“What we want is not more books about Christianity, but more books by Christians on other subjects”
-CSLewis
A very good friend of mine posted this on his Facebook today and I couldn’t agree more. It took me down memory lane and made me realize that I don’t talk much about my history as a writer. I had to come to a place where I could separate the two parts of my life—the part of me that’s a believer and the part of me that’s a writer—in order to be the writer I desire. Today, I’d like to muse about my journey as a writer and as a believer.
I tend to keep my religious views to myself. They’re pretty controversial. For about the last five years I’ve identified myself as Agnostic. The story of how I got to that point could fill a book and maybe someday I’ll write it. For now, I’ll keep it simple. However, for most of my writing “career,” I’ve been a Christian.
When I started writing, I was fourteen. At the time, I attended a Southern Baptist church. I was pretty much told I was choosing an “immoral” profession. I heard later on that a Sunday School teacher even approached my parents and said it was wrong for them to support my aspirations. Thankfully, my parents told that person to mind their own business. I kept writing and creating characters but still struggled with how to tell my stories. I brought it up in a Sunday School class where the teacher said I should use the Bible as my guide. If the Bible says it’s okay, it’s okay for my characters to do. If the Bible says it’s not okay, my characters shouldn’t do it. I made a decision. The only way I felt I could be accepted as a Christian and as a writer would be if I wrote squeaky clean stories with no sex or bad language. And to make it even more appealing, I had it in my head that I was going to “clean up Hollywood” and be such a positive influence that all movies would be positive, moral and Christian.
Fast forward to ten years later when reality set in and I took my first Screenwriting class (I had taught myself format and structure through books). My teacher said that squeaky clean doesn’t sell and she’s right. Yes, there’s lots of positive, clean movies out there but unless I want to write Disney movies the rest of my career, I was going to need to branch out. It took me awhile but I encouraged myself to “Let Go” and that led to me being more creative than ever. Hollywood is never going to change and go clean. I like that. Some of my favorite movies are R-rated. They’re that way for a reason. If you don’t want to watch an R-rated movie, don’t. There is enough in the marketplace where there’s something for everyone.
With this newfound freedom as a writer, I had a renewed struggle for how I was supposed to be a writer and a Christian. And then I realized, they are two different things. As a writer, I tell stories. As a Christian, I worship the Lord and work to be the best person I can be. I’m now downgraded to believer, but I feel that part of my life is very private and doesn’t need to be expressed in my work. The two parts of my life are separate with the believer part of me making an occasional appearance in my writing. Now that I’m agnostic, that part of me is woven into my stories.
My characters are varied. I’m working on a script right now with a protagonist with a past. She has the potential of being a pretty amazing character. She’s far from perfect. And I love that about her. For another project, I wrote an entire short film script that took place in a strip club. It was possibly the most fun I’ve had as a writer. The audience at the reading I had seemed to love it.
For all writers, it is a struggle just to get a deal to write in your preferred medium. I want to tell stories. I don’t want to share the gospel or preach through my work. I have very strong beliefs about sharing faith. If someone isn’t careful, they can do a lot of damage to someone’s spiritual well being. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. I am in no place to share my faith. I am just as confused as anyone else. It is a very personal relationship between me and my Lord and a part of my life I keep to myself and take out only when I feel it’s appropriate. I am a writer, not a minister.
I think Christians in any secular field can do a lot of good even if they never say a word about their faith. Being an honest, respectful, trustworthy, and kind person is a gift to anyone. I try to be all of these and more when I’m working in the world. Through my writing, I try to be positive, funny, thoughtful and interesting. If my story can make you laugh and forget about your crummy day at work, make you fall in love with the characters, or crave a turkey sandwich, then I have done my job.
So to writers who are Christians, I offer this piece of advice: write how you feel led. I have felt led to write secularly in a variety of genres. You can be a Christian and a writer without being a Christian Writer (unless that’s what you feel led to be). Do not compromise for anyone or because someone tries to put their beliefs on you. If you’ve read this and are blessed and feel like it helps, I am grateful. If you read this and feel like it’s a load of crap, that’s okay too. I just speak from my heart. I don’t expect results. They’re just an added bonus.
