out the other end the same as when I went in. >>
For the vast majority of people, reading fiction is a LEISURE activity which competes with lots of other entertainment options, most of which are more passive (watching TV/movies, listening to music, etc.) It is great that you want more, but the truth is that few average people are in your category, wanting to be challenged. I daresay a goodly number of folks figure they're already mega-intellectual just by virtue of reading "Lord of the Rings" rather than watching the DVD!
Some of us write books that are supposed to make you think, only to discover no one wants to read them (done it myself).
So we can continue to "spin our wheels" writing books no one wants to read, or we can try to find out what readers want and do our best (within reason and within conscience, of course) to incorporate those elements into our stories so that it will reach more people.
Some will still write deeper stories that make you think (and hopefully do it better than I do) and others will write "just good clean entertainment" which will also refresh the minds of believers like that beautiful sunset Frank was talking about.
Let no hand say to the foot, "I don't need you because you're not a hand." To everything there is a time and a season. Time to work and time to play. Time to study and time to enjoy art for its own sake.
I should have said that Steve had good points. Also, Caprice is too humble about her own fiction.
Every artist must create with intended audience on the frontal lobe. I heard this long ago, and write as though readers watch the process. I wrote Flashpoint for anyone who's spent time in church--for an audience who wants more than just entertainment. Anything that aspires to be literature cannot preach. One of my most memorable reviews came from a reader who said Flashpoint's depth inspired, but they found no messages in it. Purpose and theme are part of sub-text: characters and setting. The deep stuff has to be that subtle, even in overt fiction, otherwise one is preaching.
Faith,
f
I hope you both understand that I'm not tossing out the entertainment value of a novel in any way. I would rather read a well crafted book with little-to-no biblical message (Tim Downs again) then a poorly crafted one with a great message. It's tough getting through a book that's badly written and the story is weak or juvenile. However as a follower of Christ the message will remain the most important element of the story. Does this make my point more clear?
As for the secular market, believe me they have a message and they shout it. That's why I gave up reading their literature when I came to Christ. I find that they have nothing I want to hear and most of today's modern novels are very offensive. Sure there are some classics but today we have such fantastic Christian authors that I find I have no desire to read them.
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