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Friday, September 02, 2005I Had Pretty Much Given Up Part IV of "What Made You Switch From General Market to Inspirational?"At the end of Part III, I had pretty much given up on reading most anything, especially inspirational. So I read my Bible, grew in the Lord, ran my corporation and scrapbooked on the side (for fun). Then one day, I found myself in a bookstore with no where to go. So, I wandered down the inspirational aisle one more time. I can't remember whose book I picked up, but I remember enjoying it. So, I tried another and yet another. And just like any aisle in any genre of any bookstore, some were good and some were not so good. But at least, I was reading in the genre I loved and not obsessing over it. While in the midst of being a corporate executive (and absolutely loathing it), my creative side screamed for release. And I thought to myself, "I wonder if I could clean up Bride enough to make it suitable for the Christian market? What do you think, Lord?" He gave me the nod. So, I pulled Bride from the shelf, dusted it off and proceeded to revise it with the Christian market in mind--but without jeopardizing its integrity. When I was all through, I had a manuscript that was too tame for the general market and too risqué for the Christian market. Essentially, I had a manuscript no one would want. So, I returned it to the shelf and went back to the corporate world. Tomorrow, how Bride found its way from my shelf and into the hands of a Christian publisher. Click here for Katrina relief efforts you can participate in.
posted by Deeanne at 11:56 AM
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23 Comments:
Um, so how do you specifically define "clean up?" And if you were already a Christian, why did you not consider writing for the Christian market in the first place, and maybe become a pioneer firework in a world of mellow blandness? %:oD
2:42 PM
Writing for the inspirational market never occurred to me because I wasn't a reader of it.
As far as cleaning up goes: no hells, no damns, no consumation scenes, etc.
3:01 PM
Interesting that a Christian wasn't a Christian-market reader. I struggle trying to get my teen boys to listen to Christian music becuz they think it's uncool, or unprofessional, or I dunno what. Yet they are serious Christians who luv helping others and serving in our church. Is the lack of raw language and honest sexuality in Christian books borne from a fear of encouraging that in others, or a sense that those things are somehow "unclean," or...? Another question for you to tackle sometime!
3:31 PM
Deeanne,
This is very interesting reading. I especially like how you danced around the books that just did not grab you. Personally, I think your best works are still coming. I think the more you move into mainstream fiction the better it will fit your voice.
3:51 PM
I'm not touchin' that one, Barb. Gets me into way more trouble than a body needs.
Oh, Marv, I hope not--though I will go wherever God leads me. But, truly, I love writing for BHP. Besides, when you write for mainstream you have to hide your light under a bushel.
So, of the two, I think I would prefer writing for the Christian market. The hard part is that when you bring your light out from that bushel, it shines on both the good and the bad. The balance comes from figuring out how much "bad" the market (or your particular publisher) can handle?
4:16 PM
I think that one thing that is not often discussed is sheer quality of writing. There are secular writers of superb quality who use little offensive language and are more subtle with the sensuality (or "consummation"), if it comes up at all. And what violence they write is reasonable--not unrealistically graphic. But they are also just plain fabulous story tellers. And in a free market like this, when you read a genuinely great writer, wherever you find them, it is hard to go back to anything else--hard to settle for less as far as writing quality. There are exceptional Christian writers too, but I think that either the restrictions their publishers put on them in the past, OR the lesser quality of the broader Christian market, sometimes affects them undeservedly.
5:22 PM
When I first began writing, all I wanted to write for was the inspy market. I wouldn't get so bothered (fumming mad) at the quality level of inspys if I didn't have a heart for them. But I'm not an CBA-market writer.
Why? My characters aren't always Christian, nor get saved by books end. In my WIP, my heroine is a medieval woman living out her interpretation of God. I can't transfer my standards, morals, values, and confictions on her.
Yet I've read too many inspy historical heroines who have the mindset of a modern woman who has access to Beth Moore, Kay Arthur, and a host of other Bible study authors in addition to her own copy of the Bible.
So, alas, I'm more stuck in the middle than you ever were. Good thing God is in control, not man.
3:40 PM
I feel your challenge, Gina. It is a delicate balance between staying true to the historical period and at the same time having a desire to incorporate the many modern resources we have today.
I'm afraid I'm not a true purist in that since. All my characters have Bibles (though I've not ventured into the medieval times, so perhaps I can get away with it). I've even gone so far as to have them reading a New King James version--which is horribly inaccurate, but I apologize for it at the end!! I didn't want to risk having a reader miss the meaning of a Scripture because of the translation. It was too important. So, I cheated. Blatantly. And will do it again in the next book.
As far as characters who don't get saved at the end go ... again it is a balance between believability and, in the case of romance, that Happily Ever After thing.
4:14 PM
If you're gonna write historical fiction, you of course need to be well-versed in the time period you're dealing with. But at the same time, it hasta be understandable to the readers. When our kids were learning KJV Scripture in a church program, we occasionally had to get the pen out and rewrite, cuz it made no sense to us to have our kids memorizing something they couldn't comprehend. Re happy endings--The best Christian fiction writers are those who can recognize the reality that is our world, while also acknowledging the blessings, the positives, of the life that God has given to all of us. It's tricky. I hate stories where the Christians--or Christian leaders--are portrayed negatively. And yet in our life here, the people who have done the most damage to us over the years have been....Christians (and Christian leaders). Ouch. But there is always light somewhere in the darkness, whether everyone is "nice" or gets saved or whatever. I do believe that the best Christian writers work from a thorough base of truth--whether in an historical or contemporary setting--and certainly those are the books that have the most appeal for our family.
10:48 PM
Very nicely put, Barb. And I believe that is why it is so important for us to pray for our leaders. God calls them to even higher standards than the "average" Christian and Satan, meanwhile, has a host of his army aiming fiery darts at our leaders' most vulnerable weaknesses.
Thus, when a Christian leader falls, it makes for good drama--not only in real life but in fiction. Our only defense is to pray for them. A lot.
12:36 PM
Well, maybe that's why Christians often feel so dissatisfied with Christian products. I know there's the old adage that we like to shoot our wounded, and some are never satisfied. But Christians do have higher standards than the rest of the world and so it can be frustrating when those standards are not met (or are ignored). There are some awesome Christian writers, in both the Christian and secular markets, and I often wish that more who are in the strictly "Christian" market would get broader recognition for their fine work. And we do pray for our Christian leaders here, and even for some Christian writers! Speaking of which...now that Sunbonnet Babe is off to the publisher, what will they do with her until she has her big coming out in the spring???
1:08 PM
Another great question. One I will add to my "things to blog about" list.
4:19 PM
How did I know you were gonna say that?!?! String the readers along--cruel torture! Happy rest of the weekend... :o)
5:41 PM
Yeah, I understand about using NKJ verses KJ. That's an inaccuracy I have no problem looking past.
Oh dear, I'd write more but my 2-yr-old needs me.
8:38 PM
Two year olds are so cuuuute! Chubby all over with little wet lips that give tiny kisses! We didn't let our kids off the hook just cuz the KJV is "hard." But comprehension is important, and when even kollej-edukated mom couldn't get it, a bit of alteration was in order. Actually, oldest daughter went to a school where KJV was the Book of choice and she likes it. Obviously much more brilliant than her feeble-minded mother...
6:59 AM
Yes, they are cute. Especially when they take half their diapers off and say, "Look at my butt."
Or when they applaud their daddies burps.
1:40 PM
Hey, daddies will take all the applause they can get, however they can get it! Sounds like things are never dull at your house. Wait'll your little charmer gets hormones...
2:16 PM
Really. LOL.
I've been doing a Bible study written by some MOPS ladies. Okay, the study isn't deep, but I'm okay with that because it does what it's goal was/is.
Anyway, in today's chapter, the authors wrote this senario between a mom and a 4-year-old. I really wish my kids (at four) could have spoken so adultish as that four-year-old did. *big sigh*
I guess I should be at least pleased that my 2-yr-old can say "shut up." LOL.
8:54 PM
I wouldn't take those study scenarios too seriously, esp if it's a study written by mothers for other moms. It takes great self-control for maternal-type people to not one-up each other all the type in matters of child-raising, be it fictional scenarios or otherwise. I'm sure that 4 year old character was grossly embellished. Re your 2 year old's vocab--sounds like the hormones are already setting in at your house. Maybe this child will be your gifted and talented one??
10:07 PM
I guess what bothered me wasn't that the kid spoke so adultish but that the editor didn't catch that. Or, even worse, that the authors (moms themselves) didn't realize how unrealistic their dialogue was. See, even doing a Bible study, the writer in me comes out. :-)
3:00 PM
You're obviously a professional....
:o)
8:23 AM
LOL.
Well, I certainly don't play one on tv.
1:31 PM
Did you ever see the episode of Monk where the cops (who are actually actors playing cops) go to teach actors in a cop show how to be better actor-cops? It's a brain-twister, but in a really funny way. Are there any shows about professional writers on TV? Maybe you could be the first?! "The Gina Welborn Show"--woo woo! Sounds very high-class!
2:11 PM
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