There’s a long-standing opinion that Christian fiction is inferior to mainstream fiction, both in craft and content. Is this a valid criticism?
Several months ago, Online Journal of Christian Communication and Culture, ran an article entitled Diluted Reality, in which they addressed this subject. Their take was decidedly critical:
Christian fiction is full of stories that don’t portray human beings as fallen creatures or as beings of weakness. This genre distorts life by presenting a model of perfection. No matter which sub-genre one delves into there is a glossy shine that makes it all look plastic. There are rare exceptions to this and rarer still are those that come from modern authors. Most lived in a different age, when Christian publishers didn’t run amuck and Christian audiences weren’t looking for a quick fix. Contemporary “Christian” fiction is not an accurate portrayal of reality or excellence in the fiction genre.(emphasis mine)
Despite what you might think, this article is not a smear piece. It’s a good representation of much of the criticism against Christian fiction — that it is unrealistic, plastic, contrived, a quick fix, or as the above author later writes, “these novels are shallow and something of a joke amongst the literary community.”
As a writer of Christian fiction, I’ve thought much about such charges. Even more fascinating to me, however, is how Christians typically react to them. We question the person’s motives, how much they’ve read in the genre, and refuse to recognize any validity to the notion that Christian fiction is inferior to mainstream fiction. I have problems with this approach. Why?
Because it makes us apologists for Christian fiction, not objective readers. And that puts us behind the eight ball.
Recently, I’ve been revisiting this question. I read a Christian fiction novel from a fairly recognizable writer who will remain unnamed. The writing was solid. The story, however, was fairly cliched, capped by a “come to Jesus” moment that was so utterly canned I groaned out loud.
I was VERY disappointed.
It was everything that Christian fiction is charged with being.
So do I just need to read a bigger sampling of Christian fiction? Is that it? Here’s why I don’t think so: This type of cliched ending is exactly what many Christian readers want.
In my opinion, this is where Christian fiction IS inferior to mainstream fiction. Our industry used to be charged — and rightly so — with inferior craft. I don’t think that’s the case any longer. When critics suggest that Christian fiction is inferior to mainstream fiction because it is more poorly written, they are just flat-out wrong. There is just as much poorly written stuff in the general market as there is in the Christian market. (I recognize this is a weak, but often used argument.) Positively, there are just too many well-written Christian fiction books out there to make that case.
So regarding craft, Christian fiction v. mainstream fiction is a wash.
The weight of the argument that Christian fiction IS inferior to mainstream fiction, is not in craft, but convention. There are certain expectations that Christian readers have, certain cliches and conventions, that simply make our stories more predictable, more heavy-handed, more forced. Or as the author of the above article concluded,
A good book will be well-written in a literary sense and include biblical themes that aren’t contrived. A writer ought to be able to write from the heart and include his or her beliefs without force-feeding the reader. It’s impossible to write without infecting a work with the author’s world view. So why do so many think that they must stuff them into their works?
Sadly, this was the experience I had when I finished the aforementioned novel: Force-fed.
So when someone suggests that Christian fiction is inferior to mainstream fiction, they need to clarify. If they mean that it’s poorly written, I think the charge is bogus. But if they mean it’s cliched and predictable, for the most part, I have to agree.
Christian fiction gives its readers what they want. And this is what makes it inferior to mainstream fiction.
Good, thought-provoking post and comments. I’ll not rehash what many of you are saying because I think there are truths in what all of you have said. The topic is multifaceted. But I have to agree with R.L. Copple “But they’re defined by two factors. What sells and what doesn’t sell. That’s how they make their educated guesses. What happens is their market has narrowed due to going based on those parameters.
They get negative feedback from bookstore managers who tell them why they are not going to carry a certain book. And often is is because one or two customers didn’t like something in the book, claiming it isn’t Christian. I’ve used to work in a bookstore and seen this dynamic in action. This isn’t a factor as much in general fiction, because the audience is so much larger and varied.”
When we look at Christians overall we find ourselves to be divided on so many issues, adamant about what we believe, and we don’t like to be challenged on it. Its almost sacrilegious to ask those questions or challenge God.
On the flip side, it wasn’t too long ago that Christian publishers took a chance on fiction and the market is broadening. And now we are seeing a rise in speculative fiction. It might be slower than what some of us would like, but its growing. I looked on the ACFW conference the other day and I was pleasantly surprised to see some editors and agents looking for books within in the framework of speculative fiction. Pretty exciting. Still, it will be interesting to see how it will be shaped and formed due to the demand of its readers.
I was glad to come across your post. I am a professional business writer who has written several “secular” novels that are not yet published. I’m also a very devout Christian but I’m not “conservative” in the evangelical sense.
I too have noticed that there are conventions in many Christian books and I also find them stilted and white washed. (I liken them to romance novels, which also have a formula) I haven’t even attempted the challenge of writing about faith in a truthful and honest way that includes “real life”–the often messy, troubled, difficult, convoluted paths that people take on their journeys. Yet Jesus does break through in beautiful, merciful ways and the process of conversion and healing is real…
But even if I pulled it off, the Christian publishers would probably reject it as not fitting their mold. And I don’t have the right church pedigree either. (egads you attend Catholic church with your husband?)
The problem is, faith has become a segmented part of experience in this arena. 100 years ago, it was just an accepted part of life. Therefore it was seamlessly integrated into literature.
As a beginning Christian writer I struggle with being God honoring and being realistic with the monolog. I think the “Christian reader” bears some responsibility in the equation. Think for a moment, did the 12 disciples- fishermen, tax collectors, ruffians etc. always speak with parsed words and the most politically correct speech? I doubt it. I’ll bet more than a few swear words found there way flying around the campfire. And I honestly believe Christ didn’t throw a tantrum when it did. Though I don’t use it in my writing, the “f” bomb should be completely appropriate when written in a judicious manner. But Christian writers are so afraid of being judged by the reader and the publisher that we simply wrap our ‘seeking or non christian characters’ in the same chains that we do our Christian ones. I think in writing real and touching Christian fiction, that the lines can ‘and should’ become somewhat blurred. Maybe we should just consider putting a warning label on so-called real Christian fiction. “May not be suitable for children or hypocrites.”