It's a little gray in Atlanta, so if you're inside, here' s this weekend's chatterbox question?This question comes from Josette, a Christian Fiction Blog reader . I've heard the same question in a roundabout way in my writing circle, so have your way at it. I'll post my reply on Monday.
Question: Why Isn't AA Christian Fiction Good?
Dee, I hesitate to make this comment because I call myself a Christian fiction writer... But I have NO BOOK, NO AGENT, and only a terrible first draft of my novel as my claim to fame. What gives me the right to criticize anyone's work, you might say. In my defense, I do support African-American Christian Fiction, as my bookshelf and my wallet can attest. Honestly, though, *sigh* most of it is not good. With the exception of a few of my favorite authors (I won't name names), I struggle to make it to the end of most Christian novels written by African Americans. I see many of the cardinal flaws that I try to avoid or edit out of my own writing: there's too much telling and not showing, characters are stereotypical or flat, conflicts and stakes aren't high enough, and much of the dialog is unnatural. Since a lot of Christian fiction is being published by imprints of large publishing houses, I'm beginning to wonder how these novels made it past editors? Why isn't our stuff good enough to win Christy Awards?
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2 comments:
I think there's a lot of bad fiction, not just AA Christian fiction. I see NYT bestselling authors making beginning writing mistakes like POV switches and overuse of dialogue tags. Although I must admit they master dialogue itself and the stakes are always high. They know "Story is King".
However, I must agree I cringe when I pick up books from most of the ABA Christian fiction lines. There are very few authors who have actually written publishable books. They're hearts are truly in the right place, but they haven't had the help they need to improve their work. Some of this can be attributed to them, but most of it falls on the shoulders of the publishers. In my humble opinion the problem is the editors. They fall into two categories. (1) They're either unqualified for positions, because they've had no editing experience themselves or (2)they don't understand that a good book acutally does build a following for the author that in the end will make money for the line. I think they acquire a hoard of novels and expect the author to market it to death to make money. In the end this doesn't work, because the authors annoy readers, get bad reviews, make no money to continue the wheel of marketing and promoting bad books. The editors don't realize the best thing they can do for the authors and the line is reject their work with a generous letter explaining how to fix it. Unfortunately, at this point this could be a form letter, because let's face it, they're all making the same writing mistakes.
In closing, I'll say to any of my sisters and brothers of the pen (or keyboard) who are published or aspire to be published in AA Christian fiction, remember that writing is a craft that requires time and discpline like any other craft to learn. The story in your head needs to flow on paper the same way a pianist has to perfect his/her manueuvering of the ivories.
We serve a God of excellence. Study to show yourself approved in all things.
Thanks,
Renee
Thanks, Renee. Your touching on some interesting ideas. If writers are being published and readers aren't satisfied...are readers satisfied or just supportive?
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