Tough Subjects

The book of Hosea deals with a tough subject. God instructs Hosea to take as his wife a prostitute. She also turns out to commit adultery within the marriage relationship. God uses this tumultuous marriage to illustrate the relationship between God and his people. God wanted the people to see that their lack of commitment to Him was like committing adultery and it hurt His heart in the same way a loving husband would be hurt.

As Christian writers we deal with tough subjects in our stories. Writing only about perfect people in a perfect world doing perfect actions is not realistic. Novelists write fiction but realism must be present for the reader to delve into the story. Even fantasy has to include enough explanation for the reader to accept it and continue reading.

Make a list of tough subjects. Here’s a few to get you started: divorce, abortion, and adultery.

Now skim your list. Underline the topics you have included in stories you have written or are currently writing. Of the topics not underlined, circle one.

Write your circled topic on a sheet of paper. Now brainstorm ideas for ways to include that in a story.

As a Christian writer, you want to make sure that you know and can convey God’s truths on your topic. Locate a concordance and/or commentary. Use the concordance to locate verses in the Bible on your topic. Read the verses and also read about those verses in a commentary.

Look back at your notes on ways to include this tough subject into your story. How could your story illustrate what the verses said about that topic?

Don’t steer away from those tough subjects. These are the things of life that real people are dealing with.

Have you dealt with one of your listed tough subjects in your own life? If so, you can incorporate your personal feelings and experience into your character. This will cause your story to be much more realistic.

As a Christian author, we never know how God might use these tough situations we include in our stories to touch a reader and possibly bring healing or understanding.