Christian Themes; what is your approach

[Kessie]

Dave: I just read through that thread you linked. Wow, you had some sermons in there! (Wouldn't it be awesome to hear a sermon on magic like that from the pulpit? I bet you the pastor would get his butt fired by the next week.)

I pretty much agree with you on the white magic/black magic thing. In our story universe, magic is an innate talent that is neutral, and it's a person's use that defines whether it's good or evil.

I wrote that bit up there with the hero wondering if he's damned now that he has magic, and I asked my hubby what the rebuttal should be. He said that the mentor character should reply, "Was Handel evil to write the Messiah? Was Van Gogh evil to paint the sunflowers? Magic is just a talent, like composing music or painting a picture."

[newburydave]

Actually, given the character of our current church I think it would be well received. It would also fit with him I think. He's not the least afraid of edgy truth.

Our church is kind of like full of Christian geeks, college students and gaming nerds (one of our elders runs one of the largest online gaming sites in New England, he hosted a gamers convention at the church last year for gamers from all the NE states).

We're kind of friendly to the whole Asymetric Evangelism thing. Our denomination is a leader in chucking a lot of the traditional churchy forms overboard because they're not reaching the lost around us today and trying to find new paradigms for outreach.

Sounds like your husband's response has some merit to it. My guess is that he was treating this more as a miracle gift than what I'd call Magic per se.

Write on sis


SGD
dave

[Kessie]

Too bad your church is in New England! I'd be there like a shot! I'm in Cali so the commute is a little too long for me. :-D

I suppose you could call our magic system "miracles". One group manipulates time, and another group manipulates space, and you're born with one or the other. Unless you're the rare individual born with both, as our hero is. Lots of dealing with other worlds and races (and catgirls, because this is my hubby's universe).

Even though I'm comfortable with the way magic works in our world, the hero sure isn't (and neither is his mother, hee hee). It's that whole inner journey thing. Such fun. I am trying to beware of "head dipping", though, as Becky Minor pointed out. When you wallow in the character's angst.

[celesta]

In my books, my characters deal with issues that I struggle with or issues I think are important. I think some big issues are things like grace and redemption.

I do feel called by God to write so I try to write things that are good, things that will bring the light of God shining into the darkness.

[newburydave]

Welcome Celesta, to the discussion and to the Anomaly.

It sounds like you have a similar approach to mine. Do you have some examples of how you've done this that you'd like to share?

Write on Sis

SGD
dave

[newburydave]

Kessie;

Our church is part of a world wide fellowship. You may have heard of the Christian Missionary Alliance, in the US it's the Alliance Church (the IRS made us incorporate as a Church, they don't like alliances and associations). I know we have congregations in CA, but you should attend where the Lord leads you, IMHO.

I only really know our local congregation since we've only been there three years, but from the things I read in the church magazine and on the website we are definitely what I'd call cutting edge.

RE: Magic

The chief problem that I have with many of the Magical Reality and Fantasy story worlds that I've read is that the "conversion rules" of magic all too often aren't consistent. With some authors they seem to flex or grow to meet the challenge so that the "mage" doesn't really have to do anything but wave their hand to make the happy ending happen. That strikes me as another form of Deus Ex Machina.

My preference is the stories where Magic is treated like another, perhaps spiritual, dimension of the laws of Physics. The best MR and F stories I've read either used Cannonical Celtic magic or had pretty well defined magic rules.

The MR and F stories that I find the most engaging are those where the exercise of "magical powers" are limited, and always cost the "mage" something personally to exercise his/her gift. I suppose that has something of the image of Christ and the reality of the exercise of Spiritual Gifts behind it, but that's my personal preference when I read MR and F. Interestingly, most canonical magics have those elements in them.

Is you House story an example of your Magical Reality universe?

I've never experimented with those genres in my own writitng, I find the futurist extrapolations of science to be sufficiently magical for me (since I'm somewhat of a science/technology geek).

Write on Sis

SGD
dave

"Catgirls?"

[celesta]

Dec 21, 2011 20:42:45 GMT -5 newburydave said:

Welcome Celesta, to the discussion and to the Anomaly.

It sounds like you have a similar approach to mine. Do you have some examples of how you've done this that you'd like to share?

Write on Sis

SGD
dave

My methods are rather haphazard

I just figure that if I'm following hard after Jesus then what I write will please and honor God and draw others to His light.

[Kessie]

My preference is the stories where Magic is treated like another, perhaps spiritual, dimension of the laws of Physics. The best MR and F stories I've read either used Cannonical Celtic magic or had pretty well defined magic rules.

The MR and F stories that I find the most engaging are those where the exercise of "magical powers" are limited, and always cost the "mage" something personally to exercise his/her gift. I suppose that has something of the image of Christ and the reality of the exercise of Spiritual Gifts behind it, but that's my personal preference when I read MR and F. Interestingly, most canonical magics have those elements in them.

Is you House story an example of your Magical Reality universe?

Naw, my House story is its own thing. I was going for the whole traditional fantasy magic with that.

I know what you mean about magic that costs the user something. I've read some books where it goes too far, though, and you can almost see the character's 'mana' bar. They cast a few spells, and whoops, out of mana! No more until tomorrow. Or the character channels a few fireballs and collapses of exhaustion. Or they go insane.

I think if magic is treated like spiritual gifts, well, does it cost you something to do what you were born to do? When I paint a picture or write, all it costs me is time. I love doing it. I do it until I'm exhausted, but I don't have a 'mana' bar that shows how much creativity I have left. (That might kind of be cool.)

Hey Dave, since you prefer science fiction to fantasy, what do you think of nanites? :-)

(I think you can take nanites and make them into midichlorians. It's not the Force--it's the nanites!)

Edit: Also, yes, catgirls. Think Catwoman from Batman, only the ears and tail are part of her and can move. They're great fun.

[metalikhan]

Hiya, Celesta! Welcome to the Anomaly and to this discussion!

Although we are all called to follow the Great Commission, how we do that in our lives and in our writing may be expressed very differently. If we're yielding to the Holy Spirit's guidance, He sees to it that what we do, how we live, what we write opens whatever door He needs to touch another even if we never speak or write an evangelistic word.

I know of a young man who turned to Christ, not because of any active or deliberate evangelism but because one person listened to him when he was in pain and shed tears for him, something not even his mother had ever done. The Holy Spirit used compassion and tears to touch that young man without a single spiritual word spoken referring to God, Jesus, faith, grace, or the plan of salvation.

That same power of the Holy Spirit operates in our writing whether we deliberately plan it or not, providing we allow Him to direct our stories. And so, not every story will appear as clearly God-centered as others. As the Source, Center, and Truth of our lives, He fills each of us with particular gifts, talents, and passions.

And sometimes He can be a little sneaky about how He does it. **chuckles** I was astounded recently when my husband read a story from a cycle I'm working on. When he finished, he asked if I realized I was tackling racism themes in these stories. My jaw nearly hit the floor! That had simply never occurred to me.

So, we may perceive God's hand in stories even though the authors have no conscious evangelical intent.

Kessie, your House story is like that. When the mother was trying to protect the doors, I saw it as an echo of the Passover blood over the doors rather than white magic. That she didn't complete it over all doors and thus allowed a way in for the sorceress also called to mind the scripture about a clean-swept house which makes a demon say Cool digs, think I'll bring my friends over for a party. (Yeah, paraphrased.)

LOL I doubt you intended either of those things at all, and yet the Holy Spirit guiding your writing spoke to me, and the Holy Spirit in me helped me perceive something I needed to enlighten an issue completely separate from writing.

Funny how "chance" words can illuminate, eh?

Or not so "chance" after all.

[Kessie]

Metal: Oh wow, that's cool! Nope, I hadn't intended that at all, but I'm glad that's what you pulled out of it. :-)

[Divides the Waters]

I am writing an epic fantasy in which God goes by another name. I prefer "echoes" of Christianity; stories that borrow from scripture, or characters who reflect scriptural principles. I attempt to shy away from preachiness, though that is sometimes difficult when you are writing a story that actually deals with differing faith systems. I attempt to make even the best of my characters imperfect (i.e., human), and each has a flaw in his/her armor. I do, however, see themes of my own belief system working their way into the story (ironically, some of them before I had fully realized what I was talking about).

[newburydave]

Divides;

I think, based on my non-exhaustive, unscientific, non-statistical poll, that all Anomaliens "aren't into preachieness". My current project intejects the theological plot nut that the story deals with into the plot line by means of an argument between the POV and two of his friends.

How close to publication is your current project? I like to read the products of other Anomaliens when I can.

Write on Bro

SGD
dave

[Divides the Waters]

Dave, I agree; the concensus is clear. I think that it should be understood that there is a difference between shoehorning a sermon into a story and making your story have a theme. I know that I've read plenty of "preachy" secular books, and know of many more I have not read. Dan Brown and Michael Crichton come to mind. Yet they "get away with it" not only because they are secular, but because that is the theme of their books. (I also think that both Christians and non-Christians are sometimes unaware of their own preachiness.) Tolkien "cordially disliked allegory in all its manifestations, preferring history and applicability" as literary tools. Lewis, on the other hand, wrote stories that were distinctly Christian, but were stories first and foremost (and while symbolic, not strictly allegorical). The best fiction is "natural," wherein people have logical arguments pertaining to the story, and interact in such a way that you see by consequence who has the right of it. Some Christian authors, like Randy Alcorn, manage to have effective books despite the fact that they have a pretty strong agenda (sermon wrapped in story trappings). Some might argue "because of the fact," but I think that few can pull it off effectively. It's a fine balance, and easy to get too heavy-handed.

I appreciate your interest in my project; I will be deciding this next year whether or not to self-publish. I have a few publishers in mind to submit to, and we're going to try to hit the writers conference this May, but I'm very much enjoying the control I have over the project at the moment, and CreateSpace is looking better and better all the time. I may allow another couple of "advance readers," but I hadn't decided that yet.

[yoda47]

I started getting into fantasy after being a sci-fi fan (since about birth, as I recall... )

So, I tend to take a sc-fi-ish approach to magic. In the fantasy book I'm writing, magic costs energy.

Let me explain... no, that is too long, let me sum up:

Say a wizard wanted to move a pile of rocks. He could take all day picking them up one at a time and carrying them, or he could use a spell and move them instantly. But, it would use the same amount of energy.

So, for small spells, he could cast them all day long and not be tired at all, especially if he's in good physical shape. Large spells though, could leave him exhausted.

To balance this out, a wizard can store excess energy in a crystal matrix. (That's why wizard staffs all have a crystal of some sort on them.)

To me, this makes the most sense, even if it's not terribly original, and I fell it lets me balance being able to do a lot and still not go overboard too much in one way or another.

I really like to distinguish a story by the characters instead of the plot or mechanics anyway.

Oh, and Kessie, yes, catgirls are awesome. I've found a way to work one into my sci-fi series...

[Kessie]

Aaron: Hey, I like that magic system. It makes perfect logical sense. Also, I'd love to see somebody else write catgirls. I ran into one in some of Mercedes Lackey's books, but she was a prostitute. Because, like, that's all catgirls are for, right? >.>

Also, good idea with explaining the crystal on the wizards' staves. I'd never thought too much about it, other than they look cool.